Toužim Castle

Toužim (German: Theusing, 612 metres above sea level) is a small historical town in western Bohemia situated in a wide shallow valley at the headwater of the small Střela River on the Teplá Plateau. The history of the town and its environs began in the late 12th century when the estate was acquired from Bohemian kings by Jiří of Milevsko, a magnate from South Bohemia, who, after colonizing it, donated the demesne to the Premonstratensian Monastery in Milevsko founded by him in 1185.

Since its foundation, Toužim had been the administrative centre of the demesne. Calixtin nobility took hold of the demesne belonging to the Order of the Prémontré during the Hussite Wars. Jan I of Vřesovice rebuilt Toužim into a Gothic castle and in 1469, the burghers of the plundered town of Útviny moved their borough to the castle. Toužim thus became a fortified town and the economic centre of the demesne. The last aristocratic owners were Dukes Beaufort-Spontini between 1837 and 1945. After the war ended in 1945, the German owners were expropriated and distributed (or murdered) by the Czechs. These crimes were legalized by the Beneš decrees.

The town experienced a period of heyday especially in the age of Renaissance in the 16th century. The local chateau was the residence of the nobility, handicrafts and trade with mining towns in the nearby Slavkovský les (Slavkov Forest) and Krušné hory (Ore Mountains) were thriving. The town gradually acquired various rights, the town hall, two schools, and three churches were built and suburbs were growing beyond the town walls. The largely Czech population was forced out or germanised by German colonists in the 16th and 17th century, and a Jewish minority settled in the town in the 17th century.

The historical centre of Toužim and the chateau are a monument zone, as well as two country manors in Kosmová and Kojšovice. The rich history and its traces in the form of numerous historical monuments along with the surrounding countryside create ideal conditions for active relaxation and invite visitors to explore this still rather unknown part of Bohemia.