Levnov Castle
| Levnov | ||
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 Remains of the castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Ketkovský hrad, Ketkovický hrad, Ketkovák, Lewnow, Löwenau | |
| Creation time : | probably in the middle of the 13th century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Ketkovice | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 8 '21 " N , 16 ° 14' 23" E | |
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Levnov , also Ketkovský hrad , Ketkovický hrad , Ketkovák (German Löwenau , Lewnow ) is the ruin of a hilltop castle in the Czech Republic . It is located three kilometers southwest of Ketkovice in the Okres Brno-venkov .
geography
The remains of the castle are in the southwest of the Bobravská vrchovina on a headland on the left side above the mouth of the Chvojnice in the Oslava . On the right side above the Chvojnice are the remains of the Kraví Hora castle . Towards the south a rock face drops 120 m into the Oslava valley. The Ketkovský Mlýn mill is located at the foot of the Levnov Castle in the Oslava Valley. To the east, opposite the ruins, is the Čertův jazyk ( Devil's Tongue ), the largest meander of the Oslava.
The surrounding villages are Ketkovice , Čučice , Senorady , Mohelno and Kuroslepy .
history
The time when the castle was built is not known. It was probably created by the Knights Templar in the middle of the 13th century . In 1346 the lords of Leipa owned the surrounding areas. The first written mention of Levnov Castle came in 1358 as the property of Levnov. He is considered the main builder of the complex, which he expanded as the seat of the Lords of Löwenau ( z Levnova ) into one of the most powerful castles in Moravia. Subsequent owners from 1378 were Ulrich von Löwenau ( Oldřich z Levnova ) and his children Eliška, Anežka and Oldřich. Eliška von Levnov was married to Jimram Kralický von Kralice since 1365. It is assumed that the surrounding villages Čučice, Ketkovice, Sudice and Rapotice , which were previously subject to the Templars, belonged to the castle rule . At the end of the 14th century the Levnov family died out and the castle fell to the lords of Leipa. During the Moravian fratricidal war between Jobst and Prokop of Moravia , various Kuttenberg patrician families acquired the castle. The Pirkner von Pirknštejn finally sold Levnov again to the lords of Leipa.
After the end of the Hussite Wars , marauding mercenaries Albrecht V marched through the area, plundering. The band of robbers from Burghart Kienberger settled on Levnov and demanded the wages that were in arrears after Albrecht's death. At the request of both Kienberger and Bertold von Leipa, the Moravian Parliament was convened in Velké Meziříčí to decide. After that, the occupied castles Levnov, Kraví hora, Lamberk, Sedlecký hrad, Holoubek and Kufštejn as well as the town of Pohořelice were to be released by the rightful owners and then razed by the militia of the Moravian estates. After Levnov had been redeemed by Bertold von Leipa, the Kienberger mercenary gang withdrew to Austria - probably with the assurance of safe conduct. Then the Landwehr provided by the citizens of Znojmo began the razing of Levnov, which was completed in November 1442. The cities of Brno , Ivančice , Znojmo , Třebíč and Jihlava had to compensate Bertold von Leipa for the demolition.
In the course of time, the name of the castle was increasingly forgotten. Most of their remains were called Ketkovský hrad or Ketkovický hrad . Since the 19th century, castle researchers believed the castle ruins above the Stanislaus Church near Osiky to be Levnov. In 1971, during his research on the Kralice nad Oslavou fortress, Vladimír Voldán found the name Lownow Castle on the Josephine cadastral map and other maps at the place of the Ketkovský hrad castle . During further investigations he found that the parcels belonging to the miller Vydra in Ketkovský Mlýn had the field names Levnovská louka , Levnovský les , Levnovské pole and Na Levnovci . This refuted the assumption that Levnov Castle was near Osiki. Possibly the ruins there are the so far not localizable Zuzinov Castle.
investment
The castle could only be reached from the northeast from the plateau near Ketkovice over a headland. From here, the access was through a ditch and a betürmtes gateway to the outer bailey . The deep valleys of the Chvojnice and the Oslava with their rock faces offered extensive protection on the other sides. The split Palas had an elongated floor plan and consisted of 2.5 m thick walls. It was located in the western part of the facility.
Only a massive fortification wall and reinforced ramparts remain from the castle.
