Zámek Dolní Rožínka

Dolní Rožínka Castle is a Renaissance-turned-Classicist manor house at the heart of a village on the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, in the Žďár nad Sázavou district. The building today serves as a school and municipal office, but its story starts with a medieval stronghold and runs through two noble families, the Pernštejns and the Mitrovskýs.

Where did the manor in Dolní Rožínka come from?

The village itself is first recorded in 1353, and a fortified tvrz on this spot is mentioned as early as 1459. Between 1503 and 1589 the estate belonged to the Pernštejn family, who rebuilt the old stronghold into a Renaissance castle toward the end of the 16th century. The new building took the two-storey, square-plan form with corner towers that still largely defines it today.

How did the Mitrovský family change it?

In 1731 the estate passed to the Mitrovský family. The castle owes its biggest transformation to Count Jan Nepomuk Mitrovský of Mitrovice and Nemyšl, who between 1781 and 1799 added a second floor and gave the courtyard buildings a Classicist makeover. He also laid out the English-style park adjoining the castle.

What happened in 1808?

A fire destroyed the castle in 1808. It was rebuilt by Jan Nepomuk's son, Count Vilém Mitrovský, who gave it the two-storey, four-wing, square-plan shape it retains today. A Baroque tower remains one of the building's defining features.

What is the castle used for now?

The building currently houses the local elementary school, the municipal office and a library. It is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic, but as a working public building it is not open for interior visits. Visitors can, however, view the exterior and walk through the adjoining park.

What is hidden in the Templ park?

East of the village, a remnant of the former park layout known as Templ has survived. It contains a chapel that serves as the Mitrovský family tomb, along with an Empire-style obelisk dating from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries — traces of the same era in which Count Jan Nepomuk shaped the grounds around the castle.

What is the "Draxmoor" castle?

Dolní Rožínka has another building sometimes called a castle: Strašidelný zámek Draxmoor. It is a 16th-century structure that originally served as the estate's brewery and later as a granary, and it belonged to the Mitrovský family before nationalization. Once slated for demolition, the building has instead housed a commercial haunted-house attraction since 2005, spread across three floors and part of the basement, with visits opening in a 3D cinema. On Fridays in July and August, gentler family tours run with more lighting and no live scare actors, aimed at younger and more easily frightened children.

What else is worth knowing about the area?

Dolní Rožínka is also the seat of the Czech uranium mining industry: since 1966 the company Uranové doly Dolní Rožínka (today the GEAM branch of the state enterprise DIAMO) has operated here, working the Rožná-Olší ore deposit that spans several neighbouring villages. It's an industrial detail unrelated to the castle itself, but characteristic of this part of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit the inside of Dolní Rožínka Castle? No — the building is occupied by an elementary school, the municipal office and a library, so the interior is not open to tourists. You can view the exterior and walk through the surrounding park.

Who built the castle? The Renaissance structure was built at the end of the 16th century by the Pernštejn family, on the site of a tvrz first recorded in 1459. The Mitrovskýs gave it its present form through the 1781–1799 rebuilding and the reconstruction that followed the 1808 fire.

What is the difference between the castle and "Draxmoor"? They are two separate buildings from the same former manor estate. The castle proper was the family residence and now houses the school and municipal office. Draxmoor is the former estate brewery/granary next to it, run since 2005 as a paid haunted-house attraction.

What else is worth seeing near the castle? The Templ park east of the village, with the Mitrovský family tomb chapel and its Empire-style obelisk, makes a natural addition to a visit to Dolní Rožínka.