Zámrsk Castle

Zámrsk Castle sits at the heart of the village of Zámrsk, in the Ústí nad Orlicí district of the Pardubice Region, right next to Janovičky, which has been part of the same municipality since 1962. The area sits well off the main tourist routes on the western edge of the district, and for decades the castle itself has served an archival rather than a museum function.

How close is the castle to Janovičky?

Zámrsk today is made up of three parts: Zámrsk proper, Janovičky, and Nová Ves. Janovičky lies just northwest of the Zámrsk village center and was an independent settlement until it was merged into Zámrsk in 1962 — it still has its own railway stop on the line between Choceň and Pardubice. The castle stands in the central part of Zámrsk, so anyone staying in or passing through Janovičky is only a short walk or drive away.

How did the castle evolve over the centuries?

Medieval beginnings

The settlement itself is recorded as early as the mid-14th century, while the first mentions of a fortified stronghold date to the 15th century — in 1469 the fortress was burned by the troops of King Matthias Corvinus. Some sources point to a Petr of Zámrsk as the likely builder of the original stronghold around the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries.

A Renaissance rebuild

In 1533 the estate was bought by Jan Lukavský of Lukavice, whose descendants rebuilt the damaged stronghold in Renaissance style. From 1613 the property belonged to Karel Kapoun of Svojkov; following the confiscations that followed the Battle of White Mountain, it later passed through the hands of Albrecht von Wallenstein and Vincenzo Muschinger.

The Baroque castle and the Kolovrat family

The mid-17th century brought the Libštejnský z Kolovrat family, who held the estate until 1772 and turned the old stronghold into a Baroque residence. The result was a four-wing complex around a courtyard with arcaded walkways, with a two-story entrance wing and single-story wings on the remaining sides. Part of the building work is attributed to the circle of architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel. In the 18th century an additional floor was added to the originally single-story section, and in 1780 Jiří Jeník of Gamsendorf carried out repairs. Fragments of the walls of the oldest, medieval fortress still survive in the east wing.

The 19th and 20th centuries

Between 1849 and 1945 the castle belonged to the Gottl family. A fire damaged the building in 1924, and it was restored in 1925–1926. After 1945 the property passed into state ownership, and through the 1940s and 1950s it housed a youth reform institution.

What is the castle used for today?

Since the turn of the 1950s and 1960s the castle has housed a state archive — first as the State Regional Archive in Zámrsk, and since 2021 as a branch of the State Regional Archive in Hradec Králové. The building has been protected as a cultural monument since 1964. It is not open to the public in the usual museum sense, since its rooms are used for storing and conserving archival records. The arcaded courtyard does, however, occasionally host concerts and cultural events, giving visitors a rare look inside.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit Zámrsk Castle? It is not a museum with regular visiting hours — the building houses an active state archive, and access to the interior is generally limited to staff and researchers.

What is the relationship between Zámrsk and Janovičky? They are two parts of the same municipality. Janovičky was an independent village until 1962, when it was incorporated into Zámrsk, whose center is where the castle stands.

Who built the castle? The earliest stronghold is linked to Petr of Zámrsk around 1400, while the present Baroque appearance is mainly the work of the Kolovrat family in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Is there anything for visitors to see or do there? Yes — the courtyard is occasionally used for concerts and cultural events, even though the castle itself functions as a working archive on a daily basis.