Nové Hrady – Town Without Borders
The town lies right on the Austrian border and is today referred to as a “town without borders.” The neighbouring country is only two kilometres away. However, upon arrival, one must first ascend to an altitude of 541 metres above sea level before the town nestled in the Novohradské Mountains reveals itself – a town whose history dates back to the 13th century.
A deed of purchase from 1279 bears the signature of an owner with the suffix “of the Castles,” indicating that construction of the Gothic castle – which would serve as a border watchpoint – was already envisioned at that time.
In addition to the castle, chateau, church, monastery, Buquoy tomb, blacksmith shop, tannery, Residence, baroque pharmacy, and city gate, there is also the ever-present rolling landscape forming green belts of Buquoy land, meticulously cultivated by this noble family.
The intertwined Rosenberg and especially Buquoy families are connected with the town’s history in many ways. During the Hussite wars, the castle was captured and burned in 1425. It suffered the same fate again in 1467 during the siege by Zdeněk of Sternberg. After the extinction of the Rosenberg line in 1611, their property passed to the Švamberk family.
During the Bohemian Revolt, the castle was besieged and conquered by General Charles Bonaventure Buquoy, who received the town and castle as compensation for military service. Extensive renovations followed, transforming the castle into its current appearance. It no longer served as a residence, but instead housed the estate’s forestry administration, apartments for officials, and the Buquoy archive.
The former Buquoy Residence building forms the eastern side of the town square. By combining and transforming the structures into a single complex, a so-called town palace was created in 1634–1635, at the command of Countess Maria Magdalena Buquoy, née di Biglia, who refused to live in the outdated castle upon her arrival in 1626.
The Residence comprised an irregular set of buildings around two courtyards. It included stables, wood and carriage sheds, staff quarters, and offices.
The Buquoy family resided here until the early 19th century, when they moved to the newly built chateau. At that time, the Residence was luxuriously furnished. After 1945, it was used by the forestry enterprise; today, it is fully renovated and functions as a wellness hotel and restaurant.
The guard castle, situated on a promontory with a deep moat, has been under the care of the National Heritage Institute since 2000. Its courtyard, known for excellent acoustics, hosts open-air concerts and theatre performances during the summer. The castle’s exhibition includes a unique collection of black glass – hyalite.
On the other side of the town, near the border, lies the chateau – an Empire-style three-winged, two-storey structure with one-storey annexes at the sides. From 1806 to 1945, it served the Buquoy family as a residence. Today, the chateau is owned by the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
This “town without borders” is also the theme of a current exhibition in the Nové Hrady Museum, which includes the Open-Air Museum of the Iron Curtain, located right on the state border. The exhibition focuses on the Border Guard, the Iron Curtain, and related stories.
Accessibility
year-round
Entrance fee
free
Additional information
Royalists and personalities:
- Charles Bonaventura Buquoy (1571-1621) - chamberlain at the Spanish court, arrived with troops in 1618 and received the confiscated property of Peter Švamberk. He took part in the Battle of White Mountain and founded the Czech branch of the Buquoy family.
- Jan Nepomuk Josef Buquoy (1741-1803) - of the whole family, he contributed most to the development of the town and its life, reclaimed the surrounding countryside, and was instrumental in the flowering of the glass industry. Under Nové Hrady by the Stropnice river, he established a natural park and named it after his wife Tereziino údolí (today Terčino). He is buried in the parish church of Sts. Peter and Paul near the square.
Our tip
In 2014-2017, the Zevl mill and its dam at the nearby pond were reconstructed. Today there is also a microbrewery where the local "Zevlák" is brewed.
Do you know that...
...the Buquoy tomb still contains eight coffins with the remains of six members of the Buquoy family and their relatives of the Cappy family? Under the Benes Decrees, the family property was expropriated and the last member of the family, Charles, died in prison in 1952. He was initially freed on appeal but was imprisoned anyway after February 1948. Living descendants occasionally come here from Germany to visit?
