Ctěnice Castle, Baroque castle and museum in Vinoř, Czech Republic

Ctěnice Castle stands in the settlement of Ctěnice, part of Vinoř and Prague 9 since 1974. The two-storey building rises around a small five-sided courtyard, with a hipped roof, lizene-framed facades and blind pilaster arcades on the courtyard's ground floor. A vaulted bridge crosses the partly preserved moat to the entrance tower, which was lowered and topped with a triangular gable, onion dome and lantern in the 1730s classicising baroque rebuild by architect Václav Špaček.

The Gothic fortress at Ctěnice was first documented in 1372, when the Prague burgher Jan Zeiselmeister bought it from Gery Galmová; marshy meadows and a rock-cut moat protected it. Around 1550 Mikuláš Hrzán z Harasova rebuilt it as a Renaissance château with arcades facing the courtyard. In the 1730s the Windischgrätz family had it remodelled in classicising Baroque style by the Prague architect Václav Špaček, and the Schoellers held it from 1849 until confiscation in 1945.

The permanent exhibitions cover the history of craft guilds from the Middle Ages to the present, the history of Vinoř from prehistory to the 20th century, and the building history and restoration of the Ctěnice estate. Accompanying events include Masopust, an apple harvest, St Hubert's celebrations and Advent and Easter workshops.

The castle is reachable by regular bus from Prague and works well as a day trip from the city. Guided tours are available on site, so it is worth checking opening times before you go.

The castle's entrance tower lost its octagonal upper section in the 18th-century rebuild and was capped with a triangular gable, onion dome and lantern. A vaulted bridge still crosses the partly preserved moat, which was originally cut into the rock. The granary, now a hotel, is considered the most valuable of the farm buildings.