Alytus mound is the only preserved witness of the foundation of the town and it dates probaly from the 11th century. It is said that a wooden castle was standing here in the 14th century that was burnt down later by the Teutonic Order. The detailed route to Alytus castle is described in Teutonic “The Description of Lithuanian Roads”, this castle defended the main roads to Trakai and Vilnius from crusaders.
An impressive panorama of the town opens from the mound, while its foot is decorated by an exposition of sculptures “Ancestors of Alytus Mound”.
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.