Castle Lustenice

Luštěnice Castle is a late Baroque manor house standing at the heart of the village of Luštěnice, in the Mladá Boleslav district of Central Bohemia, roughly midway between Mladá Boleslav and Nymburk. The municipality of Luštěnice also administers Voděrady, a small hamlet about two kilometers to the north, which forms one of its three constituent parts alongside the village of Luštěnice itself and the hamlet of Zelená. In other words, the castle does not stand in Voděrady proper — it is the main landmark of the wider municipality that Voděrady belongs to.

How did today's castle come about?

The site's history stretches back long before the Baroque building seen today. In 1387 the estate belonged to Mikuláš of Potštejn, by the end of the 14th century it had passed to Vilém of Zvířetice, and between 1402 and 1424 it was held by Ctibor of Stakory. In 1481, Jan Tovačovský of Cimburk bought part of Luštěnice and attached it to the Mladá Boleslav estate. On the site of an earlier Renaissance fortified house — remnants of which survive in the cellars and part of the ground floor of the west wing — the estate's owner, Josef Scherzer of Kleinmühl, built the present castle around 1760, with further rebuilding completed by 1774 giving the structure its current late Baroque form.

Who owned the castle afterward?

Toward the end of the 18th century, the estate passed to the Gallas family, whose main seat was in neighboring Horky. From 1805 onward, Luštěnice, together with Horky, belonged to the counts of Nostitz-Rieneck. Under their ownership the castle lost its residential role and was used purely as an administrative building for the estate, a shift that led to a long period of gradual decline.

What does the castle's architecture look like?

The building is a three-wing, two-story structure arranged in a U-shape, with a small courtyard at the rear whose inner corners are rounded. This layout emerged from a major rebuilding in the 1730s, which expanded a simpler Renaissance core into the additional wings seen today. Luštěnice Castle is regarded as one of the better-preserved examples of late Baroque architecture in Central Bohemia.

What is the castle used for today?

Between 2013 and 2015 the building underwent an extensive and costly reconstruction. Today it is held by several private co-owners, and part of the premises now serves the village's administrative needs, including a post office and municipal office space. The castle does not operate as a museum with regular interior tours, so most visitors experience it from the outside, as part of a walk through the center of Luštěnice.

How do you get to the castle from Voděrady?

The distance from Voděrady to the center of Luštěnice, where the castle stands, is about two kilometers, easily covered on foot or by bike along the local roads connecting the two parts of the municipality. It's a natural way to pair a stop near Voděrady with a short walk through Luštěnice itself, where the castle anchors the village's layout.

Frequently asked questions

Is Luštěnice Castle located in Voděrady? No — the castle stands in the center of the village of Luštěnice. Voděrady is a separate hamlet about 2 km to the north, administratively part of the same municipality.

Can you visit the inside of the castle? The castle is not open as a museum with regular tours; part of the building houses village administrative functions, so viewing is mostly limited to the exterior.

When did the castle take on its current appearance? Its present late Baroque form dates from a rebuilding carried out between 1760 and 1774, on the site of an older Renaissance fortified house.

Who owned the castle in the 19th century? From 1805, the estate belonged to the counts of Nostitz-Rieneck, who held it jointly with the neighboring Horky estate.

Has the castle been renovated recently? Yes — it underwent a comprehensive and costly reconstruction between 2013 and 2015.