Letovice Castle, Gothic Revival château in Letovice, Czech Republic

Letovice Castle stands on a rocky spur above the town, about 40 km north of Brno. Its core was rebuilt in the early Baroque into a château with an irregular triangular ground plan, and the Kálnoky family gave it its present appearance through Empire and Neo-Gothic alterations, adding stables and summer and winter riding halls.

The castle was founded around 1360 and initially belonged to the lords of Letovice before being destroyed by Hussite forces in the 15th century. This early destruction marked a turning point in its history.

The castle's name comes from the lords of Letovice, who held it from the 13th century; the Marco Polo travelogue Milion was translated into Czech here around 1400. The stone tombstones of the Hardek family, owners from 1544, are in the church of St. Procopius in the town.

The castle can be visited without guided tours and provides access to restored rooms and areas still undergoing renovation. Visitors should allow time to explore as different parts of the building are in varying states of completion.

At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, Marco Polo's travel book Il Milione was translated into Czech at the castle, one of the earliest vernacular renderings of the work. The Kálnoky family, owners from 1820 to 1945, gave the castle its present appearance; Gustav Kálnoky, Austrian-Hungarian foreign minister from 1881 to 1885, laid out the romantic Gothic English park on the slope.