Loket
A Gothic castle above a tight bend of the Ohře river, with a perfectly preserved medieval town below. Goethe celebrated his birthday here — today the castle, the lanes and the riverside amphitheatre do the charming.
Photo: Pakos · CC BY-SA 4.0At a glance
Drive time
~40 min by car
Distance
~25 km
Time on site
2–4 h
Effort
easy
Good for
About the place
The castle rose on a granite crag in the 12th century, guarding the trade route and the ford across the Ohře — it was called “the key to the Kingdom of Bohemia”. The future emperor Charles IV was briefly held here as a child, and returned later as sovereign. And in 1823 Goethe celebrated his 74th birthday in Loket at the side of young Ulrike von Levetzow — the last great love of his life.
Today the castle offers exhibitions from porcelain to medieval justice, and the tower gallery gives the finest view of the river bend. Beneath the walls lies the amphitheatre with summer operas and concerts, and a town of burgher houses so photogenic that it even starred in the Bond film Casino Royale. Walkers can extend the visit along the Ohře to the Svatoš Rocks.
