Hrádek in Kutná Hora: A Historic Fortified Residence and Museum

Visitor Information

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Official Website: www.cms-kh.cz

Country: Czechia

Civilization: Medieval European

Site type: Military

Remains: Castle

History

Hrádek is a historic fortified residence located in the town of Kutná Hora in the present-day Czech Republic. Its origins trace back to the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries when it was constructed by the local medieval inhabitants to protect the developing mining settlement from western approaches.

The earliest written reference to Hrádek appears in 1312, describing a small wooden fortress. During the mid-14th century, the wooden core tower was rebuilt in stone, enhancing its defensive capabilities. In the early 15th century, Václav z Donína, a royal official known as a reeve, undertook significant reconstruction between 1400 and 1420. He transformed the site into a late Gothic fortified residence composed of two residential wings facing each other, joined by a defensive wall and flanked by functional buildings. An older tower was incorporated into the palace wing during this phase.

Ownership shifted over time among royal administrators and successful ore traders. After suffering damage during the Hussite wars in the early 15th century, the property came into the possession of Jan Smíšek z Vrchoviště, a leading merchant involved in ore and copper trades. In the late 15th century, Smíšek substantially renovated Hrádek, turning it into a patrician palace. The updated residence featured expansive halls, projecting window bays known as oriels, a chapel, and decorations reflecting the town’s mining heritage. Painted ceilings from this period also demonstrate early Renaissance artistic influences.

In the 17th century, the building underwent further extension with an additional floor added to the southern wing around 1620. Several decades later, in 1684, the Jesuit order took ownership, converting Hrádek into a seminary and later establishing a school. This institution remained active until the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773. Afterwards, the building housed other educational facilities, including a teachers’ training institute.

During the early 20th century, the town of Kutná Hora acquired Hrádek with the goal of creating a museum. However, progress stalled due to the outbreak of the world wars. After wartime delays, restoration work occurred between 1952 and 1959, briefly allowing the site to serve as a museum. A more comprehensive renovation took place in the 1990s, stabilizing the stonework and restoring frescoes and historic wood ceilings. This phase culminated in 1996 with the opening of the Czech Museum of Silver exhibition, showcasing the town’s mining past.

The museum today holds extensive collections dedicated to mining and metallurgy, currency, and local traditional crafts. Among its features is a medieval mining tunnel known as St. George’s adit dating from the 14th century, which visitors can explore, providing insight into the region’s rich metallurgical history.

Remains

Hrádek presents a complex layout blending medieval fortification elements with residential architecture. Originally established as a tower-like stronghold on the town’s southwestern edge, the site centers around a core tower whose cellar walls survive beneath the current two-story structure. Initially constructed mostly of wood, this tower was rebuilt in stone in the mid-14th century, reflecting its growing defensive importance.

By the early 15th century, the fortress expanded to include two main residential wings arranged opposite each other. The western palace wing adjoined the town walls and featured a tower at its northern end. On its western facade, windows were originally small ventilation openings, designed to minimize vulnerability, though these were enlarged in the 18th century after the building ceased functioning defensively.

One of the fortress’s most notable interior spaces is the Knight’s Hall, located on the first floor of the tower. This large secular room boasts a late Gothic ribbed vault supported by a slender central column without a capital—a style characteristic of the era. The hall is lit by three rectangular windows facing the garden and street, and is distinguished by a painted early Renaissance coffered ceiling dated to 1493, decorated with stylized plant motifs.

The eastern wing preserves only the perimeter walls, which include later vaulting added during subsequent renovations. A courtyard lay between the two wings, enclosed to the south by a defensive wall, while economic buildings lined the northern side. Access to the first floor once required ascending a staircase situated in the courtyard’s southeast corner, with wooden galleries connecting parts of the structure; traces of these galleries remain on the west side.

Jan Smíšek’s 15th-century reconstruction introduced several distinctive elements. The buildings were crowned with steep gabled roofs covered in colorful glazed tiles, a garden was laid out on the western side, and original fortifications were removed to suit its new residential character. The palace was remodeled in the Jagiellonian Gothic style, characterized by decorative stone carvings featuring mining motifs that reflect the town’s economic base.

A significant addition from this period is the chapel of St. Wenceslas, erected in 1504 at the northeast corner. The chapel features a net vault formed by ribs springing from simple corbels aligned with a window cornice, and contains original religious frescoes predating its construction. Its five Gothic windows bear coats of arms belonging to local noble families as well as the Smíšek family, linking the chapel to the social context of its patrons.

The design highlights representational functions through two oriels at the first-floor level. The northeastern oriel, supported by a tapered column, contains five slender Gothic windows and is part of the chapel space. On the western side, another oriel stands on a column carved with animal figures, floral patterns, and cherubic putti. This oriel serves as a viewing balcony with rectangular windows and retains its original stone roof.

During the 17th century, when the Jesuits took over, modifications were made that altered some Gothic interiors. Several late Gothic vaults were either covered or removed, the coffered ceiling in the western wing was concealed, new partitions were installed, window openings rearranged, and decorative details taken out.

Subsequent changes in the 18th and 19th centuries adapted the building for use as a school. Wooden galleries were removed, and the original steep roofs were replaced with lower, simpler roofing, resulting in a silhouette that contrasts with the older Gothic elements.

Today, Hrádek is a tall structure harmonizing with the surrounding townscape. The preserved medieval tower at the southwest corner now features a low roof addition. Inside, the building displays a blend of Gothic and Renaissance styles, carefully maintained and adjusted to serve its current role as a museum dedicated to Kutná Hora’s mining legacy.