Horní Beřkovice – Castle History and Cycling Routes in Podřipsko

Castle, Park, and Historical Landmarks

Horní Beřkovice combines castle history, an extensive English-style park, visible memorial sites, and local, unofficial cycling routes through easy terrain. For families with children, this offers a change between cultural discovery and a bike ride; at the same time, the town remains interesting through its historical landmarks if you want to combine different travel interests.

Horní Beřkovice Castle was built between 1738 and 1756 by Count Adam František Hartig. A psychiatric institution was established there in 1890. The castle complex includes an extensive park designed in the English style at the beginning of the 19th century. There is a fountain in the courtyard, while a statue of Hygieia stands in front of the northwest façade. The cenotaph of Antoinetta Hartigová was created in the castle park between 1790 and 1792 by František Xaver Lederer.

Culture and Notable Figures

Another historical connection is the medieval fortress of Beškov, which was converted into a Baroque château in 1684 by Kryštof Ferdinand ze Scheidleru. Above the current fire station, the former main gate, now bricked up, is still visible in the castle’s enclosing wall. Klementina Kalašová was born on September 9, 1850, in the former Baroque château in Horní Beřkovice. She began her artistic career by studying piano with Bedřich Smetana in Prague and achieved her first major success at the Imperial Opera in Saint Petersburg in 1869.

The Horní Beřkovice Multifunctional Centre is located in the renovated Art Nouveau Church of St. Wenceslas on the grounds of the psychiatric clinic. The church was consecrated in 1942. During the occupation, an altar from Prague’s Straka Academy was brought to the church to protect it from destruction. In this way, architectural history, art, and historical memory come together in Horní Beřkovice within a compact thematic setting.

Memorial Sites and Regional Discoveries

At the edge of Horní Beřkovice in the direction of Mělník stands the White Cross, erected in 1855. It commemorates the rescue of Emperor Franz Joseph I after his carriage horses bolted. Another iron cross near the chapel at the lower gate of the psychiatric clinic was erected in 1853 in gratitude for the recovery of Luis, the son of Count František Desfours-Walde Rode. The pilgrimage from Horní Beřkovice was traditionally held in early July to commemorate the burning of Jan Hus.

In the surrounding Podřipsko area, Mount Říp and the Rotunda of St. George at its summit are considered the most visited site in the entire region. Horní Beřkovice has local, unofficial cycling routes through easy terrain that is also suitable for families with children. The grounds of the psychiatric clinic also have a central parking lot with 60 spaces.

Discover More Destinations

For further travel planning, you can also explore Terezín, Litoměřice-Město, Trnovany, Jenčice, Štětí, Evaň, Martiněves, and Travčice.

For the broader travel overview: Litoměřice District.