Lipová Castle

Lipová Castle stands in the village of Lipová, in the Děčín District of the Ústí nad Labem Region, in the far north of the Czech Republic, right against the German border in the area known as the Šluknov Hook.

How to get there?

Lipová sits in a remote corner of the Czech borderland, a short distance from the town of Šluknov and close to Rumburk, the nearest railway hub in the region. Public transport options are limited, so a car is the most practical way to reach the site. The route runs through winding roads, wooded hills and small villages typical of the Bohemian-Saxon border area.

What will you see?

The building visible today is actually the second manor house on this site. An earlier Renaissance residence, built after 1566 for the Šlejnic family, was remodeled in Baroque style in the early 18th century and then converted into a brewery around 1740-1742. That original structure disappeared completely in the 1970s. The Baroque chateau that replaced it was built between 1737 and 1739, commissioned by Leopold Antonín Salm-Reifferscheid, a member of one of Europe's oldest and most prominent noble families, Salm-Reifferscheidt-Hainspach. The design came from Girolamo Costa, an Italian architect and painter.

The chateau now stands as a dramatic ruin. Its Baroque roof and much of the timber structure have collapsed, the walls are damaged, and the interior remains off-limits to visitors. Decades of neglect following the 1980s were compounded by a fire in 2006. Even so, the building's silhouette against the wooded hills of the borderland continues to draw visitors interested in abandoned manor houses and the turbulent history of the Sudetenland.

Restoration efforts are underway, led by the civic association Via Tempora Nova, which has been stabilizing walls, rebuilding vaulted sections, and restoring plaster, windows and doors. The long-term goal is to reopen the site to the public. Part of the work has been financed through Norway's EEA Grants culture programme.

When to visit?

Given its condition, the chateau is best appreciated from the outside. Spring and summer are the best seasons for exploring the surrounding Šluknov Hook on foot or by bike, when roads are easiest to navigate and dense summer vegetation has not yet obscured the view of the ruin. Autumn often brings fog to the area, while winter can make the hilly borderland harder to reach.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside Lipová Castle? No. The interior is closed to visitors because of the collapsed roof and unstable structure, which make it unsafe to enter.

Who built the current chateau? The Baroque building standing today was constructed between 1737 and 1739 for Leopold Antonín Salm-Reifferscheid, designed by the Italian architect Girolamo Costa.

Is the ruin being restored? Yes. The Via Tempora Nova association is carrying out conservation work, partly financed through Norway's EEA Grants, aiming to stabilize the structure and eventually open it to the public.

Was there an older castle in Lipová before this one? Yes. A Renaissance-era manor stood on the site from the late 16th century, but it was converted into a brewery in the 1740s, and the building itself was demolished in the 1970s.