Sloup Castle ( or ''Pirkštejn''; or ''Bürgstein'') is a

rock castle A rock castle () is a type of medieval castle that directly incorporates natural rock outcrops into its defences to such an extent that the rock formations define the structure of the castle. Topographically, rock castles are classified as hill ...

in the municipality of

Sloup v Čechách Sloup v Čechách () is a municipality and village in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. The area of the village is well preserved and is protected as a Cultural monument (Czech Republi ...

in the

Liberec Region Liberec Region () is an administrative unit (Czech language, Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Liberec. The region shares international bor ...

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 ...

Etymology

It takes its name from the special appearance of the freestanding high sandstone rocks (its name literally means "column"), into which it was carved in the 14th century.

History

The castle was first mentioned in records dating from 1324 owned by Čeněk of Ojvína. It was established beside a salt trade route from

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

Česká Lípa Česká Lípa (; ) is a town in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 37,000 inhabitants, making it the most populated Czech town without city status. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monume ...

by the Ronovec family. The edges of the outcrop, which was a level summit, were carved to resemble castle walls with loopholes, and some of the gullies in the outcrop were filled in with

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

. Thanks to an ingenious system of trenches it was possible to flood the area around the rocks. The combination of natural conditions and human ingenuity turned the castle into a fortress unassailable by medieval warriors. During the 15th century, Knight Mikeš Pancíř of Smojno was based here and launched a raid on Lužice, and as a consequence the castle was besieged in 1445–45.Ehrenberger, Tomáš ''The Most Beautiful 88 Castles'', p. 122, Kartografie Praha a.s., When the starving troops capitulated after three months of isolation it was burned down by the end of 1447. The castle was repaired, but it gradually ceased to meet the desired standards of comfort, and during the 16th century it was deserted and became dilapidated. In 1639, the

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

burned it down, and the castle became a ruin. From 1670 to 1785 hermits were based here, making use of the rock for their needs.Petr David, Vladimír Soukup, Lubomír Čech, ''Wonders of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia'', p. 77, Euromedia Group (2004), Among other things, they carved out new rooms and created recesses for the Stations of the Cross, built a chapel in the rock and formed a new entrance. Historical documents talk about several men: Konstantin was a bricklayer; Vaclav painted a solar clock on the wall; and an optician and gardener called Samuel grew corn on the plains around the castle, as well as wine on its southern terraces. After the hermitage ceased to exist the state owners, the

Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; ) is a prominent Bohemian noble family originating in the Kingdom of Bohemia. During the Thirty Years' War, the Kinsky fam ...

family, turned the complex into a romantic tourist attraction. Little has been preserved of the original structure on the elevated plateau, although the spaces sunk into the rock can be clearly seen today like the dungeon, well, hermitage, passage and the terraced walkways. In the former prison, dungeon carvings have been preserved, which were dug out of the walls by former prisoners. Sloup has now become a romantic place for outings and occasionally candlelit concerts and historical jousting matches are held.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Česká Lípa District Rock formations of the Czech Republic Rock castles Castles in the Liberec Region Tourist attractions in the Liberec Region

Etymology

History

See also

References

External links