Bítov Castle

First mentioned in 1061 as princely property, Bítov Castle played a crucial role in the defense system against Austria. In 1298, it was pledged to the Moravian provincial governor Raimund von Lichtenburg, whose family received it as a hereditary fief in 1307. The Lichtenburgs erected the Chapel of the Assumption of Mary in 1334 and expanded the castle in the late 15th century. Following the extinction of the Vöttau branch of the Lichtenburg family in 1576, the property passed to the Strein von Schwarzenau, who undertook further renovations around 1600. In 1617, they sold the castle to the Lords of Wlašim. In 1736, the Counts of Daun inherited the complex and had it restored in the Neo-Gothic style in the mid-19th century, with the castle chapel being re-Gothicized according to plans by Anton Rücker. In the early 20th century, the estate belonged to the Lords of Haugwitz before industrialist Georg Haas von Hasenfels acquired it in 1912.

Bítov Castle is located in the municipality of Bítov in the Jihočeský kraj (South Bohemian Region) in the Jihozápad (Southwest) region of the Czech Republic. It stands at an elevation of approximately 410 m above sea level.

Today, Bítov Castle is accessible to visitors and can be explored. It houses, among other things, a collection of paintings by German and Austrian Romantics, as well as a collection of stuffed animals belonging to Baron Georg Haas von Hasenfels. Only the western cemetery tower from the 13th century remains.

• Cornštejn Castle Ruin (Zornstein), approx. 1.5 km away
• Frejštejn Castle Ruin, approx. 5.0 km away
• Uherčice Chateau (Ungarschitz), approx. 5.9 km away
• Vranov nad Dyjí Chateau (Frain), approx. 9.9 km away