Rostejn Castle

Rostejn was built in the fourteenth century on a rock outcrop in the forest and rebuilt in the 1570s for Zacharias of Hradec - the same patron who made Telc - into a hunting lodge, with a residential range wrapped around the older tower and painted decoration inside. It sits in the middle of a large enclosed game park, which is why it is where it is: this was a place to hunt from and to sleep in, not to defend. The interiors have Renaissance painted ceilings and a hall with wall decoration, and the castle now also holds a natural history exhibition on the forests of the Vysocina, with a collection of birds and mammals, run by the Jihlava museum. The tower is climbable over the treetops. The forest around is walked and there are trails from Telc. It is a modest, quiet place, and its position in the woods is most of the appeal.

What you actually see

• A tall stone tower - the medieval core with the Renaissance range wrapped round it.
• Painted Renaissance interiors - ceilings and wall decoration from the 1570s.
• A natural history exhibition - the forests of the Vysocina, run by the Jihlava museum.
• A game-park setting - the castle standing in enclosed hunting forest.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Guided tours only, seasonal, closed in winter. It is small. There are no services at the castle beyond a kiosk. Access is by road then a short walk through the forest.

Nearby

Telc is ten kilometres south-west; Jihlava is north-east.