Pernštejn Castle (, from , originally from Bärenstein) is a castle in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on a rock above the village of Nedvědice and the rivers Svratka and Nedvědička, about northwest of Brno. Pernštejn came to be known as the marble castle because of the marble-like stone used to frame the doors and windows.
It was founded by the Lords of Medlov probably between 1270 and 1285. The family branch seated at the castle and adopted the then fashionable name Pernštejn (written also Pernstein), which is the Czech version probably derived of the German name, Bärenstein – the "Bear Rock". Its history is closely connected to the Pernštejn family and their descendants. It has kept its intact appearance in the Gothic and Renaissance form as it was finished in the first half of the 16th century by the Pernštejns, then the richest and most powerful lordly family of the Bohemian kingdom. Pernštejn is one of the best preserved castles in Czech Republic.
History
13th to 15th centuries
The castle was built as a typical nazal castle in a place which suited perfectly to its purpose: from three sides it was protected by a steep rock slope (the rock penetrates the building up to the second floor), accessible only from the north across a ridge that rises towards the castle and could be easily diked and protected by a system of bails. A prostrate, protruding settlement around the castle is formed by five yards, demarcated by outbuildings, ramparts, gates and a bastion in the north and barbican in the centre. In the most convenient place there is a lake in the rock with an unfailing spring, today covered with castle buildings, accessible from the inner castle courtyard. The core of the castle was built here: the Barborka Tower (a round five-storied tower with an edge turned toward the driveway), the castle palace and the courtyard protected by the rampart. These parts were completely covered by later extensions, only the high tower Barborka still projects over the complex of castle buildings. The builder of the castle is unknown. The first historically recorded ancestor of the Pernštejn family can be considered Stephen of Medlov, a significant Moravian personality from the beginning of the 13th century. It as probably he who transferred the family property from the southern Moravia to the Uplands. It was in the 13th century that the foundations of the new manorial power: a large property of land independent on the service to the sovereign on his favour, with servile villages and strong castles. Several significant Moravian noble families built their dominions exactly in the southeastern area of the Uplands. The sovereign's control did not reach this far, there was enough land for colonisation, forests for hunting, places for building castles and private law ruled there.
During the wild years after the extinction of the Přemyslid dynasty (1306) and during the rule of John of Bohemia (1310–1346) there are not many notes of the Pernštejn Castle and of its masters. Though, it can be supposed that they belonged to those of whom the King Charles IV wrote that "they mostly became tyrants and did not fear the king, as it beseemed, because they had divided the kingdom among themselves". Not even the quieter years during the rule of Charles IV and his brother margrave John Henry could not stop the rise of the manorial power. We only know the names of the Pernštejn lords from the first two-thirds of the 14th century. They took part in the public life in assemblies and authorities, further expanding their property. The castle probably did not change too much in those days; its prime was to come during the last quarter of the 14th century and during the 15th century.
After the death of the margrave John Henry (1375), Moravia was split into several adverse, mutually harrying parties, and the castles became bases of political parties and nests of robber barons. At that time of William I was the head of the Pernštejn family and lord of the castle (he appears in documents from 1378 to 1422). The Pernštejn garrison fought not only for their political interests of its masters, but also forayed on almost all high roads of Moravia. An indispensable amount from such incomes went to William's treasury. But William kept on taking part in parliament and the High Court of Justice and executed the duties of prominent offices in the land. He started the rise of the house to the highest social and political goals.