Rýzmberk Castle
The Rýzmberk Castle (German Riesenberg ) is located near the town of Kdyně (German Neugedein), in the Plzeň region ( Czech Republic ).
The Gothic castle was built at the request of King Ottokar II Přemysl in the second half of the 13th century. Diepold Schwihau von Riesenberg is mentioned as one of the first owners in 1279 . At that time the castle was used to guard the pass on the Regensburger Steig on the main connection from Prague to Regensburg . In the following period there were several alterations, the largest after a devastating fire in 1448 and under Břetislav Schwihau von Riesenberg in 1508. The castle was further fortified and was considered impregnable. In 1620 the castle was captured by a ruse by the imperial army under the leadership of General Baltasar of Marradas , and in 1641 it was conquered and devastated by the Swedes. In 1655, Emperor Ferdinand III. an order to destroy the fortress walls.
The core of the castle was a keep with a defensive tower on one side and the residential palace on the other, with a fortified outer bailey, also with two towers, side bastions and another palace wing. The remains of the castle and the castle cellar can still be seen today.
The ruin had been owned by the Stadion family since 1697 , but was only used as a park area, on which the family had an observation tower built from 1846–1847. In 1935 the construction of an open-air theater began , which was initially used for performances by amateur theater groups. The Rýzmberský hradní guláš country and folklore festival is currently held here every year .
Riesenberg Castle is also the setting in the novel Consuelo by the French writer George Sand .
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Coordinates: 49 ° 24 ' N , 13 ° 2' E