Sternberk Castle

Sternberk castle was founded in the thirteenth century by the Sternberg family on a rock above the Sitka and was rebuilt several times before passing, like Bouzov, to the Teutonic Order, which remodelled it between 1886 and 1911 in a historicist manner - roofed, towered and refitted as a residence for the Grand Master. What fills it is the point: Archduke Eugen assembled a collection of medieval and Renaissance art specifically to furnish these rooms, buying panel paintings, sculpture, furniture, tapestries and metalwork across Europe, so the castle now holds one of the better collections of Gothic and Renaissance applied art in the country, displayed in period interiors. There is a Gothic chapel, a round tower with a view, and a mannerist gallery. The town below has a former Augustinian monastery, and a motorcycle hillclimb course runs on the roads nearby.

What to look for

• A collection assembled to fit - Gothic and Renaissance art bought across Europe.
• A historicist remodelling - the Teutonic Order's rebuilding of 1886-1911.
• A Gothic chapel and round tower - surviving from the medieval castle.
• Period interiors - the rooms furnished as a Grand Master's residence.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

What to expect

Guided tours only, seasonal, closed in winter. The interiors are around 1900, not medieval, though the objects in them are older. The walk up from town is steep.

Nearby

Olomouc is fifteen kilometres south; the Jeseniky rise north.

Key facts