Cornštejn Castle
| Hrad Cornštejn (Zornstein Castle) | ||
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 Cornštejn Castle ruins |
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| Place: | Bítov | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 56 '2 " N , 15 ° 42' 56" E | |
| Height: | 402 m nm | |
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The ruins of the Cornštejn Castle (German Castle Zornstein ) in Okres Znojmo in Moravia is located on a high rock above the Thaya Valley and is about one kilometer from the Bítov Castle .
history
Zornstein Castle was built in the first half of the 14th century with the consent of the Bohemian King John of Luxembourg on a strategically important place by the Moravian governor Raimund von Lichtenburg , who already owned the nearby Bítov Castle. The castle was supposed to secure the important road connection from Bítov to Vranov nad Dyjí . It was first mentioned in writing on May 31, 1343, when Margrave Karl Raimund's sons Smil and Čeňek and their nephew Jan gave permission to divide the hereditary inheritance Zornstein and Bítov into three parts. In 1348 Zornstein, to which Štítary and Přiblovice belonged, was owned by Heinrich ( Jindřich ) von Lichtenburg. A short time later there was a dispute over ownership rights between the von Neuhaus and the Lichtenburgers, who, however, were mentioned as the owners of Zornstein Castle as early as 1363. They expanded the castle to include a palace and a bailey. In 1422 the Hussites conquered the castle. After the end of the Hussite Wars , the Lichtenburgs erected a new palace on the north side of the castle. At the beginning of the 1440s there was a dispute over Zornstein between Emperor Friedrich III. and Jan von Lichtenburk, which was settled in 1445.
Since 1460 Zornstein belonged to Hynek Bitovský von Lichtenburg. He supported the Catholic side in the dispute between the Bohemian King George of Podebrady and the Pope. That is why Georg besieged Zornstein Castle in 1464, which he could only conquer after a year. It was confiscated by the king along with the property belonging to it and given as a fief to Heinrich Kraiger von Kraigk . His son Wolfgang had the damage repaired and built further fortifications. After 1526 Zornstein came again to the Lichtenburg family and was again attached to the Bítov rule. In 1542 they reinforced the fortifications because of the threat of the Turks and built a tower on a hill to the southwest of the castle.
After another change of ownership, Zornstein remained uninhabited from the end of the 16th century. Together with Bítov it came to the Lords of Wlašim in 1617 and to the Counts of Daun in 1788. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Bítov estate belonged to the Lords of Haugwitz , who soon sold it to Jan Ladislav Zamoyský. From there it passed to Prince Franz Radziwill , who sold it in 1912 to the industrialist Georg Haas von Hasenfels , whose son of the same name was expropriated in 1945.
In the 1970s, various security measures were taken on the castle ruins. Further renovation and restoration measures are in progress. You can see some gates, cellars and two wells.
literature
- Jan Urban: Lichtenburkové. Vzestupy a pády jednoho panského rodu (= Šlechtické rody Čech, Moravy a Slezska. Vol. 2). Lidové Noviny, Praha 2003, ISBN 80-7106-579-X , pp. 167-172.
- Jiří Kacetl, Roman Fila, David Molík: Cornštejn. Podyjská pevnost. Jihomoravské muzeum ve Znojmě, Znojmo 2011, ISBN 978-80-86974-06-4 .
- Jiří Kacetl, Petr Lazárek, David Molík: Hrady a zámky moravsko-rakouského Podyjí slovem / Castles of the Austro-Moravian Thaya Valley in words. South Moravian Museum in Znojmo in cooperation with the Retz City Museum, Znojmo 2013, ISBN 978-80-86974-12-5 ( PDF on znojmuz.cz; German and Czech).
