Neuberg

Neuberg is a medieval castle ruin overlooking the village of Podhradí, in the Cheb District of the Karlovy Vary Region, in the far west of the Czech Republic near the German border.

When was Neuberg Castle built, and who built it?

The stronghold is believed to date from the late 13th century, raised by a noble family that took its name from the site - the lords of Neuberg (the German name literally means "new hill," a common label for castles perched on high ground). The first written record of the castle appears in 1288, making it one of the older fortified sites in this corner of the region.

What happened to the castle after Albrecht von Neuberg's death?

The year 1288 also marked the death of Albrecht von Neuberg, the last member of the founding family to hold the estate. King Rudolph I of Bohemia then granted the castle, together with the entire village, as a fief to the lords of Plauen - placing Neuberg in the hands of one of the more influential feudal houses active along the Bohemian-German border at the time.

Why did Emperor Charles IV's troops attack the castle?

In the decades that followed, Neuberg reportedly became a refuge for robber knights preying on nearby trade routes. That drew the wrath of Emperor and Bohemian King Charles IV, whose army marched on the stronghold and inflicted serious damage on its fortifications. It was a common fate for small knightly castles across medieval Bohemia whenever a ruler decided to clamp down on local banditry once and for all.

How did the Zedtwitz family turn Neuberg into a regional centre?

Despite the damage, the castle was not abandoned. In 1392, the village and the fortress passed to the Zedtwitz family, who made Neuberg the administrative centre of the entire Aš (Asch) region - the westernmost tip of today's Czech Republic, bordered on three sides by German territory. For the next two centuries, the castle served as the family's seat for governing the surrounding villages.

What ended Neuberg's role as a working castle?

The castle's decline was sealed by a major fire in 1610, which caused extensive damage to the building. Neuberg was never fully rebuilt afterwards and gradually settled into the ruined state visible today - a fate shared by many small knightly castles in the region once they lost their strategic and administrative importance to more modern forms of local government.

What survives on site today?

The most recognisable feature of the ruins is a round tower roughly 22 metres tall, which still dominates the site alongside the remains of the surrounding walls. Together with the traces of the adjoining castle buildings, it gives visitors a sense of the scale of a fortress that once controlled a key trade route through the Aš region and served as the seat of successive noble families.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Neuberg Castle located? In the village of Podhradí, in the Cheb District of the Karlovy Vary Region in the far west of the Czech Republic, close to the German border and the historic Aš region.

When was the castle built? Most likely in the late 13th century; the earliest written mention of the fortress dates to 1288.

Who owned the castle after the Neuberg family? After 1288 the castle passed as a fief to the lords of Plauen, and from 1392 onward to the Zedtwitz family, who made it the administrative centre of the Aš region.

Why did the castle fall into ruin? It suffered repeated damage - first from Emperor Charles IV's army during a campaign against robber knights, and decisively from a major fire in 1610, after which it was never fully restored.

What can visitors see there today? The ruins are dominated by a roughly 22-metre-tall round tower along with the remaining sections of the castle walls, still standing above the village of Podhradí.