Tocnik and Zebrak

Zebrak was built in the late thirteenth century on a low spur beside the road from Prague to Plzen, and it had a problem: it sat too low, flooded, and burned in 1395. Wenceslas IV, who used it heavily, responded by building a second castle, Tocnik, on the higher ground of the same ridge a few hundred metres away, finished around 1400 as a comfortable late Gothic royal residence with a long palace, large windows and a great hall - one of the better examples of the shift from fortress to residence in Bohemia. The two therefore stand within sight of each other, one an earlier ruin and one a partly roofed castle with rooms shown. Tocnik has an exhibition and a keep; Zebrak is walls, a round tower and grass, freely accessible. The ridge between them is walked in twenty minutes, and the pairing is what makes the visit worth making.

What you actually see

• Two castles on one ridge - built a century apart a few hundred metres away.
• Tocnik's royal palace - late Gothic, with large windows and a great hall.
• Zebrak as ruin - walls, a round tower and open ground, free to walk.
• The reason for the pair - Zebrak flooded and burned, so the king built higher.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Tocnik is ticketed and seasonal; Zebrak is open ruin with no facilities. The approach is uphill on foot. The motorway is audible from parts of the ridge. Winter opening is minimal.

Nearby

Beroun and the Bohemian Karst are east; Krivoklat is north.