Švihov Castle, a state-owned late Gothic water castle in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic, can be hired for weddings, receptions, lectures, presentations, team-building days and cultural events. Its granary hall takes up to 150 guests, and the courtyard and the meadow behind the castle suit much larger open-air gatherings.
Seminars and company events
The castle rents its spaces for company events, lectures and presentations, banquets and receptions, as well as team-building. The exhibition hall next to the ticket office suits presentations, lectures and buffets. It has toilets and can be heated in winter. The granary hall and its adjoining rooms suit lectures, theater, concerts, screenings, dance events and negotiations. Its basement entrance can be used for refreshments or as a cloakroom. Toilets for performers are in the building. The hall has its own entrance, separate from visitor traffic, and a platform gives access to reduced-mobility guests. The castle core can host chamber or formal events and team-building games, with special rules to protect the monument.
Weddings and receptions
Civil and church ceremonies can be held at the castle, under a contract between the castle administration and at least one of the couple. The granary hall is the newest and most requested space. It holds up to 150 people and has barrier-free access, which the rest of the castle lacks. Outdoors, the western outer ward takes up to 80 people and the meadow behind the castle has no stated limit. If the weather turns, the ceremony can move into the granary hall. The dance hall on the second floor of the south palace holds up to 60, and the castle chapel holds 30 and is used for civil ceremonies only exceptionally. The castle checks the date with the registry office of the town of Švihov. A castle employee is present at every wedding, and the couple and their photographer have about half an hour to take photographs in the castle interiors.
Rooms and capacities
The granary hall takes up to 150 people. The courtyard covers more than 3,000 square meters of lawn and has public toilets. The meadow to the southeast takes concerts, festivals and falconry displays. The exhibition hall has no stated capacity. Prices are given on request for rentals, and the wedding fee covers the rental, setup and cleaning, a castle escort, sound equipment, decoration, a toast and the interiors for photographs.
Catering
The official pages mention buffets and banquets among the possible uses, but they do not name a caterer or a kitchen. A snack bar, the Svačinárna, operates on the castle grounds. Organisers should ask the castle which catering arrangements it allows.
History and setting
Švihov is described as the last Czech castle with a water moat. It was built in the late Gothic period, around 1500, to the design of Benedikt Rejt, by the Lords of Rýzmberk, who used the River Úhlava to build a large and ingenious water fortress on flat ground. The castle is run by the National Heritage Institute, and rentals follow its model contracts.
Getting there
The castle is at Žižkova 1 in Švihov, in the Úhlava valley between Plzeň and Klatovy. The first step is an on-site visit with the castle administration to agree on the date, the space and the conditions.
