Kotnov observation tower
What has remained of the Kotnov castle, which burned to the ground in 1532, is its tower. Between 1312-1613 on the ruins of the castle, a brewery was erected. From then on, its main building and premises underwent reconstruction works several times until the beginning of the 20th century. The Hradiště castle was founded as part of system of castles in the 2nd half of the 13th century during the reign of Přemysl Otakar II. The founder of the castle is believed to be Vítek of Hradiště, the son of Vítek of Prčice, the famed father founder of the Vítkovec family line. The latest survey showed that the castle originally was composed of two round and two square towers, thus imitating the castellum type of a castle. The towers, however, were located inside the castle perimeter, therefore, their flank purpose was diminished. The surviving castle tower was fortified during the Hussite period so that cannons could be put in place; an interesting feature of the cannon embrasure are ventilation chimneys. The top of the 25 metres tall tower is accessible for visitors after scaling 155 steps altogether.