Hrad Zvíkov,often called "the king of Czech castles", is a castle at the junction of the Vltava and Otava rivers, some 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of Písek, Jihočeský Kraj, Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region, Czech Republic, next to the village of Zvíkovské Podhradí. The castle is one of the most important early-Gothic castles in Czech lands. The area was inhabited as early as prehistoric times, when the Celts built a fort here in the 1st century AD. The current castle was built in the first half of the 13th century, most probably on the orders of King Přemysl Otakar I, but the exact date is not known. The first written mention of the castle comes from year 1234 and owned by the Kings of Bohemia.
