A brief history of the town of Bechyne
993 the oldest written mention of the settlement of Bechyně. The Prague bishops own the local estate until 1268.
1268 King Přemysl Otakar II. buys this property with the hill of Bechyně and has a stone castle built here.
1323 King John of Louxembourgh founds the town on the settlement around the castle.
1340 the Lords of Sternberg acquire the town from the King.
1398 Bechyně becomes the property of Jošt of Louxembourgh, the Markgrave of Moravia.
1405 the new owner Heralt of Kunštát and his heirs come.
1415 Bechyně becomes the property of Jindřich Lefl of Lažany, his heirs are called the Lords of Bechyně from Lažany.
1477 the Lords of Bechyně from Lažany sell their property to the Lords of Sternberg.
1485 Zdeslav of Sternberg ratifies the old town privileges and renovates the monastery, totally destroyed during the Hussite wars.
1511 The King Vladislav II confirms the town`s coat-of-arms and seal.
1530 Kryštof from Švamberk buys the town.
1569 Pert Vok of Rosenberg acquires the town; during his reign, Bechyně sees its greatest development since the Middle Ages; the castle undrgoes a wide reconstruction; the death of Vilém of Rosenberk means the end of Petr Vok`s plans in Bechyně; as early as 1594 he confirms the rights of the citizens of Bechyně and extended them with the new ones; he takes over his family regency in the town of Český Krumlov.
1596 Adam of Sternerg buys the town; thus the Sternbergs come back to Bechyně for the third time.
1715 the Paar noble family takes over the Bechyně domain; they re-arrange the castle; the Paar noble family is to be the owner of the town and the domain for 233 years.
1948 the Paars have to leave the castle and move abroad becouse of the political events in 1948.
1948 - 1994 the castle serves as a recreation establishment for the Czech Academy of Sciences.
1994 Alfons Paars, the son of the last owner, returned his family property in the course of restitution; he puts the Paar property in the APS firm.
1998 restoration works go on in the castle; general reconstruction of the riding hall is going to be carried out; the permanent exhibition hall and the museum of the sculptor Vladimír Preclík are being prepared in the former granary; the theatre comes back to the castle, too; in summer the South-Bohemian Theatre showed two performances in the castle court; Ifigenia in Aulida directed by Jan Kačer and Mandragora directed by Jiří Menzel.