Ostroh Castle

The origins of Ostroh Castle date back to the early 13th century, likely founded around 1200 as the seat of ministerials belonging to the imperial palace of Cheb. However, its first documented mention was in 1322, when it was cited as part of a pledge from the city of Cheb to King John of Luxembourg. In 1434, King Sigismund of Luxembourg gifted the castle to his chancellor Kaspar von Schlick. After several changes of ownership, including Kaspar Juncker and the Neuberg brothers, who undertook extensive Renaissance renovations in the 16th century, the castle was plundered and set on fire by Swedish troops in 1648 during the Thirty Years' War. Following reconstruction by Veit Dietrich von Steinheim, it later reverted to the Bohemian Crown and was granted by Emperor Leopold I to Johann Hartwig von Nostitz in 1664. From 1703, the castle was owned by the city of Cheb, which primarily used it for economic purposes. In the 19th century, parts of the castle were demolished, and only structural alterations between 1905 and 1915 saved it from complete ruin. Extensive restoration efforts from the 1970s to the 1990s led to its current accessibility as a museum.

Ostroh Castle is situated in Poustka-Ostroh in the Karlovarský kraj (Carlsbad Region) in the Severozápad (Northwest) region of the Czech Republic. It stands at an elevation of approximately 496 m above sea level.

Today, Ostroh Castle is open to visitors. The castle palace houses an exhibition on the stylistic development of interior design from the 19th to the early 20th century. In the oldest part of the castle, a historic Black Kitchen and the Knights' Hall can be viewed. The outer bailey features an open-air museum with an exhibition on rural architecture and the life of the village population in Northwest Bohemia.

• Libá Castle (Liebenstein), approx. 3.5 km away
• Hohenberg Castle, approx. 5.7 km away
• Schönberg Castle, approx. 5.9 km away
• Starý Rybník Castle Ruin (Altenteich), approx. 6.1 km away