Kost Castle

Kost Castle - Hrad Kost, Libosovice, Hradec Kralove Region, Czech Republic.

Kost Castle itself dates back to the mid-13th century, though the exact start of its construction remains unknown. The Vartemberk family is considered its likely founder, having commissioned a stone fortress featuring a defensive round tower—a *bergfried*. The first written record appears in 1349, mentioning Beneš of Vartemberk, who signed his name that year as *Benessius de Costy*—meaning "Beneš of the fortress or stronghold." This phrase gave rise to the castle's name: Kost.
After Beneš's death, ownership passed to his son Petr, who served as a high-ranking official at the court of Charles IV. Thanks to this position, he was financially well-off and initiated the comprehensive transformation of the wooden stronghold into the stone castle that stands to this day.
In 1414, Petr of Vartemberk’s granddaughter married the wealthy Catholic nobleman Mikuláš Zajíc of Házmburk. Their descendants held the estate throughout virtually the entire 15th century. The last owner from the Zajíc family was Mikuláš’s grandson; because he was a minor, a guardian—Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál—was appointed for him. Zdeněk Lev sold the Kost estate to Jan of Šelmberk to settle the Zajíc family's debts.

As early as 1524, Jan’s son Jindřich sold the Kost estate to Oldřich of Biberštejn. Oldřich’s son, Jan, subsequently commissioned the construction of a new residential palace in 1545; situated along the castle approach between the first and second gates, it offered a view overlooking the Plakánek Valley. In the mid-16th century, the estate changed hands once again. With the extinction of the Biberštejn line, the estate was acquired by Kryštof Popel of Lobkowicz. He commissioned the construction of a brewery, the Lobkowicz Palace, and other outbuildings, all of which were fortified and linked to the castle.
Kryštof’s son, Oldřich Felix, was the last owner to reside at Kost Castle as his primary seat. Subsequent owners visited the castle primarily to oversee the management of the estate, the day-to-day operations of which were entrusted to officials. In 1632, Polyxena of Lobkowicz sold the Kost estate to Albrecht von Wallenstein, who planned to remodel the castle; however, these plans were abandoned following his assassination in Cheb two years later. Due to the non-payment of the agreed sum, the property reverted to Polyxena. Her son promptly sold the estate to the Černín family, who rebuilt the castle—which had recently suffered fire damage—and utilized it as the administrative and economic hub of the entire estate.

To reduce their debts, the Černín family sold the Kost estate in 1738 to the ambitious Václav Kazimír Netolický of Eisenberk. Although he proved to be a capable estate manager, he treated the people on his lands with contempt. Václav’s only son had no male heir; following legal disputes, the property passed to the Vratislav family of Mitrovice, who added the surname Netolický to their own.
A few years later, the Vratislav-Netolický family faced the same issue regarding male heirs. The estate passed through the female line to the Italian dal Borgo family, who also adopted the Netolický surname. The last modern-era owner of the castle was Anna Marie dal Borgo Netolická; the castle was confiscated from her in 1948. During the communist era, it served as a museum of Gothic and Renaissance art.
After 1989, the property was returned via restitution to Giovanni Kinský dal Borgo, the elder son of Norbert Kinský and Anna Marie dal Borgo-Netolická. Giovanni Kinský dal Borgo subsequently transferred half-ownership of the castle to his younger brother, Pio Kinský dal Borgo; they currently own the castle through the joint-stock company Kinský dal Borgo.