Přimda Castle

As an important guard post on the Czech-Bavarian border, this stronghold was established as early as the first half of the twelfth century, making it one of the oldest stone castles in Bohemia. In addition to its defensive function, the local complex served the Přemyslid dynasty as a prison for members of their own family. From the fourteenth century, rulers often pledged it, and from the second half of the fifteenth century, it passed into the possession of the Lords of Švamberk. During their era, the structure began to decay during the sixteenth century and was definitively abandoned at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Today, this national cultural monument, accessible to the public and managed by the National Heritage Institute, is dominated by the massive torso of a Romanesque residential tower, preserved to a height of two stories. Inside this sole entirely preserved structure, you will find the remains of a fireplace and a latrine, which are among the oldest objects of their kind in the Czech Republic, while the other parts of the castle have almost completely vanished.