Montfort Castle was built by the Counts of Veldenz around the year 1200. The first known dweller at the castle was Eberhard von Lautern (1182-1240). Lautern family owned the castle until 1432. In 1456 the army of archbishop of Mainz and Elector Palatine Frederick I destroyed the castle in local feud.
Despite some repairs Montfort stayed ruined several centuries until the remains where repaired in the 20th century. Today the castle can be visited free. There is also a small museum.
The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Ĺ aloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.