Žebrák Castle () is a castle ruin in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is located in the municipality of

Točník Točník is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants. Demographics Sights The municipality is known for the ruins of the medieval Žebrák Žebrák () is a ...

in the

Beroun District Beroun District () is a district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Beroun. Administrative division Beroun District is divided into two administrative districts of municipalities with extended compete ...

, near the eponymous town of

Žebrák Žebrák () is a town in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants. Administrative division Žebrák consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): ...

. It was built by the Zajíc family. The two castles,

and Žebrák, make up a picturesque couple, standing almost right next to each other. Together they are protected as one national cultural monument.

History

The castle was built in the second half of the 13th century by Oldřich Zajíc III, but the Zajíc family soon moved elsewhere and sold the castle to the king. In 1336, the

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg (; ; ) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kings of Germany and Holy Roman emperors as well as kings of Bohemia, List of r ...

acquired Žebrák and in 1346,

John Henry John Henry most commonly refers to: *John Henry (folklore) John Henry may also refer to: People Artists and entertainers * John Henry (actor) (1738–1794), Irish and early American actor *Seán Ó hEinirí (1915–1998), known in English as John ...

started renovating it. He later gave the castle to Charles IV, who became the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

shortly afterwards. Charles' son

Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; ; , nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As he ...

liked the castle very much, but after the large fire in 1395, he built a more strategically positioned castle above it. During the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

, the Hussite army unsuccessfully besieged Žebrák and Točník and then proceeded to burn down the towns

and

Hořovice Hořovice (; ) is a town in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,100 inhabitants. The town is known for the Hořovice Castle. Geography Hořovice is located about southwest of Beroun and southwest ...

. In 1532, another fire struck the castle, but this time, nobody bothered renovating it. In the year 1923, the castle was sold to the Czech Association of Tourists for 8,000 CSK and now it belongs to the state.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zebrak Castle Castles in the Czech Republic Castles in the Central Bohemian Region Tourist attractions in the Central Bohemian Region National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic