Dolni Krupa’s cultural history provides a clear thread to follow during your stay: religious buildings, the history of the castle and archaeological traces represent different periods. The Church of St. Vitus (“kostel sv. Víta”), the cemetery chapel, Zámek Dolní Krupá Castle and the Ronovec Castle ruins offer different ways to explore the town’s history. If you’d like to organise your discoveries by theme, you can distinguish between religious architecture, historical finds and surviving structural features.

Church and Chapels

The Church of St. Vitus (“kostel sv. Víta”) is a protected cultural monument. Its visitor centre offers information materials, a place to rest and toilets with a washroom.

The church grounds also include the unusual burial chapel of St. Michael. The cemetery chapel tells a different religious story: it was completed in 1898 and consecrated in honour of the Holy Cross of Jesus. The altar was made by the sons of Petr Bůšek from Sychov. The Michael Chapel is part of the church grounds; the cemetery chapel’s construction date, dedication and altar provenance offer their own points of interest.

Castle and Local History Museum

Zámek Dolní Krupá Castle originated in the conversion of an older fortress: sometime after 1651, Jan Mencel z Bernfelsu had it remodelled. This progression from an older fortress to a later castle conversion gives the site its own architectural history.

The castle houses a local history museum, which mainly displays archaeological finds from the nearby Ronovec Castle ruins. The museum opened in 1957, after Josef Čapek found a ceramic fragment from a 13th-century vessel near the protected spruce tree below Ronovec. Check the current opening hours before your visit.

The castle hall also features the ceiling fresco “Hold národů císařovně Marii Terezii”. A fresco is a painting on fresh plaster; as a ceiling fresco, this work forms part of the castle hall’s decoration.

Ronovec Castle Ruins

Ronovec is a former early Gothic castle, now in ruins, between Dolní Krupá, Břevnice and Kojetín. Surviving features include parts of the palas, the defensive walls and a watchtower, as well as fragments of a former well and parts of a nearby mill. A palas is a castle’s residential and ceremonial building; defensive walls and a watchtower formed part of its fortifications. These terms help identify the different surviving features.

The castle ruins can be reached via a yellow-marked hiking trail. Check the local route and its condition before setting out.

The traces also tell stories from different periods: the vessel fragment dates from the 13th century, the castle was remodelled sometime after 1651, and the cemetery chapel was completed in 1898. The local history museum opened in 1957, after the find had already been made. This makes it possible to distinguish the history of the archaeological find, the remodelling, the religious building and its later presentation in a museum.

Discover more destinations: Cibotín, Nová Ves U Chotěboře, Ostrov, Slavníč, Česká Bělá, Úsobí, Dolní Sokolovec, Havlickuv Brod.

For the broader travel overview: Okres Havlíčkův Brod.