Castle Častolovice

Castle Častolovice opens its doors yearly from spring to autumn and invites visitors to its exhibition of the castle interiors, art, furniture, and other artifacts collected by the Sternberg family over generations. The park with its 150 varieties of roses and Minizoo of domestic as well as some exotic animals can be enjoyed year-round.

The history of Castle Častolovice dates back to the 13th century when first recorded documentation described it as a fortress in the marshes in the kingdom of Bohemia. It changed owners frequently in the following centuries until it was bought by Adolf Vratislav Sternberg, the highest burgrave of the kingdom of Bohemia, in 1694. To this day, the castle has remained in the ownership of the Sternberg family with two notable interruptions – The German occupation during the Second World War and its later confiscation during the 40-year communist rule.

After the fall of communism in the Czech Republic by way of the Velvet Revolution, and the newly established government’s passing of a law of restitution, Diana Phipps Sternberg had Castle Častolovice returned to her. Through her tireless work in the following thirty years, Diana Phipps Sternberg revived the damage done by two occupations and made Castle Častolovice into a place of beauty and culture that is open to all.