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Haunted places in Czech Republic
What are the most haunted places in Czech Republic? The best-known are Houska Castle and The White Lady of Rožmberk (Český Krumlov Castle).
Bohemia’s most famous ghost is the White Lady of the Rosenbergs, said to walk Český Krumlov and the family’s other castles in white, her gloves foretelling good news or death. Since the 17th century she has been identified with Perchta of Rožmberk, a noblewoman whose letters from an unhappy marriage survive – a link historians trace to the guesswork of the Jesuit Bohuslav Balbín.
- 2 hauntings
- 8 recorded sightings
Haunted places in Czech Republic
Houska Castle
A Gothic castle in the Bohemian woods said to have been built to seal a pit leading to hell – a legend that goes back to a 16th-century chronicle. Regional legend
The White Lady of Rožmberk (Český Krumlov Castle)
Bohemia’s best-known ghost walks the Rosenberg castles in white – identified with Perchta, a 15th-century noblewoman whose desperate letters survive. FolkloreThe ghost lore of Czech Republic
North of Prague, Houska Castle is said to have been built over a pit leading to hell, a legend already hinted at in Václav Hájek’s 16th-century chronicle and now a favourite of paranormal TV. Prague itself is famous for the Golem and for centuries of legends of alchemists, headless knights and cursed houses.
Visitors combine castle tours with Prague’s ghost walks and the bone-decorated Sedlec Ossuary at Kutná Hora.
Ghost-hunting hotspots
- Prague Old Town and Malá Strana
Ghost walks and legend museums draw on centuries of tales of the Golem, alchemists and headless knights.
- Sedlec Ossuary, Kutná Hora
A chapel decorated with the bones of an estimated 40,000–70,000 people, one of the country’s most visited sites.
- Rosenberg castles of South Bohemia
Rožmberk nad Vltavou and Jindřichův Hradec share the legend of the White Lady with Český Krumlov.
Timeline
- 1316First written mention Houska Castle
Hynáček of the lords of Dubá is recorded as “of Houska”, the earliest document naming the castle.
- October 1449Perchta’s unhappy marriage The White Lady of Rožmberk (Český Krumlov Castle)
Perchta of Rožmberk marries Jan V of Lichtenstein. Her surviving letters from Mikulov record years of hardship and pleas for help from her family.
- 2 May 1476Death in Vienna The White Lady of Rožmberk (Český Krumlov Castle)
Perchta dies, having outlived both her children, and is buried in the Lichtenstein family vault in Vienna.
- 1541Hájek’s chronicle Houska Castle
Václav Hájek of Libočany’s Czech Chronicle includes an early version of the legend: a hole near Houska haunted by spirits that frightened travellers.
- 17th centuryBalbín names the ghost The White Lady of Rožmberk (Český Krumlov Castle)
Bohuslav Balbín links the Rosenberg White Lady to Perchta after reading her letters, fixing the identification that persists today.
- 1924The Šimonek family buys the castle Houska Castle
Škoda president Josef Šimonek buys Houska and restores it as a residence; his descendants own it today and opened it to the public in 1999.
- 1985Letters of the White Lady published The White Lady of Rožmberk (Český Krumlov Castle)
Perchta’s letters appear in print as Listy Bílé paní rožmberské, letting readers hear the real woman behind the legend.
- 22 July 2009Ghost Hunters International Houska Castle
The SyFy series airs its investigation of the castle, spreading the ‘gateway to hell’ story to an international audience.
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