Zákupy – Castle, Parks and Historic Bridges

Zákupy combines an impressive castle complex with historic buildings, varied park landscapes and excursion destinations in the surrounding countryside. During your stay, you can combine culture right in the town with a hike, a cycling tour or a visit to the outdoor swimming pool. A detail in the castle is particularly unusual, while the bridges and the Baroque sculptural ensemble reveal Zákupy’s historic character in several places.

Castle Complex with an Unusual Detail

Zákupy Castle has a passenger lift dating from 1870, which is considered the oldest surviving lift in the Czech Republic. Alongside the representative rooms, this technical and historic feature takes centre stage and adds something special to a visit to the castle.

The castle includes two garden areas with different designs. The French garden has two-level terraces, balustrades, niches and caryatids. The English park features an avenue, a variety of groups of trees and a pond with islands. The contrast between the strictly structured terraces and the more varied park landscape gives the castle grounds two clearly distinguishable forms.

The restored former stables in the castle’s service courtyard can also be visited. The first floor houses the “Zapomenuté zámky” exhibition, and a time-lapse documentary film is also shown. The historic character of the former stables remains part of the visitor experience.

Historic Traces in the Townscape

The Baroque sculptural ensemble “Nejsvětější trojice” stands on Svobody Square. It dates from 1708 and is 14 metres high. By the Capuchin monastery, the historic stone bridge “Kamenný most se sochami” connects the area at the eastern exit of Mírové Square. It dates from the early 18th century and is decorated with statues of Saint Blaise, Saint Procopius, Saint Cosmas, Saint Valentine, Saint Walburga and Saint Damian. The bridge and statues were reconstructed in 2015–2016.

Another historic stone bridge crosses the Svitava near the plague cemetery. It was built in 1849. Together with the bridge by the Capuchin monastery, it creates a route through different periods of the town’s local architectural and urban history.

Hiking, Cycling and Swimming

Kamenický vrch near Zákupy is one of the most interesting volcanic sites in North Bohemia. A hike involving an ascent of Kamenický vrch has a total length of approximately 6 km including the return journey. This approximate distance makes the route a clearly defined way to include the natural surroundings of Zákupy in your stay.

For a cycling tour, the “Malý zákupský okruh” route starts at the square in Zákupy. It passes the outdoor swimming pool and continues through Nové Zákupy. The outdoor swimming pool in Zákupy also offers paddleboard rental. There is parking on site; from the square in Zákupy, the outdoor swimming pool is signposted via Mimoňská Street after approximately 500 metres.

More Places to Compare

If you would like to compare Zákupy with other destinations, you can find Böhmisch Leipa, Noviny Pod Ralskem, Horní Police, Novy Bor, Újezd, Radeč, Okrouhlá U Nového Boru and Kravaře V Čechách here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Okres Česká Lípa.