Sion is a castle ruin in Chlístovice in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

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 lies near

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The history of Kutná Hora is linked to silver mining, which made it a rich and rapidly developing town. The centre of Kutná Hora, i ...

. It was established in the 15th century by

Jan Roháč of Dubá Jan Roháč of Dubá (; died 9 September 1437) was a Bohemian Hussite general who originated in the Bohemian gentry. Life Following the death of Jan Žižka, he became Master of Orphans, a radical Hussite sect. He survived the Battle of Lipan ...

. Sion Castle was used for a short time before it was besieged and subsequently destroyed. The site was investigated by archaeologists in the 20th century. Today, only scattered parts of the basement stone walls with some arches and stairs remain of the original castle.

History

Sion Castle was founded at some point between 1424 and 1436 by

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

. Most documentary sources detailing the castle focus on its demise in 1437. By 1437, Sion was one of the last footholds of opposition to the rule of

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

. In April that year, Hynce Ptáček of Pirkštejn led an army to the castle and . The garrison resisted for several months until reinforcements for Ptáček arrived under Michal Országh's command. The castle was captured on 6 September and demolished (

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

) soon after. There are traces of siege works near the castle. Amateur investigations were carried out at Sion Castle in 1937, uncovering human remains thought to be of the castle's defenders and some artefacts which have since been lost. In the view of archaeologist Eva Jánská, the digging contributed little to the understanding of the site while damaging the remains. The castle was designated a

cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

in 1958. The began excavating the castle in 1961, marking the beginning of a planned seven-year project.

Location and layout

Sion Castle was built in a bend of the River Vrchlice, using it to surround three sides of the site with access from the east.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Entry in the Archeological Atlas of the Czech Republic
{{Authority control Castles in the Central Bohemian Region Kutná Hora District Ruined castles in the Czech Republic National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic