Okoř Castle
Encyclopedia
Okoř is a castle located on a low rocky promontory in Okoř
Okor
Okoř is a village in Central Bohemia region, district Prague-West. As of 3 July 2006 it had 76 residents. To the west from the village Okoř Castle, a castle ruin, is located.The first written mention of the village dates to the year 1227....

, north-west of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, about 15 km from the city centre, in the Central Bohemian Region
Central Bohemian Region
Central Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative center is placed in the Czech capital Prague , which lies in the center of the region...

 of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

.

In 1228 a stronghold was built in the small hamlet of Okoř. It was later modified into a Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 castle, founded in 1359 by Frantisek Rokyčansky, a wealthy burgher of Prague's Old Town. It was later modified by comprehensive Late Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 remodelling by the Lords of Donin. In 1518, during the reign of Bořitas of Martinice, the castle was turned into a residence in the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 style.

During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....

 the castle was heavily damaged and then restored in the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 style. It underwent further extension in the second half of the 15th century, and in the 17th century it was owned by Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

. Following their departure after the Jesuit order was discontinued in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

, the Okoř castle became deserted in the late 18th century and slowly began to deteriorate.

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