Točník Castle

Točník Castle is a striking ruin located within the Central Bohemian Region, part of the Czech Republic, right inside the municipality of Točník, Beroun District. It stands on a rocky ridge directly above the older castle of Žebrák, and together the two form one of the most recognizable castle pairs in Bohemia — protected today as a single national cultural monument.

Who built Točník and when?

The castle was commissioned by King and Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslaus IV around the turn between the 14th and 15th centuries, roughly between 1398 and 1401, as his own private and representational seat. The likely trigger for the project was a fire that badly damaged the older Žebrák castle in 1395. Točník rose about a hundred metres higher up the same ridge, less than half a kilometre from Žebrák, forming with it a single defensive and residential complex.

What can visitors see on site?

Točník is regarded as an example of sophisticated late-medieval residential architecture, reworked several times over the following centuries. Traces of sgraffito decoration survive on the castellan's palace, and one of the halls still holds a stone gallery of coats of arms connected to Wenceslaus IV. A particularly notable feature is what remains of one of the earliest known central heating systems: air ducts and hollow channels built into the walls once distributed warmth through the entire castle, a remarkably advanced solution for its time.

What historical events took place here?

Točník's history is tied closely to the turbulent history of Bohemia. In 1421, King Sigismund pawned the castle to Erkinger of Seinsheim, and soon afterwards both Točník and Žebrák passed as a dowry guarantee to Frederick of Kolowrat. The Kolowrat family had to defend their new property by force: in 1425, the garrison held out for three days against a Hussite force reportedly numbering around eight thousand men before the attackers withdrew. A second heavy blow came with the Thirty Years' War, fought between 1618 and 1648; by then already abandoned as a permanent residence, the castle served as a refuge for local people but suffered serious damage during the fighting. No one settled at Točník permanently after the war, and the building gradually became the ruin visible today.

Why visit Točník and Žebrák together?

Although the two castles are now in very different states of preservation, they were conceived from the start as a single complex — the older Žebrák at the foot of the ridge and the later, more elaborate Točník at its summit. Walking between the two ruins shows how defensive and residential architecture in Bohemia changed over the centuries, from an earlier, simpler stronghold to a far more refined royal seat built above it. Such a close pairing of two independent castles is unusual, and it is part of what makes this site distinctive on a national scale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Točník Castle located? In the Central Bohemian Region, in the municipality of Točník, Beroun District, on a rocky hilltop directly above Žebrák Castle.

Who built Točník Castle and why? It was built on the orders of King and Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslaus IV in the closing years of the 14th century, most likely after a fire damaged the older Žebrák castle — Točník was meant to be his new representational residence.

Are Točník and Žebrák the same monument? They are two separate castles standing close together, protected jointly as a single national cultural monument because of their shared history and proximity.

What is the most interesting feature of the castle? The surviving remains of an early central heating system with air ducts inside the walls, along with sgraffito decoration and a stone gallery of Wenceslaus IV's coats of arms.