Potštejn () is a municipality and village in

Rychnov nad Kněžnou District Rychnov may refer to places in the Czech Republic: *Rychnov, a village and part of Krouna in the Pardubice Region *Rychnov, a village and part of Verneřice in the Ústí nad Labem Region * Rychnov na Moravě, a municipality and village in the Pa ...

in the

Hradec Králové Region Hradec Králové Region (, ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec Králové. The region neighbours the Pardubice Region in t ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 1,000 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Potštejn consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Potštejn (831) *Brná (143)

Etymology

The name of the municipality was derived from name of castle with the same name, which was named after its founder Půta of Drslavic: Puttenstein, misspelled as Potštejn.

Geography

Potštejn is located about south of

Rychnov nad Kněžnou Rychnov nad Kněžnou (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban m ...

and southeast of

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

. It lies on the border of three geomorphological regions: Orlice Table,

Svitavy Uplands The Svitavy Uplands or Svitavy Hills () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Pardubice Region and it belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. Geomorphology The Svitavy Uplands is a ...

and Orlické Foothills. The highest point is at above sea level. The municipality is situated in the valley of the

Divoká Orlice The Divoká Orlice (, ) is a river in the Czech Republic and Poland. It flows through Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland and through the Hradec Králové and Pardubice regions. It is the upper and middle course of the Orlice, but usually it is c ...

River.

History

The first written mention of the castle of Potštejn is from 1259, 1287 or 1295. The castle was conquered only once in history, in 1339 by Charles IV before he became king. The village below the castle was first mentioned in 1350. The golden times of the castle were after 1495, when it was bought by

Vilém II of Pernštejn Vilém II of Pernštejn ( or ''Wilhelm II. von Bernstein'', or ''Vilém z Pernštejna a na Helfštejně''; 1438 – 8 April 1521) was a Czech nobleman. He held the office of High Treasurer of Moravia from 1474 to 1487. He was High Marshall of B ...

, who had rebuilt it. In the 17th century, economic decline came, the castle fell into disrepair, and the entire Potštejn went bankrupt. In 1746, the estate was bought by the nobleman Jan Ludvík Harbuval Chamaré, who had built here a château. After the House of Chamaré died out in the mid-19th century, Potštejn was acquired by marriage by the Dobřenský of Dobřenice family. They owned it until 1945, when their properties were confiscated. The renewed Unity of the Brethren was founded in Potštejn in 1870.

Demographics

Transport

Potštejn is located on the railway line Hradec Králové– Letohrad.

Sights

The Potštejn Castle is a castle ruin with an exhibition on the history of the castle. The castle complex includes the Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk from 1766 and the last station of the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

from 1754. The Potštejn Château is a late Baroque castle, built in 1749–1755. Today it is privately owned, but it is open to the public. There is a castle park next to the castle, which is a combination of a French garden and an English park with rare species of trees. The Church of Saint Lawrence was built in 1815–1821.

In literature

The Potštejn Castle was famed in

Alois Jirásek Alois Jirásek () (23 August 1851 – 12 March 1930) was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a high school history teacher in Litomyšl and later in Prague until his retirement in 1909. He wrote a series of histor ...

's novel ''Poklad''.

Notable people

* Rudolf Ropek (born 1970), photographer and orienteer

Twin towns – sister cities

Potštejn is twinned with: * Pottenstein, Austria * Pottenstein, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potstejn Villages in Rychnov nad Kněžnou District