Explore the historic highlights of Bergen
Bergen, Norway
14th century
Bergen, Norway
c. 1181
Bergen, Norway
1870
Bergen, Norway
1130s
Bergen, Norway
1066-1093
Bergen, Norway
1240s
Bergen, Norway
12th century
Bergen, Norway
1825
Bergen, Norway
1181
Bergen, Norway
1891-1894
Bergen, Norway
1621
Bergen, Norway
1666-1667
Bergen, Norway
1150
Bergen, Norway
1720
Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.
Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.