The Horažďovice château is situated on the location of a Gothic fortress built in the 13th century by the Bavarians of Strakonice. In 1292, King Wenceslas II elevated Horažďovice to town status. In 1483, the local demesne became the property of the House of Švihovský of Rýzmberk, which rebuilt the Gothic castle into a Renaissance château. The only remnants of this reconstruction are a small inner courtyard with arcades and fresco paintings and a two-storey château tower.
Under the administration of Půta Švihovský, namely in 1503, water mains from Prácheň were established. They were in use until 1932. Following the Battle of White Mountain (1620), the demesne was seized from the House of Švihovský and acquired a new owner: In 1622 it was bought by Adam of Šternberk. In 1681-1692, the Šternberks rebuilt the château in Baroque style according to the designs of the Italian architect Solomini.
The result was the birth of the Large Hall with fresco paintings, the walling up of the arcades in the courtyard and the building of a château chapel and farm premises. In 1834, the demesne became the property of the Counts of Kinský of Vchynice and Tetov, who did not make any major adaptations. After the World War II, in 1945, the demesne was appropriated.
References:The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.