Točník is this wild castle ruin that’s perched above a village with the same name, right in the Beroun District of the Central Bohemian Region. Picture this: it’s sitting on a hill called Zámecký Hill, just about 1.5 kilometers north of the town of Žebrák. And get this, it’s not just any old castle—this place is a legit cultural monument. Plus, along with the nearby ruins of Žebrák, it’s been designated a national cultural monument. That’s some serious history. So, here’s the story. Točník was founded by King Wenceslas IV back in the late 14th century. Since the time of the Hussite Wars—where, by the way, it totally stood its ground during a siege in 1425—the castle mostly ended up in the hands of various pledge holders. We’re talking families like the Kolovrats, the Lords of Gutštejn, and the Vartenberks. These folks were no joke—they decked the place out in some late Gothic style. Then, the Lobkowicz family came in and did some Renaissance-style renovations. But, you know how these things go, right? The castle started to fall apart, especially after the Thirty Years' War, and by the 17th century, it was basically abandoned and left to crumble. Here’s what’s cool about Točník: it’s one of those castles that almost made the full transition into being a chateau. The place is dominated by these two partially intact palaces. One of them used to house the second-largest castle hall in Bohemia. The other, the smaller royal palace, is built on the most vulnerable side of the castle, which is pretty unusual. It’s got some top-notch architectural details and a crazy number of exits, so you could bail out of the palace or the castle in a hurry if you had to. Now, if you’re into exploring, the castle’s open to the public during visiting hours. And here’s something that’ll blow your mind—the castle moat is actually a bear sanctuary. They’ve got these two brown bears, Martin and Agáta, who were born on January 13, 2013, in Žatec. They even starred in a TV series called Méďové na cestách. Every year, they throw this big event at the castle called "Under the Sign of the Chalice." The Backstory So, in 1999, archaeologists dug into this place and found out that there was some kind of settlement up on Zámecký Hill way back in the Hallstatt period. There might have even been a fortification up there, but honestly, without more research, it’s hard to say if what they found is from that time or from the medieval castle. Wenceslas IV—The King Who Built It King Wenceslas IV started building Točník in the last quarter of the 14th century. They say he did it after the older Žebrák Castle burned down in 1395. But here’s the kicker—some experts, like František Záruba, think the construction actually started in the 1380s. No one’s sure of the exact start date, but by 1398, the king was already chilling at the castle. And even in 1400, they were still beefing up the defenses. The next year, Wenceslas IV signed the first document with privileges for České Budějovice at Točník. According to this historian, Dobroslava Menclová, Wenceslas IV was all about building Točník as this out-of-the-way, safe spot where he could escape during the rough times of his reign. A place where he could just kick back, feast, and hunt in the nearby forests. But another expert, Tomáš Durdík, says Točník was more of a castle-chateau hybrid where the defensive features were played down. You can see that in how the palace was set up on the most vulnerable side of the castle, or how they didn’t bother including a water source inside the castle walls. The only real defense was this first courtyard where the entrance road takes a sharp turn, kind of hinting at the later barbacans. In 1400, Točník was one of four castles, along with Žebrák, Karlštejn, and Křivoklát, that Wenceslas IV was supposed to hand over to his brother Sigismund. But Wenceslas was like, “Nope.” After the king got captured, Sigismund took over the castles, but then Margrave Prokop stepped in and negotiated to get at least Točník and Žebrák back. By 1405, Wenceslas IV had added the village of Bzová to Točník. The villagers had to do guard duty at the castle, bring water and wood to the kitchen and a chamber, and clean the courtyard. In return, they got food, the right to collect dry wood from the forests, and were freed from all payments. The first castellan at Točník was Bohuše of Drahkov, who got a bunch of payments from various monasteries and towns from the king. And he stayed in charge for quite a while. The king mostly stayed away from political stuff at Točník, but in 1409, there was a big meeting at the castle between the Czech and German parts of Prague University before they chose a new rector. Then, in 1412, Jan Hus and Štěpán of Páleč met there to try to sort out their beef over papal indulgences, but it didn’t go anywhere. The Kolovrat Takeover So, after 1413, Wenceslas IV got more into his New Castle at Kunratice and kind of forgot about Točník. When he died, Sigismund of Luxembourg made a quick visit to Točník and Žebrák in June 1420. The next year, he gave both castles to Erkinger of Seinsheim, the Schwarzenberg family’s ancestor, as a reward for supplying an army. Erkinger planned to marry off his daughter Eliška to Bedřich of Kolovrat and signed a prenuptial agreement in May 1421 that included the transfer of the castles to Bedřich. During the Hussite Wars, the Hussites tried to siege Žebrák and Točník in 1425 with about 900 cavalry and 7,000 infantry. The siege lasted three days, but the castles held out, even though the Hussites burned down Žebrák and Hořovice. By 1427, Habart of Adlar was in charge of the military stuff at the castle. In 1433, Erkinger of Seinsheim and his son Heřman decided to give up Točník and Žebrák to the Kolovrat family for good. The formal transfer happened in 1437, but the real handover was back on June 8, 1430. They even took stock of the castle’s supplies—things like food and weapons. Back then, the castle had four cannons, three bombards, five handguns, eleven arquebuses, and two broken arquebuses. They had a few barrels of gunpowder, three hundredweight of lead bullets, and a bunch of arrows. As for food, they had five half-barrels of old beer, some peas, two pigs, dried fish, butter, and even pepper. In the cellar, there were eleven hams, four stones of salt, and some dried meat on spits. Later on, Emperor Sigismund confirmed the Kolovrat family’s right to keep the castle, but with the catch that if he wanted to buy it back, they had to hand it over right away. After his dad’s death, Hanuš II of Kolovrat became the castle’s lord. King George of Poděbrady wanted to buy it back, probably because he didn’t want important castles in the hands of a Catholic lord. Hanuš dragged his feet on giving it up, so the king’s sons ended up taking over the pledge. They handed it off to Bedřich of Šumburk, who, despite being Catholic, stayed loyal to the king. The Gutštejn Era Bedřich was still running things at Žebrák in 1475, but by 1484, Burian II of Gutštejn had taken over Točník. After Burian died, his son Kryštof of Gutštejn inherited both Žebrák and Točník. In 1509, Kryštof got into hot water with the land court for a bunch of violent acts. He only asked for mercy after an army was raised against him. Eventually, he handed over the castles of Žebrák, Točník, Příbram, Rabštejn, and Sychrov to King Vladislav. The king paid for about half of their value, and to get the money, he had to raise a special tax. In August 1509, King Vladislav himself visited Žebrák and Točník. In 1515, Jan Kozelka of Hřivice was serving as captain. The 16th Century and Beyond After King Vladislav died, Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál claimed the Točník estate since he had lent the king a bunch of money. He got the estate in pledge around 1517 and held onto it until 1522, when Jan of Vartenberk redeemed it for 850 groschen. Up until then, the pledge holders had mostly just taken advantage of the estate’s income and didn’t do much for the castle itself. Jan of Vartenberk got permission to spend a bunch of money fixing the place up, including digging a well. They built a new path, a western gate, and some stables. In 1534, Jan of Vartenberk handed over the pledge to Volf the Elder of Krajíř, who passed it to his relative Volf the Younger. Volf the Younger did some repairs and then passed Točník to Jan the Younger of Valdštejn in 1544. Jan the Younger got permission for more repairs in 1549 and even bought back part of the estate from another family. By 1552, King Ferdinand I had bought back the estate but then immediately pledged it again to Jan the Elder of Lobkowicz for a ton of money. Jan later asked to buy Točník outright, and the king agreed in 1557. Jan made some big changes to the castle, including adding a wall that divided the large courtyard and hall and lowering the Gothic windows. The renovations were finished in 1567. When Jan died in 1569, his son Jan V Popel of Lobkowicz inherited the estate. In 1578, his daughter got married at Točník. Jan V died in 1590, and the estate was divided among his brothers. Bohuslav Havel got Točník but tried to trade it with Emperor Rudolf II for something else. That didn’t work out, so he left it to his brother Ladislav, who ended up losing it all in a scandal and had to flee the country. Emperor Rudolf took over Točník after Bohuslav Havel died in 1597. The Seventeenth Century and the End of the Line When the Thirty Years’ War started, Točník had only three cannons. In 1620, they tried to gear up, but imperial troops trashed the place later that year. By 1639, Swedish troops were wreaking havoc in the area, and Točník became a refuge. In 1641, they managed to get four cannons and about thirty musketeers stationed at the castle. Eventually, the town of Žebrák officially asked to use Točník as a refuge, and the royal chamber said yes. But the castle wasn’t in great shape. By 1642, it was so run-down that Captain Kolenec complained about the burghers of Žebrák leaving tons of manure in the castle. They finally locked the place up. The last military garrison was there in 1648, but they didn’t stay long, and Točník was pretty much abandoned after that. By 1674, only a gatekeeper lived there, and even though it was still habitable in 1681, the last repairs were done in the late 1680s. After that, the castle started to seriously deteriorate. Modern Times In the 18th century, Točník was pledged a couple of times. Eventually, in the 19th century, Bethel Henry Strousberg bought the place, but in 1875 he sold it to the Colloredo-Mansfeld family. In 1923, the Czechoslovak Tourist Club bought Točník and did some work to secure it, but they also made some changes that weren’t too kind to the old castle. After World War II, the castle became state property, and from 1994, it was managed by the State Castles of the Křivoklát Region. Since 2003, the National Monument Institute has been in charge. The castle moat is home to two brown bears, Martin and Agáta, born in 2013. And, in 2007, they started a pretty intense reconstruction of the Royal Palace’s roof, using this medieval-style wooden crane. It was all done under the supervision of carpenter Petr Růžička and designer Vít Mlázovský, based on a drawing from the Bible of Wenceslas IV. The crane could lift up to a ton and was powered by human strength. It was a practical solution since the castle is tough to access with modern equipment.