Seeberg Castle is located in the middle of a historically significant region that was once called Egerland (Chebsko). At its greatest extent, Egerland spread over the territory of the present-day Czech Republic, Bavaria and Saxony. With the beginning of the Staufer rule, it was annexed to the Holy Roman Empire and only returned after about two centuries. At the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, ministerial residences were established in the Chebsko region, including Seeberg Castle. Seeberg was built on a rocky promontory towering above the Slatinný potok valley, from which the modern name Ostroh was derived for the castle and the adjacent settlement after World War II. As evidenced by the discovery of several ceramic shards, the history of settlement of the promontory itself dates back to the Early Bronze Age. The castle's establishment can probably be dated to the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, as evidenced by a building-historical survey.
Seberg Castle. End of the 19th century
The Seeberg Castle complex consists of a forecourt, where visitors will find a two-story Baroque barn with an exhibition of Egerland furniture. Next to the barn is a tower granary, which was moved here from a defunct farm in the village of Mlýnek. There is also a shed with an exhibition of 19th-century agricultural machinery and a dovecote. The Baroque barn is the original building of the castle, along with the caretaker's office, where people buy tickets. The remaining objects were brought here to complete the atmosphere of the farm forecourt.
The castle complex itself consists of two palaces. Romanesque and Gothic, which are connected by a Renaissance corridor. Both palaces, the Romanesque one from the 12th century and the Gothic one from the 14th century, originally stood separately on this site, and were only connected by a corridor in the 16th century. The most interesting parts of the castle are the chapel and the black kitchen. The castle chapel, which functioned for believers until the 15th century. Subsequently, the then owner of the castle, Kašpar Juncker, had the church of St. Wolfgang built on the opposite bank of the Slatinný stream. The most important owners of the castle were the Šliks, followed by the Junckers, Neiperks, Brandts, Steinheims and Gerards. Seeberg Castle had far more owners, but these families owned the castle the longest of all. And it was also during their rule that the castle underwent the largest reconstructions.
The castle received the greatest blow of fate during the Thirty Years' War, when it was burned down by the Swedes. The castle was badly damaged and the then owner of the castle, Vít Dětřich of Steinheim, made great efforts to repair and save the entire castle area. The second sad period for the castle was the time after World War II, when it became very desolate. In the 1980s, a demolition order was even issued for it. It was saved by students from the Cheb grammar school, led by Milan Maňák. Subsequently, it was taken over by the Františkovy Lázně Museum, which carried out extensive reconstruction between 1986 and 1990 and then opened the castle to the public. There is an exhibition of the development of 19th-century interiors. There is also a tower granary from the 18th century on the dam with an exhibition on the development of agriculture, and in the shed people can find an exhibition of historical agricultural machinery.
Photo 1-3: Seeberg Castle