Kašperk Castle

Kašperk Castle
View of the northeast side, in the foreground the remains of the gate tower.
Alternative name (s):	Karlsberg
Creation time :	~ 1360 to 1365
Castle type :	Hilltop castle
Conservation status:	essential parts received
Standing position :	Royal castle
Geographical location	49 ° 9 '58 "  N , 13 ° 33' 50"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 9 '58 "  N , 13 ° 33' 50"  E

The Kašperk Castle ( German Karlsberg ) is a castle ruin about 2.5 kilometers north of Kašperské Hory in the Bohemian Forest , Okres Klatovy , Czech Republic .

description

Kašperk Castle

The Gothic castle was built between 1360 and 1365 on a 300 meter long ridge of the mountain Ždánov (German Zosum ), is 886 meters above sea level and is therefore the highest castle in Bohemia after Vítkův hrádek . It served as protection for the nearby gold mines of the " Bergreichensteiner Steig ", which led from Bavaria to Bohemia, the gold mining town of Bergreichenstein (Kašperské Hory) and the nearby border.

It is about 180 meters long and 30 meters wide. Due to the exposed location on the rocky ridge and the steep, almost vertically sloping, stony slopes of at least 20 meters depth, the castle only needed a simple, stable castle wall , as it could only be reached by soldiers via the castle path .

Striking and atypical are the two towers in the eastern part of the castle complex, both as a dungeon were constructed and used. The east tower has served as a lookout tower since the 1930s. Between the towers are the remains of the palace , which is connected to the rest of the castle by two passages on the west tower. The distance between the castle wall and the hall is a good 4 meters to provide additional protection against projectiles from siege weapons . The so-called burgrave building , in which the respective governors of the castle lived, is attached to the west tower . The courtyard is a good 90 meters long and ends at the west end with the north-facing gate and the gatehouse. Access to the castle was via a drawbridge , currently a wooden bridge, on a path north of the castle to the east, which was closed by a gate tower in front . This has only been preserved as a ruin.

history

Castle courtyard with a view of the burgrave building to the east.

The castle was built by Charles IV , the builder was Veit Hedvábný. Although it was a royal castle, it was repeatedly awarded as a fief . Famous feudal lords were Archbishop Johann Očko von Wlašim , the Zmrzlík von Welding ( Zmrzlíkové z Svojšína ), the Sternberg , Schwamberger and Jiří von Lokšan . The lord of the castle was also the highest judge and ruler of the Prácheň lands . The castle was never captured, but fell into disrepair from the second half of the 16th century as it no longer had any strategic value. From 1617 it was uninhabited, then it was bought by the town of Kašperské Hory on behalf of King Matthias and has been in their possession ever since.

The first restoration work was carried out on the castle in the 1930s, in particular the two towers and the burgrave building were repaired. From the 1960s onwards, minor measures were taken to preserve the castle and an administrator moved in on behalf of the town of Kašperské Hory. In 1992 another major conservation measure followed for the foundation walls and the modernization of the western gate building as well as the buildings in the east of the castle complex.

From 2000 to 2008, extensive restoration and maintenance work was carried out on the entire castle, financed by the state and the city, during which all outer and foundation walls were stabilized. The east tower received a new roof because the old one from the 1930s was destroyed by Hurricane Kyrill .

Pustý hrádek

Pustý hrádek, north side

About 300 meters east of the castle are the remains of Pustý hrádek (Ödschlössel), a small fortification at 924 meters above sea level. The exact construction date and the client are not known. It is believed that the Šternberg family built it between 1454 and 1476 to besiege Kašperk. At that time, Kašperk was owned by the King of Bohemia, George of Podebrady . However, since the army of Georg von Podiebrad conquered the ancestral castle of the Šternbergs, Castle Český Šternberk , in 1467, there was no longer siege and no attack on the castle Kašperk and the complex fell into disrepair.

The siege complex was believed to be 35 meters long and less than 15 meters wide. Only a small part of the foundation wall has been preserved, which has since been restored and can be accessed via a wooden staircase.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.pruvodce.com/kasperk/ Hrad Kašperk
2. ↑ according to the prospectus of the castle and information from the manager on site
3. ↑ Renovation 2000–2008 ( Memento of the original from December 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

Commons : Kašperk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Castle website (Czech, English, German)