L'Isle, Switzerland
1696
Leuk, Switzerland
11th century
Arlesheim, Switzerland
1243-1244
Nidau, Switzerland
13th century
Prangins, Switzerland
1732
Balsthal, Switzerland
12th century
Wildegg, Switzerland
13th century
Zernez, Switzerland
13th century
Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
11th century
Gottlieben, Switzerland
1251
Unterseen, Switzerland
13th century
Martigny, Switzerland
1260
Buonas, Switzerland
1494
Dornach, Switzerland
11th century
Stein am Rhein, Switzerland
c. 1200
Grüningen, Switzerland
before 1229
Fürstenau, Switzerland
18th century
Bottmingen, Switzerland
13th century
Frutigen, Switzerland
c. 1200
Saint-Saphorin, Switzerland
12th century
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.