Zvikov Castle

One of the most significant medieval South Bohemian castles of the Czech king grew up in the 13th century on the remains of a prehistoric hill fort. It can't be ruled out that it was founded in an earlier period during the Romanesque period the remains of stone piles have been found. It was markedly expanded by King Pfemysl Otakar II - who was striving to obtain the imperial crown- into a representative early Gothic seat. Emperor Charles IV. included Zvikov amongst the inalienable royal castles in the Majestas Carolina law. It was besieged during the Hussite wars. In 1431 it passed into the ownership of the South Bohemian Rozmberks. In 1473 it passed to the Svamberks, who converted it into a Renaissance seat in the 16th century. In 1622 it was the final pocket of resistance of the Czech nobility towards the Habsburgs. Thereafter it passed into the ownership of the Eggenbergs and Schwarzenbergs. It now belongs to the Czech state.

During the reign of King Pfemysl Otakar II. Zvikov castle reached its present-day dimensions. The core of the Gothic castle with peripheral buildings is made up of a palace with a uniquely preserved arcaded gallery, which after restoration work corresponds to its appearance in the 13th century. The round residential tower(donjon) is an exceptional building in the Czech lands with stonework of dark syenite with noteworthy embrasures for archers. Similar towers can be found in Hainburg on the Danube in Austria. The model for the tower was most probably the residential tower of Emperor Frederick II in Lagopesole in southern Italy. A dominant feature of the castle is the high round Hlaska tower with its point (bergfrit). The outer appearance of several buildings was influenced by Renaissance reconstruction.