The original royal castle of Přemysl Otakar II from the second half of
the 13th century was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century by the Lords
of Hradec. It received its present appearance under Count Jan Adam of
Schwarzenberg. According to the English Windsor example, architects
Franz Beer and F. Deworetzky built a Romantic Neo-Gothic chateau,
surrounded by a 1.9 square kilometres (0.73 sq mi) English park here in
the years 1841 to 1871. In 1940, the castle was seized from the last
owner, Adolph Schwarzenberg by the Gestapo and confiscated by the
government of Czechoslovakia after the end of WWII. The castle is opened
to public. There is a winter garden and riding-hall where the Southern
Bohemian gallery exhibitions have been housed since 1956.
The castle has been used in a scene of Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson's Shanghai Knights.
A notable part of the community is the Townshend International School which has been based in the town since 1992
