Valdštejn Castle (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Waldstein'') is an early

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

near

Turnov Turnov (; german: Turnau) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It is a traditional centre for gemstone polishing, glass craftsmanship and arts. The town centre is well prese ...

, in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

. It can be found in the cliff dwelling city of Hruboskalsko, in the

Bohemian Paradise Bohemian Paradise ( cs, Český ráj) is a Protected Landscape Area and a region in Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It was declared in 1955, as the first nature reserve in the country. At first, it was 95 square kilometres in area; today it is a ...

(Český ráj). The city was built on three

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

cliffs in the second half of the thirteenth century by Counts of the Waldstein family. After 1420 the castle was occupied by the

Hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hus ...

s, then later by robber barons. In 1621 the abandoned castle was bought back by the Waldsteins, whose most illustrious member was

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the T ...

. During the peak of the Baroque period, they built a

pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church (german: Wallfahrtskirche) is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the grave ...

, dedicated to

John of Nepomuk John of Nepomuk (or John Nepomucene) ( cs, Jan Nepomucký; german: Johannes Nepomuk; la, Ioannes Nepomucenus) ( 1345 – 20 March 1393) was the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus ...

, in 1722 on the ruins of the castle.

Gallery

Image:Castle valdstejn 002.jpg, Castle Waldstein Image:Castle valdstejn 003.jpg, Castle Waldstein Image:Castle valdstejn 004.jpg, Castle Waldstein Image:Castle valdstejn 005.jpg, Castle Waldstein

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdstejn Castle Castles in the Czech Republic Castles in the Liberec Region Museums in the Liberec Region Historic house museums in the Czech Republic

See also

Gallery

References

External links