Pardubice Castle, Renaissance castle in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

Pardubice Castle is a four-winged Renaissance palace with a closed inner courtyard, built on the site of a 13th-century water castle. Its white facade carries a raised diamond-patterned texture, and a slender clock tower with a black onion dome stands at one side. A short bridge leads to an arched entrance framed by carved stonework.

A water castle stood here from the 13th century; after the Hussite wars it was rebuilt with a stone wall and corner turrets. In 1491 Vilém II of Pernštejn bought the estate and turned it into a four-winged palace ringed by massive earthwork fortifications. His sons continued the Renaissance work, and in 1560 Jaroslav of Pernštejn sold it to the crown.

The castle houses displays of regional crafts and local traditions that show how people lived and worked in this area. Visitors can see how the building served as a center of power and influence for the surrounding communities.

Plan to explore multiple levels and older rooms that may be uneven due to their age and history. Guided tours are available in different languages and provide context for understanding the building's architecture and the displayed collections.

In the castle courtyard, archaeologists uncovered in early 2020 the opuka-stone masonry of a donjon 2.4 metres thick, probably part of the 14th-century water castle. A hidden civil-defence shelter for the regional command staff, built in 1953, survives in the rampart with its telephone exchange, decontamination room and diesel generator.