Rabštejn nad Střelou – the smallest historical town in the Czech Republic

The smallest town in the Czech Republic, but also in Europe – Rabštejn nad Střelou is located in the middle of the woods, on the side of the current main roads on the border of the Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Central Bohemia and Ústí regions. You will find a number of monuments here – a ruined castle, a baroque castle, a collection of folk houses and a stone bridge.

The town of Rabštejn is located 7.5 km from Manětín , above the right bank of the Střela river on a promontory bordered by steep slopes in the middle of the Horní Střela nature park . The dominant feature of the town is the Baroque castle with the ruins of a Gothic castle from the 14th century, the city fortifications and the Servite monastery with the adjacent church of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Rabštejn Castle rises above the right bank of the river Střela. The first mentions of it come from 1269, when Oldřich Pluh from Rabštejn took care of expanding the castle, a favorite of King John of Luxembourg. The castle is adjoined by city fortifications from the first half of the 13th century. In 1467, under Gutštejn, the royal army conquered the castle in vain. After 1524, Lorenc Šlik built a Renaissance castle in the eastern part of the castle, when he abandoned this castle, a new baroque castle building was built in front of it in 1705, which was reconstructed in the 1970s for the needs of a training center. The castle ruins are freely accessible .

Monasterywas founded in 1672 by the Servite Order. At the beginning of the 18th century, the area no longer met the needs of the order, so in 1730 the construction of a new eastern wing, planned for a much larger convent, was started. In 1787, the monastery was ordered by Emperor Josef II. cancelled, a rectory and a school were established here, then apartments and a hotel.

In the town there is a group of folk houses with timber and half-timbered architecture. An interesting building in the town is the U Lišáků mill with a shingle roof. The stone bridge built over the river Střela is a technical monument. In front of it stands a stone reconciliation cross from 1584. In 1992, the village was declared a municipal monument reserve. Currently, only 21 permanent residents live in the village. As the crow flies, Rabštejn is located about 30 kilometers north of Pilsen, 40 kilometers east of Karlovy Vary, 60 kilometers south of Most and 80 kilometers west of Prague.