Grabstejn Castle, Hradek nad Nisou, Czech Republic

The original Gothic castle of Grabštejn (or Grafenstein) was founded in the 13th century. In 1562, it was bought by Crown Chancellor Georg Mehl von Strelitz. Between 1566 and 1586, he had rebuilt the castle in Renaissance style and thus turned it into a representative chateau.

Georg Mehl also had a steward's house built below the castle, which was around the year 1830 rebuilt in Classicist style. Shortly before that – around 1818 – Christian of Clam-Gallas had built the New Castle near the Old Castle. The new building was surrounded by a large garden with a number of valuable plants. The Old Castle has preserved its original Renaissance appearance despite a fire which damaged its upper floors in 1843.

The House of Clam-Gallas owned Grabštejn since 1704 until it was confiscated in 1945. After the Second World War, the castle was open to the public, but in 1953, the whole castle complex was taken over by the Ministry of Defence. The Old Castle's condition significantly deteriorated after the army left in the late 1980s.

Repairs and restorations began in 1989. Nowadays, Grabštejn is one of the best restored monuments of great importance in the Czech Republic. The castle was opened to the public again in 1993. The tower offers a marvellous view of the three-border-triangle, the castle's northern wing, and the vault. The most touristically attractive part of the castle interior is the St. Barbara chapel decorated with Renaissance fresco paintings from the 16th century. All parts of the ceiling and walls are ornamented in with interlaced figural, animal, and heraldic motifs.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Елена Нимчук (2 years ago)
Nice castle! The most amazing thing here was a view tower. Friendly personnel. Tastefull cappuchino in the cafe.

Michael Haederle (2 years ago)
Hello my friends from outside Europe! This is one of the nicest castles that you can visit in the heartland of EU. Only one hours drive away from Prague... and by far not so overcrowded. Best stopover on your way from Dresden to Prague!

Vojtěch “Mortis” Ptáček (3 years ago)
Beautiful if not huge castle with lovely surroundings.

Jan Vaněk (3 years ago)
Nice castle, currently with some ongoing reconstruction, but still accessible. We were lucky to see their special program with mediavel fair, music and knight show. So, check their website before going there.

Irek Kowalski (4 years ago)
Soper

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