The history of Cheb Castle (German: Eger) dates back to the early 12th century. The foundation of the castle and its development are closely tied to the Štauf family, from which a number of Roman emperors and German kings were descended. The Štauf family rebuilt the castle into an imperial palatinate at the end of the 12th century, i.e. the only representative of this type of castle architecture on the territory of the Czech Republic.
Only the torso of the ostentatious palace, the robust Black Tower and especially the unique two-storey Romanesque and Gothic Chapel of St. Martin, St. Erhard and Ursula have been preserved from the once extensive castle stronghold. On the castle grounds, you may also visit the casemates with an exposition dedicated to the history of stove building in the area of Cheb, the remains of the outbuilding known as the Kuchelhaus, or the Mill Tower. In the court, you may see tombstones from the original Slavic burial grounds located on the site of the present-day chapel, the castle well, or the castle cannons.
http://zivykraj.cz/

Cheb Castle

Account

by category

Login

Name

by region

Title

Name in English

The castle was founded at some time after 1200 and it is first mentioned in records in 1223. Its original German name was Alt Kiensberg. The Blessed Hroznata, the founder of the Teplá Monastery, was allegedly imprisoned here. It was built by the Lords of Kiensberg, ministeriales subject to the palatinate in Cheb. In the late 14th century, its owners included the Pflugs, later e.g. the town of Cheb, the Lords of Týn who rebuilt it into a Renaissance chateau. From 1608, it was in the possession of the Schönfeld family and destroyed by the Swedes in 1648. The chateau ended in the possession of the Jesuit Order who were succeeded by the Nonner family. The Nonners rebuilt Starý Hrozňatov into its present-day appearance in the second half of the 19th century.
A massive cylindrical bergfrit distinguished by serpentine bond masonry work (opus spicatum) has been preserved from the medieval castle. Cellars with a cylindrical vault are remains of the tower palace, which was known as the Shnilá věž (Rotten Tower) and which had stood in the rear part of the castle grounds. Visitors may still find the two-storey pseudo-Renaissance chateau with an "L" shaped floor plan and a stair tower with a double-sloping roof and a gable. The castle and chateau are accessible over a well-preserved collum moat with a wooden bridge. A large hall with a smooth ceiling and an Empire stove may be found on the first floor of the chateau.
http://cestovani.kr-karlovarsky.cz/

Starý Hrozňatov Chateau

Starý Rybník castle is at the village of Starý Rybník, about 9 kilometres (6 mi) from Františkovy Lázně, in Cheb District of Karlovy Vary Region, western Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Ruins of Starý Rybník castle are on a tiny rocky ridge between two ponds at the village of Starý Rybník in the district of Cheb. The castle was probably founded sometime during later part of the 14th century. Soon afterwards the castle passed on to the Frankengrüner family from Cheb. It was later acquired by the Gumerauers and the Brambachs, and throughout the major part of the 16th century it belonged to the Lords of Wirsperg. In the following years, it frequently changed hands, from the Trautenbergs to the Hartenbergs and later to the Perglars of Perglas. In 1787, it was acquired by Johann Georg Wilhelm whose family held it up to 1945.

Starý Rybník Castle

Mostov Chateau was apparently founded in the 14 th century. The first reference of the chateau dates back to 1353, when it was held by the Zoswitzers, the burghers from Cheb. However, not long after that, the Leuchtenbergs gained possession of the village and joined it to the fief system around Kynšperk nad Ohří.  
The first manor house – a keep – was not erected in Mostov until the 15 th century, after it was acquired by the Hardeckars. The first mention of the keep appears in the early 20 ' s of the 16 th century. Archaeological research conducted during the course of the last reconstruction proved that the keep stood in the same place as did its younger successor – the chateau, presumably founded in the village as late as in the 17 th century. In 1757, it was described in the Theresian Cadastre as a smaller manor house. At some time in the 60's of the 19 th century, the chateau underwent reconstruction. The Kommers family rebuilt it into a Pseudo-Gothic residence, a style that was fashionable at the time. However, the material form of the chateau did no t change significantly compared to its condition in 1841. Georg Haas von Hasenfels , a large-sc al e industrialist and one of the owners of the Slavkov Porcelain Factory, purchased the estate from the Komm ers family. During the Haas period, the appearance of the outer facade was completed, as demonstrated by their family coat-of-arms on the frontispiece of the main façade of the chateau. In the early 30's of the last century, the chateau was still in the possession of Baroness Olga Haas, who lived here until her death in 1942.
 In 1945, the chateau was used by state farms for administrative purposes. In the 80's it served as a site for children's recreation. There is not much known about the interior furnishings of the building, as the chateau has been almost inaccessible lately. In its interiors, a set of interesting historical tiled stoves and Art Nouveau windows have been preserved from the original furnishings. In 1997, Mostov Chateau was successfully reunited with the traditional porcelain factory Haas and Czjzek in Horní Slavkov and in 1992, the castle was deservedly registered on the list of cultural monuments.
http://mostov.cz/

Mostov Chateau

The castle was founded around the year 1200 and it thus belongs to the oldest manor houses in Egerland (German name for the district of Cheb). It is first mentioned in 1224 in a predicate issued by Geroldi de Wiltstein who is presumed to have been a member of the Nothaft family. A historically documented member of the noble family, Albrecht Nothaft, exercised the Wiltstein predicate for the first time in 1225. The Nothafts ranked among the most reputed families of ministeriales and post-ministeriales in Egerland. In the 1200’s, they left Cheb Castle like many other ministerial families and settled at Wildstein Castle. They gradually colonized the castle surroundings and they expanded their domain with the aid of their own ministeriales and feoffees. 
In the 1290’s, Engelhard Nothaft of Wildstein and his sons sold or gave away a major part of the Wildstein demesne in historical Egerland to mundane and mainly ecclesiastical authorities (Waldsassen Monastery, Clarrisse Cloister in Cheb, commendam of German knights in Cheb). Before 1298, Engelhard Nothaft moved to Wenberg Castle, which he allegedly acquired through the dowry of his wife Adelheid, daughter of Konrad of Paulsdorf. On September 24, 1298, his wife pledged Wildstein Castle to their son-in-law, Johann Rab of Mechelsgrün, subject to a one-year redemption period. The transaction was mediated by Abbot Theodorik of the Waldsassen Monastery. The pledge was not redeemed and the castle therefore remained in the possession of the Mechelsgrün family. In consequence, the oldest branch of the Nothaft family moved to Upper Phalz. In addition to Wernberg Castle, Ruding Castle near Cham became the main residence of the family. The last male descendant of the Nothafts, Count Johann Heinrich, died in 1734.
The Frankengrüner burgher family from Cheb acquired the Skalná estate from the Mechelsgrüns in 1394. They subsequently sold the estate to the Gumerauer burgher family from Cheb in 1439. The Gumerauers had resided at the castle until 1521 before selling the whole estate to the Šliks. In 1531, Albrecht Šlik sold the castle to Wolf of Wirsperg. The Wirspergs divided the estate into two parts. The estate was purchased along with the nearby Starý Rybník (German: Altenteich, English: Old Pond) by Johann Andreas of Trautenberg in 1596. Around the year 1763, the older outer ward buildings were rebuilt into a new manor house, which served as the main residential building. In 1799, Horní Vildštejn (Upper Wildstein) and the castle were acquired by the owner of Starý Rybník, Georg Johann Wilhelm, who soon added Dolní Vildštejn (Lower Wildstein). The old castle primarily served as an ancillary building with a malt house and storage rooms. In 1884, Alfred and Karl Wilhelm of Helmfeld sold the Wildstein estate to Engelhard of Wolkenstein-Trostburg. Factory owner Geipel bought the estate from his descendants before the end of World War I and his successors owned the castle up to the end of World War II.
The Romanesque castle and the manor house in the outer ward are currently in private hands and the owners are transforming them into a tourist centre.
http://cestovani.kr-karlovarsky.cz/

Skalná Castle

The Liebenstein Castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century as the residence of ministeriales subject to the imperial palatinate in Cheb. It was named after Liebenstein Castle near Tischenreut, Bavaria. Rupert of New Liebenstein is mentioned as the first castle owner in 1264. After the Liebenstein family had died out, the castle was acquired by Franz Gosswein, a Cheb burgher, from King Jan Lucemburský (also denoted as John of Bohemia) in 1346. King Václav IV (also denoted as Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia) took Liebenstein away from Gosswein's descendants in 1381 and gave it to the Cheb hetman, Johann of Leuchtenberg. In 1425, Liebenstein Castle and estate was acquired by the Zedwitz family of Neuberg (present-day Podhradí), which was elevated to counthood in 1790. The castle had remained in the possession of the Zedwitz family up to 1945.
The castle is arranged into two sections. A large cylindrical tower (bergfrit), originally built as a free-standing tower behind the round wall, and the old "Upper Palace" on the south side have been preserved from the original castle core. The younger "Lower Palace" was built in the middle of the 14th century and a cross wing with a gateway protected by two bastions was built during another reconstruction in the mid 15th century. When the Zedwitzs divided their property in 1498, the castle description indicated that both its parts were used separately. In the middle of the 16th century, when the castle was reconstructed in Renaissance style, both palaces were connected by a new one-storey wing and a corner oriel was added to the north-west palace. Baroque reconstructions (the first being completed in 1719) entirely changed the medieval castle into a comfortable chateau. The entry wing was reconstructed and all facades were renovated. The moats were filled and new chateau terraces were built on their site. The chateau interiors were furnished in Rococo style and later in Classicism style. In 1755, the Baroque single-nave Church of St. Catherine was built on the site of a small Gothic church.
The castle and chateau in Libá have been abandoned since 1945 and they faced gradual dilapidation. A devastating fire accelerated its ruin in the late 1980’s. Partial reconstruction commenced in the early 1990’s, however, it ended with the conservation of the entry wing. The castle and chateau in Libá thus remains closed to the public and its dilapidation continues.
http://cestovani.kr-karlovarsky.cz/

Libá Chateau

Hazlov Chateau was probably founded as a castle in the 13th century. In the course of the 14th century, the originally Romanesque castle was rebuilt in Gothic style. During the Renaissance and Baroque era, the castle was gradually reconstructed into a chateau and in the 17th century, the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross was erected on its premises. The chateau had served as a manor until the 1950s. Since then, it has been rapidly deteriorating.
While the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross was saved thanks to a reconstruction in 2011, the chateau continues to decay. Nonetheless, the municipality of Hazlov is planning its renovation.

Hazlov Chateau

The newly renovated Baroque Kamenný dvůr Chateau offers stylish accommodation in the chateau rooms, experience cuisine, luxurious pampering and a large chateau park.
http://czechtourism.com/

Kamenný Dvůr Chateau

The first castle, built before 1600, collapsed. After the Battle of White Mountain during the Thirty Years' War, the remains of the castle were confiscated and by 1630 granted to the Metternich family. From 1682 to 1691, Count Philipp Emmerich von Metternich turned the decayed ruins into a Baroque residence. From 1821 to 1836, the Austrian Chancellor Klemens Wenzel von Metternich remodeled the building in the neoclassical style with the help of architect Pietro Nobile.
The castle was confiscated from the Metternich family in 1945 by the Czechoslovak government.
The castle has a library that includes over 200 examples of incunabula, medieval manuscripts, valuable prints, scientific books, and scientific encyclopedias. In 1828, a museum was founded to display the castle's natural science collections, coins, historical and technological curiosities, manuscripts, ancient Egyptian monuments, marble sculptures, and pieces of Oriental art.

Kynžvart Castle

Hartenberg castle was probably built in the early 13th century by the lords of Hartenberg. The first information is from the year 1214. The Hartenberg family owned the castle until 1362, when Tema of Koldice obtained it from them and traded it in 1364 with Charles IV for Budysin. At the beginning of 15th century the Hartenberg family received the castle again but soon sold it to Jan Malerik. His descendants used the castle as the center of robbery attacks and that was why in 1459 the castle was besieged by the military of the town Cheb, conquered and plundered. Later Šliks owned the castle, the town of Loket and Písnic family who held it more than 150 years. In the second half of the 18th century, the Auersperk family inherited the castle. From the 17th to the 19th century, modifications occurred to the chateau. The last owner of Hartenberg was Frantiska Kopalova who inherited it in 1913 from her mother, Mary. And she was in 1945, after Second World War, relocated to Germany.
After 1945 the castle was owned by State forests and was used as a warehouse and granary. In 1983, there were plans for its reconstruction. But it ultimately never happened. From 1984–91, the castle was several times deliberately set on fire, and turned in ruins.
The castle is now owned by Bedřich Loos, a private owner who tries to maintain and repair the castle. There was elaborated the so-called Hartenberg Workshop. Already more than a thousand volunteers from all over the world participated in the repair of the castle. This workshop is the largest volunteer program in Europe.

Hartenberk Chateau

Chateau with a tower from the 17th century. It was reconstructed in Neo-Gothic style in the 19th century. It is possible to see the emblem of the original owners, the Zedwitzes, above the entrance.
https://czecot.com/