Hrad Ledeč nad Sázavou Castle

Ledeč nad Sázavou Castle rises on a limestone rock promontory above the Sázava River in the Havlíčkův Brod district of the Vysočina Region. The extensive castle complex evolved from early Gothic through the Renaissance to its Baroque character, and the whole site is dominated by a tall Gothic round tower of the bergfried type. The castle administration describes it as the only surviving castle in the central Sázava valley (Posázaví). The site is protected as a cultural monument.

The castle was most likely founded in the first half of the 13th century. Its founder may have been the knight Slavek of Ledeč, whom King Ottokar II of Bohemia confirmed in 1262 the right to hold a market in nearby Hněvkovice. The first certain holders of the castle were the Ledečský family of Říčany – the brothers Petr, Diviš and Václav are recorded in 1367. In the second half of the 15th century the castle underwent a major reconstruction: new outer fortifications with a pair of semicircular bastions were built, and at the beginning of the 16th century the so-called small palace was added.

The most tragic event in the castle's history came in December 1509, when the floor gave way beneath Lady Žofie ze Sovince, wife of Burian Ledecký z Říčan, and she died together with two of her children. After Burian's death in 1541 the estate passed to his only daughter Markéta, who was married to the Moravian nobleman Zdeněk Meziříčský z Lomnice. During Zdeněk's lifetime the castle was converted into a Renaissance chateau, and in 1562 Zdeněk obtained from Emperor Ferdinand I the elevation of Ledeč to the status of a town. Also dating from the 16th century is a sgraffito ceiling with figural and plant motifs, which can be seen on the guided tour.

From 1569 Ledeč belonged to the Trčka z Lípy family, briefly to the Lobkowicz family, and after the death of Jan Rudolf Trčka the property was confiscated. In 1636 it was acquired by Baron Adrian z Enkenfurtu, during whose ownership the estate was repeatedly plundered by the Swedes in the Thirty Years' War. Count Michael Osvald of Thun-Hohenstein, who bought the estate in 1677, had the Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary built at the chateau. In 1753 Ledeč was bought by Empress Maria Theresa, and after 1763 it passed to the Theresian Institute for Noblewomen, which held it until the first land reform.

The chateau suffered a heavy blow in a fire on 8 March 1879, which spread from a town house to the chateau roofs and burned for several days. The chateau was only partly repaired, and in the 20th century it housed offices and flats of the state forestry administration, with part used by the town museum. In 1999 the town of Ledeč nad Sázavou bought most of the complex, and gradual restoration has been under way ever since – during the renovation of the southern plasterwork in 2015 a sundial was discovered beneath one of the layers and successfully restored.

Today the castle is open to the public. The operator offers a guided castle tour with a museum of historical clocks, the Jaroslav Foglar Museum, the Medvídkové království (Teddy Bear Kingdom) tour for children, and a climb up the tower, which offers views of the town and the Sázava valley. The castle courtyards and interiors are also popular with filmmakers – productions shot here include The Brothers Grimm, Faust, Micimutr, Anděl Páně 2 and Čertí brko.