Kolštejn (castle)
The village of Branná, which can be found in the Šumperk region, is known mainly for the picturesque grouping of the local chateau and the ruins of Kolštejn Castle, from which the torso of the walls, the rest of the palace and the cylindrical tower have been preserved to this day. It is the ruins of a bergfrit-type castle directly connected to a Renaissance chateau, consisting of three wings, which is called the "middle chateau".
Information for visitors
Interesting facts Kolštejn (castle)
The so-called The "lower chateau" can be found in the northernmost part of the complex and has the form of one- and two-storey Renaissance buildings, on which arcades and sgraffito plaster have been preserved. In the entrance part there is the Black Tower, equipped with an observation deck, and in addition there is also a chapel in which wall paintings have been partially preserved. In the area you will also find a renovated bridge with a total length of 50 meters, which is one of the longest castle bridges in the Czech Republic.
At the beginning of the 14th century, there were gold mines around the place where the castle and the castle ruins can be found today. Kolštejn Castle, built by the Silesian Wűstenhub family, was supposed to protect these gold mines.
In the period after 1325, Jan Lucemburský became the new owner of Kolštejn Castle, who dedicated the castle to the family of lords from Lipá. At the end of the 14th century, the castle fell into the hands of the Wallenstein family and between 1437 and 1570 it was owned by the lords of Zvole, who imprinted the castle on the form of a medieval fortress.
The Renaissance chateau in Branná was built between 1575 and 1581, when the local estate was owned by the Žerotín family. They chose a space for it in the forecourt and partly in the fortifications. The establishment of a Czech brothers' prayer house in the chateau dates back to 1604, and the castle has been practically abandoned since its construction.
Between 1581 and 1597, the owners of the manor became the Bruntál family from Vrbno, who had the so-called lower chateau built here, but this was completed by other owners, the Petřvaldský family from Petřvald.
Until then, the magnificent manor house began to decay after the Battle of White Mountain, when the castle was given to the Liechtensteins, who practically did not live there at all, and in the period after the Thirty Years' War it served only as the economic seat of the manor administration and a brewery was built.
In 1770 and 1926, the entire complex was hit by fire and subsequently repaired in an emergency, but over time, it fell into disrepair. It did not undergo major reconstruction until 1998, and currently the entire complex is open to the public.
Author: Andrea Štyndlová