At the place where the Kamenický stream meets the Sázava river, you can visit the mysterious ruins of the royal castle demolished Kostelec. The ruins are part of a nature reserve and are freely accessible.
The castle was probably founded in the last third of the 13th century by King Wenceslas II, but the first written mention dates back to 1342, when it was held in pawn by Oldřich Medek of Valdek. Although Charles IV bought back the castle in 1356, he soon pawned it again and it had several owners over time. The last of them was Kuneš Rozkoš of Dubá from 1443, who looted in the surrounding area, and therefore the castle was besieged in 1449. It withstood this siege, but a year later, on May 18, 1450, it was besieged again and five days later it was conquered by the army under the command of Zdeněk Konopišťský of Šternberk, who became its new owner. In 1456, serfdom was abolished and he fortified it as one of his military strongholds. Later, he became a leading figure of the anti-Poděbrady opposition, and therefore the royal army captured and destroyed the castle in 1467.
House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.