Kunětická Hora Castle is a castle in the municipality of Ráby in the Czech Republic. The castle played an important role during the Hussite Wars of the early 15th century, as a fortress of Diviš Bořek of Miletínek. Today the castle is open to the public as a museum.
In 1491 it was bought by Vilém of Pernštejn, who had the castle rebuilt in the late Gothic style, with two towers and a moat. The construction was continued by Vilém's sons in the early Renaissance style. During the Thirty Years' War, in the early 17th century, the castle was besieged several times; at the end of the war, Swedish troops burned it to the ground.
The castle remained a ruin until the early 20th century, when the Pardubice Museum Society was formed. The group purchased the site in 1919 and began reconstruction in 1923, according to the plans of architect Dušan Jurkovič. The rebuilding was completed in 1996.
Today the castle is open to the public as a museum. On display are surviving murals, including a 1523 work depicting Samson and Delilah, the oldest known Renaissance mural in Bohemia. The castle also hosts occasional music or theatrical performances.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.