Czechia · Ruin
Žebrák Castle
Žebrák Castle is a medieval hilltop castle ruin in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, built in the late 13th century and later owned by the Luxembourg dynasty. It stands on a rocky, tree-covered slope above a village and is paired closely with nearby Točník Castle; together they form a protected national cultural monument.
First raised
1300
Its prime
1390
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1390
What Žebrák Castle looked like in its prime.
A tall, largely cylindrical stone tower (bergfried) dominates the hilltop, with small vertical arrow-slit windows puncturing its smooth round shaft. Lower curtain walls and broken wall fragments run along a rocky, terraced slope covered in trees and scrub. Masonry is grey-brown ashlar and rubble. At the base of the hill are village buildings and a single masonry arch crossing the approach road; the summit area reads as a compact cluster of tower and short curtain, with ruined stretches and vertical masonry remnants.
Its story
The story of Žebrák Castle.
Žebrák Castle is a ruin in the Central Bohemian Region, built in the second half of the thirteenth century by Oldřich Zajíc III. The Zajíc family soon moved elsewhere, however, and sold the castle to the king; in 1336 the House of Luxembourg acquired Žebrák, and in 1346 John Henry started renovating it.
The castle stands almost right next to its neighbour Točník, the two making a picturesque pair protected together as one national cultural monument. In 1923 Žebrák was sold to the Czech Association of Tourists for 8,000 crowns, and it now belongs to the state.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1390.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Žebrák Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Žebrák Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1390, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Castle Siege
Play Castle Siege at Žebrák Castle.
A strategy game played on Žebrák Castle’s real ground plan: the same surveyed walls shown in the archive below. Post your finite garrison on the battlements between assaults, then hold out as rams, siege towers, trebuchets and sappers arrive in ever-worse waves.
Sign in free to see the garrison muster. One castle costs 150 Clan Coins and is yours forever.
Sign in to take command →Whose castle
Clans who held Žebrák Castle.
The families that held Žebrák Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Zajíc
Built by Oldřich Zajíc III in the later 13th century, before the family moved on and sold it to the king.
Luxembourg
Acquired by the House of Luxembourg in 1336; John Henry began renovating it in 1346.
From the archive
Žebrák Castle on paper: the measured plan and period views.
The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.
ŽEBRÁK A TOČNÍK.
1890s · A. Sedláček, Hrady, zámky a tvrze Království českého, díl 6 (1882–1927)
Public domain
Žebrák a Točník.
1890s · A. Sedláček, Hrady, zámky a tvrze Království českého, díl 6 (1882–1927)
Public domain
PLÁN ŽEBRÁKA (plan with legend). Legend line: "Vysvětlení plánu Žebráka: 1. Rybníky okolo hradu; 2. pivovar; 3. bývalý dům hejtmanský; 3. cesta ke hradu; 4. věž nad branou; 5. dolní ohrada; 6. venkovské staveni; 7. věžka; 8. velká věž; 9. starý palác; 10. dolní věž; 11. hradba chránící hrad; 12. stavení a hradby nad; 13. příkopem."
1890s · A. Sedláček, Hrady, zámky a tvrze Království českého, díl 6 (1882–1927)
Public domain
