Pernštejn Castle

Pernštejn Castle stands on a rocky spur above the Nedvědička stream, next to the hamlet of Pernštejn, which today belongs to the market town of Nedvědice. Nedvědice once served as the castle's outer settlement. The castle has been a National Cultural Monument since 1995; it is owned by the Czech Republic and managed by the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), which opens it to the public.

From a keep castle to the seat of a powerful family

The castle was founded no later than around 1270 as a typical noble castle with a keep (bergfried): a curtain wall enclosed a palace and a cylindrical tower, later named Barborka after Saint Barbara, patron saint of miners. Its defensive prow, which deflected missiles away from the approach road, was exceptional. It was probably inspired by the keep of the royal castle of Veveří, where the ancestors of the Pernštejns, the Lords of Medlov, served as royal administrators. The first written record dates from 1285, when Štěpán of Pernštejn and Medlov is mentioned.

As the family's power and wealth grew, a major rebuilding at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries turned the castle into a representative political and administrative centre. A new courtyard, further residential buildings and an outer curtain wall were added. The Knights' Hall became the largest room in the castle. The walls were strengthened with towers, the ground-floor entrance area received a cell vault and a library and several living rooms were built near the Black Gate.

Oriels, galleries and the "marble castle"

Pernštejn is known for its corbels of many different shapes, which carry oriels and galleries, so that the upper floors are larger than the lower ones. Local Nedvědice marble was used extensively in the construction, which is why the castle is sometimes called the "marble castle". The castle chapel of the Conversion of St Paul was painted in 1716 by František Řehoř Ignác Eckstein, and stucco reliefs by G. A. Corbellini were added to the Knights' Hall in the early 18th century. The wall paintings in the bedroom, the children's room and the governess's room date from about the 1760s.

The Swedish siege and a provincial fortress

The castle's greatest military test was the Swedish siege of 1645. The square tower probably lost its wooden upper section, and the tower above the third gate lost its top floor, which was never rebuilt. The resilience the castle demonstrated, however, led to its inclusion among the maintained provincial fortresses. By the end of the 18th century, the original tall Gothic-Renaissance roofs and the covered wooden galleries had disappeared and were replaced by low roofing.

The last owners, the Mitrovský family of Nemyšl, lacked the funds for a planned romantic reconstruction. Thanks to this, Pernštejn has kept its original Gothic-Renaissance appearance, valued for its complex building history, architectural details and sculptural and painted decoration.