Vysoký Chlumec Castle

Vysoký Chlumec Castle stands on a hill above the town of the same name, roughly 8 km southwest of Sedlčany in central Bohemia. It's one of the rare Czech castles that never got a Baroque makeover into a stately residence, which is exactly why it still looks like a proper medieval fortress today.

How do you get to Vysoký Chlumec Castle?

The town sits in the Příbram district and is an easy drive from either Sedlčany or Příbram. The castle itself perches on high ground right above the town square, so you'll spot it long before you arrive — from the center it's a short uphill walk to the gate. Set your expectations correctly: this is a private residence, and there's no access to the interior.

What's the history behind it?

The castle was likely founded near the end of Charles IV's reign, though it's first documented in writing only in 1382, when a castellan named Zbyněk is recorded there. By 1385 it had passed to Purkart of Janovice, a favorite of King Wenceslas IV, and the Janovice family held it until 1469, when it was sold to Friedrich Ojíř of Očedělice.

The real turning point came in 1474, when Anna Švihovská, widow of Jan Popel of Lobkowicz, bought the estate — beginning centuries of Lobkowicz ownership. In the 1660s there was a plan to rebuild Vysoký Chlumec into a grand Baroque chateau, but it never went ahead. Only a smaller renovation of the western entrance was carried out in 1678: the old gate was replaced with an early Baroque one, and a stone bridge took over from the original drawbridge.

Near the end of the Thirty Years' War, Swedish troops captured and ransacked the castle. Because no later owner ever converted it into a Baroque palace — the fate of so many other Czech castles — Vysoký Chlumec kept its Gothic, defensive silhouette right through to today. It's been a protected cultural monument since 1965.

What will you actually see there?

The main draw is the shape of the place itself: compact, unadorned Gothic fortress architecture, free of the later "prettifying" additions that reshaped so many comparable sites. From outside you can take in the walls, the tower, and that 1678 early Baroque gate. Since the interior is off-limits — people actually live there — a visit means walking around the perimeter and taking in the building against its hilltop setting.

A good way to round out the trip is the open-air museum in Vysoký Chlumec, the Museum of Rural Architecture of the Central Vltava Region, which showcases traditional local building styles. It's a natural add-on given that the castle itself can only be admired from outside.

When's the best time to visit?

The castle is visible year-round, but the local tourist season — and specifically the opening hours of the nearby open-air museum — runs mainly from May to October. That's the easiest window for combining a walk up to the castle with a museum visit and a stroll through the town.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside Vysoký Chlumec Castle? No. It's a private, inhabited residence with no public access to the interior — the Arco-Zinneberg family currently lives there, and there are no plans to open it to visitors.

Who has owned the castle over the years? It belonged to the Lobkowicz family from 1474 onward and was restituted to them in 1992. In 1998, the Arco-Zinneberg couple bought the castle along with its surrounding estate.

Why did it keep its Gothic look instead of being rebuilt like other castles? Because it never went through the Baroque conversion into a palace that reshaped so many Czech castles. A 1660s plan to do exactly that was never carried out, so the medieval structure survived intact.

What else is worth seeing nearby? Beyond the castle exterior, Vysoký Chlumec has an open-air museum dedicated to traditional rural architecture of the central Vltava region, open mainly from May through October.