Pořešín Castle

Pořešín Castle was built around 1280 on a promontory above the Malše River 4 kilometres north of the town of Kaplice in the Český Krumlov district. The founder was Bavor I. of Strakonice, who received the territory as a wedding dowry of his wife Anezka, daughter of King Přemysl Otakar II. In 1317, it passed by exchange into the hands of the Knights of Vitějovice, who took the surname of Pořešín. After the death of the last knight of Pořešín in 1423, the castle changed hands until it was taken over by Oldřich II of Rožmberk, who had it burnt and razed to the ground in 1433 for fear of Hussite hordes. After 570 years the castle was taken over by the association Castles on the Malše and repairs began immediately, which have continued to this day. Pořešín Castle is now a restored ruin with a tour route equipped with pictorial panels showing its original appearance. The site includes a historic forge, kitchen, pottery and museum. During the season, the U Markýše tavern with complete sanitary facilities is open. The most interesting artefact is the Pořešín groschen and the legend of the Pořešín squirrel is famous.
From history to the present on a timeline

Around 1270

The Pořešín estate passed as a wedding dowry of Anežka, daughter of King Přemysl Otrakar II, to Bavor of Strakonice, who built a castle on a promontory above the Malší River.

1278

Death of King Přemysl Otakar II on the Moravian Field

1310

Jan of Luxembourg takes over the government of the Kingdom of Bohemia

1312

The purgrave Vojta is remembered at the castle

1315

Bavarian III donates large estates around Černice to the Golden Crown Monastery from the Pořešín estate

1317

Bavor III of Strakonice exchanges the Pořešín estate for the estate of Vitějovice Castle with the brothers Přibyslav, Verner and Rack, who are further remembered as servants of the Rožmberk family

1346

The accession of King Charles IV to the Czech throne

1358

The manor was taken over by Markvart I. together with his brothers Přibík and Ješek

1360

Markvart I. Purgrave at the Rožmberk Castle

1369

Markvart I. made guardians of his children Peter, Jošt and Jan of Rožmberk

1375

Markvart I. becomes independent at Pořešín, Přibík creates a new branch of the family at the fortress in Desky

1378

Death of Emperor Karel IV.

1381

Marquart I. is the Hofmister of the last wife of Empress Elisabeth of Pomerania

1382

Markvart I. and Hroch of Maršovice grant Kaplice its first town rights

1402

Jaroslav of Pořešín, son of Markvart, rector of the law faculty of Charles University and administrator of the Prague archbishopric in spiritual matters

1406

Death of Markvart I. of Pořešín, all 7 of Markvart's sons and daughters have already died, only six-year-old grandson Markvart II. and four-year-old granddaughter Anna remain alive

1407

Leadership of Matěj the leader's band on the Pořešín estate, one of the leaders was Jan Žižka of Trocnov

1410

Hroch of Maršovice as a guardian over underage children

1418

Markvart II. of Pořešín takes over the estate, marries his sister Anna to Kamaret of Žirovnice

1419

Death of King Václav IV.

1423

The death of Markvart II under unclear circumstances, the attempted storming of the castle and its betrayal by the servants Jan and Matěj of Prachatice to the Hussites

1423

The attack on Kaplice by Hussites from Prague and the burning of the parish priest in the church

1424

Castle held by Jan and Hrošek of Maršovice, sons of Hroch

1433

Pořešín threatened by Jan Čapek of Sán, after his departure briefly held by unknown owners and finally occupied by Oldřich II of Rožmberk

1434

Emperor Zikmund of Luxembourg gave Oldřich of Rožmberk in Basel the Pořešín castle and estate as an inheritance, who had it burnt and razed the same year, fearing that it would become a stronghold of the defecting Hussite hordes.

2002

After 568 years since the abandonment of Pořešín Castle, Radek Kocanda founds the Society for Pořešín Castle, whose members begin to clear the overgrown ruins of the castle and prepare the first rescue work

2003

Václav Havel ends his second presidential term

2004

Radek Kocanda and Josef Kaloš found the association Hradi na Malši, which continues preparations for the repair of Pořešín Castle and takes over the castles of Velešín, Louzek and Sokolčí

2005

The association succeeds in gaining Prof. Tomáš Durdík from the Archaeological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic as its honorary chairman, who, until his untimely death, became the expert guarantor of archaeological excavations and repairs of individual castles, and at the same time the driving force behind all important decisions of the association.

2008

The association establishes cooperation with the Austrian castles of Ruttenstein and Prandegg and obtains funds from European funds for the repair of the castle and the construction of a castle museum

2010

In the castle, considered a classic example of the towerless type, a refuge tower is discovered during archaeological research

2012

The basic conservation of the castle is completed, which is also surrounded by a wooden palisade, during the research the course of the medieval water embankment in the forecastle is uncovered

2013

Death of Prof. Tomáš Durdík

2014

The Honorary Chairman is Ing. Arch. Petr Chotěbor, his old friend and childhood classmate

2015

Radek Kocanda receives the Award of the Governor of the South Bohemian Region

2017

In cooperation with 10 Austrian castles, the association successfully applied for a grant to repair the fortress in Tichá and to build a sub-fortress in Pořešín

2018

Radek Kocanda, a long-time executive, becomes the chairman of the association

2020

The association is completing the fencing of the Pořešín castle and is preparing to build an open-air museum of endangered buildings from south-west Bohemia, archaeological research of the castle armoury is underway

Castle Museum

The archaeological museum at Pořešín Castle in South Bohemia is unique among museums in Czech castle ruins. Thanks to many years of research under the leadership of the late doyen of Czech castle archaeology, Prof. Tomáš Durdík of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Hradi na Malši Association has collected an extensive collection of finds from Pořešín Castle and our other castles, which is an exceptional example of castle everyday life and which illustrates the standard of living of medieval man in the 14th and 15th centuries in the Czech-Austrian border region.

Visitors to the museum can thus not only learn about the history of the castle and its inhabitants, but can also observe the development and examples of everyday objects, such as kitchen and tableware, knives, sewing tools, iron and bone tools, including parts of riding harnesses or construction tools. The exhibition also includes an exhibition of militaria from the life of the castle.

Among the most interesting exhibits are two rings - a golden ladies' ring decorated with beating and a bronze men's ring decorated with a facet with scalloping. A separate section of the exhibition is devoted to medieval numismatics with examples of various coinage minted between 1280 and 1387. Special attention is paid to the so-called 'Pořešínský grosz' from the reign of King Václav IV, found during the research of the castle palace in 2009. In addition to the Pořešín grosz, you will also find a set of grosz minted by other rulers of the Bohemian Kingdom from Václav II. Another interesting part of the exhibition is the section dedicated to medieval clothing and jewellery. Here you will find decorative bells, yarn spindles, belt buckles, a bone needle and other exhibits. The exhibition is complemented by a model of the castle and a set of drawings that faithfully depict the appearance and life of the castle at the time of its greatest glory. We have not forgotten the life of the subjects in the nearby village.

Opening Hours
MonthDayHours
AprilSAT, SUN10 - 18
MaySAT, SUN10 - 18
JuneFRI, SAT, SUN10 - 18
JulyTUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT, SUN10 - 18
AugustTUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT, SUN10 - 18
SeptemberSAT, SUN10 - 17
OctoberSAT, SUN10 - 17
national holidays10 - 18
Ticket price
CategoryPrice (CZK)
Normal ticket100
Children 6-15 y/o80
Children under 6Free
PWD80