Kost
- Classification
- Château fort
- Pays
- Tchéquie
- Région
- Jičín
- Adresse
- Podkost 1, 507 43 Sobotka
The Gothic castle of Kost stands in the Bohemian Paradise region, only a few dozen metres from the boundary between the Central Bohemian and Hradec Králové regions. It is one of the best-preserved High Gothic castles in Bohemia and has been inscribed on the list of immovable cultural monuments of the Czech Republic since 1964. The castle was founded and built before 1349 by Beneš the Younger of Vartemberk, who had previously resided at the manor in Sobotka. Construction was completed by his sons Petr and Markvart of Vartemberk. At the end of the 14th century a Chapel of the Virgin Mary — later rededicated to St Anne — was built on the fourth courtyard. The granddaughter of Petr of Vartemberk, Škuňka, married Mikuláš Zajíc of Házmburk in 1414, and their descendants held the castle for practically the entire 15th century. The last owner of Kost Castle from the Zajíc family was Mikuláš's grandson, also named Mikuláš Zajíc, for whom, owing to his minority, Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál was appointed guardian. He sold the Kost estate in 1497 to the Supreme Chancellor of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Jan of Šelmberg, to settle the Zajíc family's debts. Subsequent owners of the castle were: the lords of Biberštejn (1524–1551) and thereafter the lords, and from 1624 the princes, of Lobkowicz (1551–1637). In the 17th century the castle was briefly held (between 1632 and 1634) by Duke Albrecht of Wallenstein. The castle then reverted to the Lobkowicz family, from whom it was purchased by the Counts Černín of Chudenice (1637–1738), followed by Václav Kazimír Netolický of Eisenberk (from 1738) and the related Counts Vratislav-Netolický (briefly until 1769). The property eventually passed through the female line to the Italian family of Flaminio dal Borgo-Netolický. The last owner of the castle was Anna Marie dal Borgo Netolická, from whom the castle was confiscated in 1948. During the Communist era the castle was converted into a museum and the spaces of the former granary in the palace buildings were adapted as exhibition halls of medieval visual art. Between 1945 and 1950 the castle was administered by the Ministry of Education and subsequently became a state castle. In 1992 the property was returned in restitution, not to Anna Marie, but to her husband Norbert Kinský, who transferred it to his two sons Giovanni and Pio Kinský dal Borgo, who are the current owners. The castle is open from April to October and offers visitors four guided tour routes in total.