Hartenberg (or Hartenberk) is the ruin of a castle over the village of Hřebeny in the municipality of Josefov in the Karlovy Vary Region of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

History

Hartenberg Castle was built by the lords of Hartenberg, probably in 1196. The first written mention is from 1214. The Hartenberg family owned the castle until 1362, when Těma of Koldice obtained it from them and traded it in 1364 with Charles IV for Bautzen. At the beginning of 15th century the Hartenberg family received the castle again but soon sold it to Jan Maleřík. His descendants used the castle as the center of robbery attacks and that was why in 1459 the castle was besieged by the military of the town

Cheb Cheb (; german: Eger) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Ohře. Before the 1945 Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of the German-speaking population ...

, conquered and plundered. Later the Schlicks owned the castle, the town of

Loket Loket (; german: Elbogen) is a town of in Sokolov District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,100 inhabitants. The town centre itself features Loket Castle, a 12th-century Gothic castle. The town centre is well prese ...

and the Písnic family who held it more than 150 years. In the second half of the 18th century, the Ausperg family inherited the castle. From the 17th to the 19th century, modifications occurred. The last owner of Hartenberg was Františka Kopalová who inherited it in 1913 from her mother, Marie. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she was expelled and relocated to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After 1945, the castle was owned by the State Forestry Service and was used as a warehouse and granary. In 1983, there were plans for its reconstruction, but it never panned out. From 1984–91, the castle was several times deliberately set on fire and turned into ruins. The castle is now owned by Bedřich Loos,Dobrovolníci z celého světa opravují hrad
''denik.cz: 2009-06-03 a private owner who tries to maintain and repair the castle. As a result of his ownership, there is now the Hartenberg Workshop. Already, more than a thousand volunteers from all over the world have participated in the repair of the castle. This workshop is the largest volunteer program in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Gallery

Hartenberg_castel_Hřebeny_2010-08-21_(01).jpg, Castle palace (from courtyard) Hartenberg castel Hřebeny 2010-08-21 (04).jpg, Castle palace (from entrance road)

References

External links

* {{authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Castles in the Karlovy Vary Region Ruined castles in the Czech Republic Tourist attractions in the Karlovy Vary Region Sokolov District