Polná Castle, Baroque castle in Polná, Czech Republic

Polná Castle is a castle and château on the western edge of Polná's historic centre, above the Peklo pond. Of the medieval castle only the two-storey western wing survives, rebuilt in the Renaissance; the inner courtyard is enclosed by a rampart wall with a bastion at its north-west corner, and a reconstruction of the original foundations is set into the ground. The courtyard holds a statue of Božena Němcová by Jan Adolf Vítek.

The castle was probably founded around 1320 by Jindřich of Lipá above the confluence of the Šlapanka and Ochozský streams to guard a land route, and it is first mentioned in 1356 when Čeněk of Lipá transferred Polná to Ješek Ptáček of Pirknštejn. In 1468 Jiří of Poděbrady chose Polná as his temporary seat during his campaign against Matthias Corvinus. After a fire in 1584 it was rebuilt in Renaissance style as a château, and in 1690–1693 it received its Baroque form under Ferdinand of Dietrichstein. A huge fire in 1794 left only the western wing standing.

The three first-floor halls of the west wing are named after former owners: the Pirknštejn, Hradecký and Kunštátský halls. The Kunštátský hall takes its name from the coats of arms on its cross vault, and a door portal on the ground floor bears the Kunštát emblem. The courtyard holds a statue of Božena Němcová by Jan Adolf Vítek.

The castle stands on the western edge of Polná's historic centre, above the Peklo pond. Enter from the town through the open gateway where the former gate stood, or from the Kateřinské suburb through the preserved gate with a Latin inscription. The museum exhibitions and the repaired castle sections are open to the public during visiting hours.

The castle courtyard holds a statue of writer Božena Němcová by Jan Adolf Vítek, and on the ground a reconstruction traces the foundations of the original castle buildings. A legend says a treasure was walled up by the two sons of a deaf gatekeeper, later removed as inconvenient witnesses.