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The ruins of Hukvaldy Castle belong to the greatest historical monuments not only in Moravia but also in the whole of the Czech Republic. Arnold von Hückeswagen, who was awarded an extensive territory between the Oder, the Ostravice and the Beskydy Mountains by the Czech king for his diplomatic service, originally founded the castle in the first half of the 13th century. Shortly after Arnold's death the supreme power over this territory came over from the Hückeswagens to the Olomouc Bishop Bruno von Schauen-burg. The last mention of the Hückeswagens as the Bishop's vassals appears at the beginning of the 14th century.
In the discomposed times after the ruling Premyslide dynasty had died out, a number of feudal lords replaced one another in possessing Hukvaldy, which caused considerable harm both to the castle and the estate. Things improved only in the second half of the 14th century when the Bishop Jan Ocko of Vlasim with the help of the Emperor Charles IV incorporated Hukvaldy into estates of the Olomouc Bishopric. A short period of peace was replaced at the end of the 14th century by wars between Moravian margraves Jost and Prokop, and in the first half of the following century by Hussite Wars. At that time Hukvaldy belonged to the Emperor Sigismond, to famous Hussite captains Jan Capek of Sany, Jan Talafus of Ostrov, and others.
Since the end of the 14th century at the latest Hukvaldy Castle has comprised two independent parts existing next to each other. The mutual relation between the interior part of the castle in the East and the polygonal keep on the western mound, and the order of their origins, rank among the questions concerning the history of the castle that have not been cleared up so far.
The castle got back into the Olomouc Bishop's possession only in the second half of the 15th century when it was repurchased by the Bishop Tas of Boskovice and given in fief to his rebuilding the castle. They built the third floor on the top of the old palace, reconstructed the so-called western wing, and added a new four-storeyed building to the southern courtain wall. These building activities are reminded by the coats of arms of Dobes Cernohorsky of Boskovice and his wife Hedvika of Rozmberk that are bricked in an arch leading into the place where is one of the castle water storage tanks.
In connection with the danger of Turkish troops stood for the first half of the 16th century {in 1528 Turkish troops stood for the first time outside Vienna} it was necessary to modernize old Gothic fortifications. That is why a fortified system of the fourth gate was built, and residential and office buildings were constructed between the fourth and the fifth gates. This stage of building work is reminded by the coat of arms of the Bishop Thurzo placed in the passage-way of the fifth gate above the entrance into the guardroom.
In the second half of the 16th century it was the Olomouc Bishop Marek Khuen that went on with building activities. In the northern part of the old castle he had a new four-storeyed Renaissance palace built. This building connected eastern and western residential areas of the castle. Then he had a prison for convicted priests from the Olomouc diecese established in the western wing, in 1568 the Bishop Vilem Prusinovsky founded a game preserve with fallow deer and red deer near the castle. Striking power of the castle was increased considerably in the years 1580-1585 with the construction of new baileys with gun bastions. These walls connected both parts of the castle, so far separated, into one impressive architectural unit. The Bishop Stanislav Pavlovsky solved also a supply of drinking water for the castle. He had a well dug, and its ground reached the level of the river Ondrejnice flowing under the castle.
In the 17th century the history of the castle was affected by the Thirty Years' War. In as early as 1619 the castle was occupied without a fight by troops of the revolting Estates but later it came back to the Bishop's keeping. In 1626 the Danes besieged the castle unsuccessfully as well as the Swedes in 1643. Even before the end of the Thirty Years' War the fortification of Hukvaldy was strengthened by the construction of huge bastions both in the western and eastern parts of the castle. In the area of the second bailey was erected today's 3rd gate protected by two forward gun bastions. All that made the castle an up-to-date stronghold that could give a protection against an enemy from outside.
In consequence with the fast development of military equipment in the 18th century the importance of the castle was rapidly falling down. Further causes of its decline were the fact that patrimonial offices were moved to a house in a settlement below the castle and, last but not least, a great fire in 1762 which was so destructive that the castle was not reconstructed any more and slowly changed into romantic ruins. Only a castle chapel, which had been built earlier in the place of a bastion in the second bailey, was used further on.
At present the castle is being reconstructed step-by-step on the expenses of the Beskids Museum in Frydek-Mistek. Every year a music festival named Janacek's Lassko in Music is held at Hukvaldy. It commemorates an outstanding native of Hukvaldy, the composer Leos Janacek {1854-1928}. A number of further music performances and other cultural events are held both at Hukvaldy Castle and in the game preserve every year.
In the village of Hukvaldy we can find several examples of village architecture, a brewery from the second half of the 16th century, and in the neighbouring village of Sklenov a windmill in a Dutch
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