Cesky Sternberk Castle

This early Gothic castle, which was the home of the Crown Prince Regent Ferdinand II and his wife prior to their assassination in Sarajevo in 1914, was founded around 1240 and belongs among monuments, which have been named after and belonged, since their foundation up to the present, to members of a single lineage. Cesky Sternberk was conquered by the soldiers of Jiri of Podebrady in 1467. The ruined castle was later returned to the aristocracy of Sternberk and they extended it in an ostentatious reconstruction securing the castle with powerful fortifications. The last significant adaptations took place in the second half of 17th century, when the original broken silhouette nearly disappeared.

During the tour you will walk through Baroque rooms with period furnishings of considerable artistic value, complemented with more recent furniture from the 19th century. There is beautiful Baroque stucco decoration in some of the halls (for example in the Knight Hall, see picture). Other rooms are dedicated to important representatives of the Sternberk family. Among the collections, one that stands out is a large collection of graphic sheets from the 17th century. Also, historical weapons and hunting trophies are exhibited there.