Lipnice Castle

Lipnice was built in the early fourteenth century for the Lichtenburk family on a granite hill above the Sazava country and was one of the largest castles in Bohemia in its day - a long complex with a great tower, a palace, a chapel with wall paintings, and an extensive outer ward. It burned in 1869 and was left ruinous; consolidation from the 1950s roofed parts and opened it, and the tower gives a wide view over the Vysocina highlands. In the village below, Jaroslav Hasek bought a house in 1921 with money from the first instalments of The Good Soldier Svejk and spent his last two years there, dictating the later parts of the book from bed as his health failed; he died in the house in January 1923 with the novel unfinished, and is buried in the village cemetery. The house is a museum. Nearby stone quarries hold large carved sculptures cut into the rock faces.

What you actually see

• A large Gothic castle - great tower, palace and chapel with wall paintings.
• Hasek's house - where Svejk was dictated and where he died in 1923.
• His grave - in the village cemetery below the castle.
• Carved quarry faces - large sculptures cut into the granite nearby.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Guided tours only for the castle, seasonal. The Hasek museum keeps its own limited hours. The village is small. The quarry sculptures need a short walk and are unsignposted in places.

Nearby

Havlickuv Brod is south-east; the Sazava valley runs north.