Zbiroh Castle – Three Emperors Castle

The construction of the castle (from the end of the 12th century) surprises and amazes from all sides. Zbiroh has so many “bests” in its list that the fingers of one hand are not enough for them. Such a perfectly concealed castle as it was in the second half of the 20th century. Zbiroh, you would probably be hard pressed to find. And yet it used to be a famous residence and accustomed to the most noble inhabitants. It is not for nothing that it is now referred to as the castle of the three emperors. After all, Charles IV, Sigismund of Luxembourg and Rudolf II became its owners for a time. The original castle was built on the hardest jasper rock. The castle well, dug into this rock, is the deepest in Europe with its 163 m, so you can probably imagine that digging it was no honey. This tower even boasts of being the first independent castle tower in Bohemia. With its walls up to 4 m thick, 20 m high and 10 m wide, it is truly a more than impressive landmark of the entire castle. In addition, this whole building was not built by the will of the king, but by a mere nobleman, at a time when it was definitely not customary. Zbiroh thus became the first ever manorial castle in Bohemia. Zbiroh is also the place where Alfons Mucha created his largest canvases.