On Sunday, 30 August and 27 September, admission to selected guided tours at this site will be free of charge. Please obtain your free ticket in advance through the online booking system. Capacity for each guided tour is limited. On these special days, the following tours will be available: Adam's building (basic tour), Gothic palace (basic tour) and Black Tower with Black Kitchen
Black Tower + Black Kitchen
The Black Tower can be visited without guide. Jindřichův Hradec castle is a complex of large and expressive buildings and it isn't possible to say that the Black Tower is its dominant point, but it is certain that the tower contributes to castle's imposing look. Comparing to other observation towers the local Black Tower offers panoramic and beautiful view of the whole town and its wide surroundings. Newly, the visitors of the Black Tower may visit also the Black Kitchen.
Lords of Hradec had to build the Black Tower along with the Old Palace and castle's walls at the beginning of 13th century. Such towers were called "Berfgrieds". Their reason was partly defensive but they weren't built in the line of defensive walls like fortified towers but stood often apart from other castle's buildings, connected with them just with light wooden walkways. They had the function of watchtowers and were prepared for cases of fight within the castle - as the refuge towers for the last resistance. The local Bergfried's only entrance was originally in the height of 13 m. The later structural development connected the tower with the Old Palace.
The tower's measurement are interesting. The height and circuit are the same - 32 m (104,99 ft. or 35yd.). The diameter makes slightly more than 10 m. The only wall of the tower is approximately 4 m thick (13,12 ft. or 4,37 yd.) up to 20 m of its height.
The Black Tower was also used as the prison. There were also well known personalities of Czech history among the people imprisoned in the local tower - controversial preacher Martin Houska in January 1421 and Baron Zikmund of Vartenberg who was imprisoned for the betrayal of Czech King Albrech in 1438. Baron Zikmund died in the tower after few weeks. In 1784, the new entrance into tower was created in the ground floor and the tower was used as a prison for "insubordinate dependants". The last inhabitants of the tower were two Russian bears, which brought earl Jaromír Černín from his travels in 1848.
Opening hours
| Period | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1. 7.-31. 8. | mon | 10.00 – 17.00 |
| 1. 7.-31. 8. | tue–sun | 9.00 – 17.00 |
| 1. 9.-30. 9. | sat–sun | 10.00 – 12.00, 13.00 – 16.00 |
Admission
Without guide
- Adults 25 up to 64 years 80 CZK
- Seniors 65+ 60 CZK
- Youth 18 up to 24 years 60 CZK
- Persons with disabilities with valid identification card/certificate 60 CZK
- Children 6 up to 17 years 20 CZK
- Children under 5 years free
- Person accompanying a disabled person free
- Person accompanying a school group of 15 pupils/students free
- Guide accompanying a group of at least 15 persons free
- "MK ČR" card * not available
- ICOMOS card * not available
- Seasonal NPÚ ticket free
- Single NPÚ tickets free
- NPÚ card free
- "Náš člověk" card * free
- * Valid only for one person (card holder)
Other tours
This tour leads through the first floor of Adam's building. It presents especially the representative lifestyle of Czech kingdom's supreme officials - Lords of Hradec, who had very high expectations on the look of their main residence. The second half of the tour shows chambers with younger - baroque and classicistic furnishings, which remember...
this tour is available today 9.00 – 16.30
240 CZK (full admission) Buy ticket
duration 60 minutes
max. 30 people
reservation needed for groups only
annual pass does apply
Gothic palace tour was newly furnished with many interesting exhibits, archeological finds and equipped with the new lighting lately. The tour represents, in an attractive way, the life style of the supreme chancellors, burgraves and judges of the Bohemian Kingdom, Lords of Hradec. The interiors of the Gothic Palace offer an overview of the...
this tour is available today 9.30 – 16.15
180 CZK (full admission) Buy ticket
duration 70 minutes
max. 25 people
reservation needed for groups only
annual pass does apply
The exhibition shows the original exhibits, artefacts and museum replicas from the own collection of Arnošt Vašíček. Second part of the museum is the exhibition Czernins - ambassadors, travellers, collectors which presents many unique objects collected by Černíns during their diplomatic missions. And finally the third part of the museum...
this tour is available today 10.00 – 16.00
(full admission) Buy ticket
duration 0 minutes
max. 40 people
reservation needed for groups only
annual pass does apply
The selection of tours presents the bigger part of the castle's structural development. The visitors will see the buildings and interiors from the gothic period to the late Renaissance. The tour starts in the old Black kitchen, continues in the representative chambers of the Lords of Hradec and ends in the music pavilion Rondell.
this tour is not available today
220 CZK (full admission)
duration 60 minutes
max. 40 people
reservation needed for groups only
annual pass does apply