The dominating feature of the Benešov nad Ploučnicí town is actually two castles from the 13th century, the Lower and Upper castles. There is a permanent exhibition of Chinese art and day and night tours are available as well as social meetings.
The history of the castle started in the 13th century when a settlement of tradesmen and shopkeepers began under the castle Ostrý. The people were satisfied there, the settlement grew and one day in 1392 Jan from Michalovice named the settlement a town. The son of the owner, Hynek Berka from Dubá, was a hussite antagonist and in 1422 he called together a congress of the antihussite catholic nobility from Northern Bohemia. The Hussites didn´t hesitate to besiege Benešov many times over the next few years.
Since, the town was protected only by a simple wall, a moat and a mound, it was rapidly plundered and burnt out. Then in 1515 the Salhausen family from Míšeň bought the castle. That was the beginning of the rise of the town. The castle was rebuilt and sold many times. In 1945 it became a possession of the state and then in 1956 it was declared a castle of the 1st category. Unfortunately, the castle was destroyed by fire in 1969. It took a couple of years before it was reopened to the public.
References: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 Šaloun 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.