Pernštejn

Rising from a rock spur above the Svratka valley, Pernštejn is one of the best-preserved Gothic castles in the Czech Republic, its door and window frames cut from local white marble that earned it the nickname the marble castle. Founded by the Lords of Medlov between 1270 and 1285, it grew under William II of Pernštejn into the seat of the richest and most powerful lordly family in the Bohemian kingdom, adding a Knights' Hall vaulted in diamond ribs and a barbican with walls three metres thick. It withstood a Swedish siege in 1645 and was spared the kind of war damage that gutted so many neighbouring castles, which is why its Gothic and Renaissance form still reads so clearly today. Its brooding silhouette has drawn filmmakers twice: Werner Herzog shot his 1979 Nosferatu here, and decades later Robert Eggers returned to the same gatehouse and courtyard for his 2024 remake, at first without realizing he was retracing Herzog's own shots. The grounds also hold one of the oldest yew trees in southern Moravia, its trunk over 4.5 metres around.