Teplice Castle

The castle's origins lie in a Benedictine monastery founded in the second half of the 12th century by Bohemian Queen Judith. This monastery, the second oldest in Bohemia, was located near the warm springs of Schönau. During the Hussite Wars, the monastery was destroyed and abandoned. In the late 15th century, under Queen Johanna of Rosental, a keep was erected on the ruins, incorporating Romanesque and Gothic wall remnants of the monastery, which are still visible in the eastern part of the castle today. The Romanesque crypt of the former monastery basilica has also been preserved; its outline is now marked in the castle courtyard. In the 16th century, Wolf von Wrzessowitz had a church built, later known as the Castle Church of the Holy Cross, and began construction of the main building in the late Gothic style. In 1585, the Teplitz dominion passed to the Kinsky family, who redesigned the unfinished main wing in the Renaissance style and added the pleasure house, the Kolostuj Tower. After Wilhelm Kinsky's death in 1634, the properties passed to Johann von Aldringen and later to the Clary-Aldringen family. They shaped the castle through extensive Baroque and Neoclassical alterations, erected the Baroque "New Building" (west wing), and added a theater in the late 18th century. The last major renovation at the end of the 18th century gave the front of the main building a Neoclassical appearance, and around 1800, the Empire vestibule was created. The castle church was also redesigned in the contemporary style between 1798 and 1806. The castle became a meeting place for personalities such as Goethe, Chopin, and Liszt. After 1945, the German owners were expropriated.

Teplice Castle is situated at an elevation of approximately 240 m above sea level in the city of Teplice, in the Ústecký kraj (Aussig) region of Severozápad (Northwest) in the Czech Republic.

Today, since 1947, Teplice Castle houses the Teplice Regional Museum, which presents exhibitions on the city's, spa's, and regional history. Inside the castle, valuable historical rooms such as the Renaissance hall with a painted coffered ceiling and the Rococo hall with rich stucco decoration, as well as other contemporary furnishings, have been preserved. The castle church has been used for services by the Czech Orthodox Church since the 1950s.

• Doubravka Castle Ruin (Castle), approx. 2.4 km away
• Rehefeld Castle (Castle), approx. 13.6 km away
• Lauenstein Castle (Castle), approx. 16.4 km away
• Hirschsprung Manor House (Manor and Estate House), approx. 16.5 km away