Benesov nad Ploucnici chateau. CNWW8.
The castle, which has been a dominant of the city Benešov nad Ploučnicí for many centuries now, belongs to the most interesting Renaissance buildings in the whole Czech Republic. The castle is divided into two parts – lower and upper part. The upper castle was built in the first half of the 16th century. The lower part of the castle was built later than the upper part and the building is partly in late-Gothic style and partly Renaissance. The parts used to be connected but during the 16th century were separated which remained until these days.
The picturesque town Benešov nad Ploučnicí is situated at the junction of the rivers Ploučnice and Bystrá. In the 13th century the settlement started up from the craftsmen houses. It was named after Beneš Větrný from Michalovice who owned almost all the land at the beginning of the 14th century. Benešov was proclaimed the town in 1392 and so gained the law to have its own town emblem, the mural law, the market law and even the capital law.
In 1425 and 1426 the town was occupied by Hussites, later destroyed by saxon army, it was also occupied several times during the 30-year war. The dominating feature of the town is the castle, divided into Upper and Lower one. The Upper castle was built as a mansion at the beginning of the 15th century. In the 16th century it was rebuilt into a two-floor castle and its dominating feature is the 8-side tower. The Lower castle was built in the middle of the 16th century. Both castles are built in saxon renaissance that is unique in the Bohemia.
In 1569 the papermill was found here but in 1863 changed into a weaving factory. During the World War II. the local textile factories were forced to start making the weapons instead. The textile factory in Františkov valley is still functional. The machine with 24.000 spools, the biggest machine in our republic, is operational in Orohmann spinning factory. In the square you will be attracted by the St. Mary´s column, 14,5 metres high. Above the square there is a gothic church of the Birth of Virgin Mary with small Salhausen´s chapel where you can find valuable renaissance and early baroque gravestones of this noble family. Near by the church you can see the chapel of Mournful Virgin Mary with rococo decorated interior that dates to 1749. On the rock above the meanders of the Ploučnice river southeastern of the town there are the ruins of the castle Šarfenštejn, nowadays called Ostrý.