Castle in Kostelec nad Černými lesy, Renaissance château in Kostelec nad Černými lesy, Czech Republic

The castle in Kostelec nad Černými lesy is a former aristocratic residence, rebuilt as a Renaissance château after a fire in 1548 under Ferdinand I, with plans by Hans Tirol and Ulrico Aostalli de Sala. The core of the older castle was reinforced with a parkán wall and four round corner towers; a massive barbakan and a three-part kitchen building partly survive, and the wide moat and outer rampart date from the Renaissance rebuilding.

The castle began as a royal fortress founded in the 13th century, likely by Přemysl Otakar II. In 1548 a fire damaged it, and King Ferdinand I had it rebuilt as a Renaissance château to plans by Hans Tirol and Ulrico Aostalli. From 1558 Jaroslav Smiřický made it his family's main seat.

The castle was called Černý Kostelec until 1920, when it took the name Kostelec nad Černými lesy; its German name is Schwarzkosteletz. From 1759 Duchess Maria Theresa of Savoy-Liechtenstein made the castle her residence and kept a court there. In 2011 the episode "Klášterní tajemství" of the series Kriminálka Anděl was filmed at the castle.

The castle has been open to the public in the summer months since June 2021; the grounds sit in the centre of Kostelec nad Černými lesy, east of Prague. The interiors belong to the School Forest Enterprise of the Czech University of Life Sciences, so visiting arrangements follow its seasonal opening.

The castle is managed by the Czech Agricultural University, which operates a forest company inside and uses the income for building maintenance. This unusual arrangement shows how such monuments are preserved today through practical use.