Orlík nad Vltavou Castle
Originally a Gothic castle, later expanded in Renaissance style.
The first written records of Orlík date from 1230–1251, during the reign of Wenceslas I, when archives mention a toll on the Vltava River near Orlík – at that time just a wooden fortress built on a steep rock like an eagle’s nest (probably the origin of its name). Records from 1287–88 confirm that Orlík belonged to the royal estates of Wenceslas II. During his minority, the country was governed by Záviš of Falkenstein; at the time, Zdislav of Sternberg served as castellan at Orlík.
Around the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, Orlík was rebuilt as a stone Gothic castle, serving as a royal administrative and military center. It remained in royal hands until 1357, when Emperor Charles IV granted it as a fief to his chancellor, Dietrich of Portic, with the condition of maintaining a royal garrison. This gift likely recognized Dietrich’s role in Charles's imperial coronation in Rome. However, Dietrich soon transferred Orlík to his nephew, the royal castellan at Prague’s Vyšehrad – for reasons unknown to the sources.
How to get there
A paid parking lot is available 500 m from the castle.
Do you know that...
… was the castle restored for the Schwarzenberg family after the 1802 fire and rebuilt in Neo-Gothic style in the mid-19th century?
Before the Orlík Reservoir was filled, the castle stood on a rocky promontory 60 meters above the Vltava River.
