Style

Gothic and Renaissance elements predominate in the castle, which depict the entire history of the castle and then the castle.

Construction progress

 The construction of the castle took place during the 14th century, then the castle was rebuilt into a castle in the 16th century.

Hynek Jr. Bruntálský from Vrbno was active in politics, in the years 1608 – 1614 he held the office of provincial governor. In February 1610, he proposed the relocation of the Land Boards to the castle in Bruntál and, in case of an aggravated situation, to Kolštejn, which testifies to the importance and strength of the Kolštejn castle and castle in its time. The lack of time, the political function and the high costs of building modifications, when the entrance “Black Tower” was completed, the so-called Upper Castle with unique sgraffito decoration and the interiors of the castle were modified, caused the manor to be heavily in debt. After Hynk’s death, the guardians sold his minor son the Kolštejn estate to Hanuš Petřvaldský from Petrvald for 130,000 guilders. The Lutheran Hanuš Petřvaldský from Petřvald took an active part in the estate uprising, was a member of the regional directorate, regional judge and commissioner for the sale of church estates. During his tenure, the so-called Lower Castle was completed, the entire building was unified in style by a uniform arcaded courtyard with a fountain with the symbolism of the apocalypse at the foot of the arcades and with mascarons of devils and witches. He also had a Mannerist portal built into the entrance prisoner’s yard with the insignia of the husband and wife and the head of a Turk impaled. After the battle on Bílá hora, the Kolštejn estate was confiscated. It was acquired as a fief of the Czech Crown by Charles of Liechtenstein. Thus, Kolštejn lost its residential and representative function and never became the residence of the nobility, because the Liechtensteins had many other residences. During the Thirty Years’ War, Kolštejn became an important stronghold of the imperial troops and the seat of a large garrison. A fortified forecourt was quickly completed in the direction of the town, where the buildings of the manor offices were concentrated behind the gate protected by a cylindrical tower on the sides of the courtyard. However, after the Thirty Years’ War, Kolštejn became only the economic seat of the estate’s administration, and with the progressive centralization of the Liechtenstein estates in the 18th and 19th centuries, the importance of the local lord’s office also declined. The village of Goldenstein (Kolštejn) acquired the castle after 1918. During the Second World War, this area was part of the northeastern Sudetenland. The castle housed a military garrison, a school, other spaces were unused. After 1945, the name of the village was changed to Branná. The premises of the castle served as medicine warehouses, a school and a gymnasium. Attempts to reconstruct the château were started in the first decade of the new millennium, but due to a lack of the necessary funds, the château remained empty. It was newly renovated and rebuilt only recently.