Draft:Choustník Castle
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Choustník ruins are the ruins of a castle located about one kilometer east of a municipality that goes by the same name in the Tábor district. It stands on the top of a prominent hill located in the Choustník nature preserve at an altitude of 660 metres. The castle itself is a rare display of ganerbenburg, a castle made up of multiple cores which housed multiple different owners. The ruins were restored in an insensitive manner, and have been open to the public since[1]. The castle's tower serves as an observation tower. The ruins are on the list of protected cultural monuments of the Czech republic from the year 1958 onward.
The Castle's history
[edit]The castle was founded by Beneš of Chroustník after the year 1262. His descendants Beneš and Jan of Chroustník both lived in the castle and divided the core into two separate parts.[2] The only other castle to be divided in such a manner in all of Bohemia, was the Skála[3] castle.
Lords of the Choustník castle exchanged it along with their other property in the year 1322 with Peter I of Rosenberg. In exchange they received Chlumec nad Cidlinou and Choustníkovo Hradiště. During the reign of Oldřich II. of Rosenberg the castle's defensive functionalities were bolstered and the castle became the fulcrum of the Rosenberg estate's border. The castle's prominence only grew after another castle, Příběnice, was demolished in the year 1420.[2] During the Hussite wars the castle became a prison for Hussite priests. Oldřich's son, John II. of Rosenberg, was an ally of George of Poděbrady during the Second Hussite war in 1467 and Choustník castle became a center of his war preparations against the Catholic Zdeněk of Šternberk. George however later concluded a truce with the opposition Greenmountain unity Catholics (Jednota zelenohorská), and joined them against the king. Soon after this however he had to agree on peace with the king, and had to hand over the Choustník castle to Zdeněk of Šternberk. Zdeněk kept the castle until 1476 when he returned it on the basis of the pressure being put upon him by the nobility to return the castle.[2] The castle's owner in the year 1533 was Jošt III. of Rosenberg, and the burgrave of the castle was John Olbram of Štekře.
Peter Vok of Rosenberg sold the castle together with a brewery, hop farms, a mill, a sawmill, the meierhof, gardens, an orchard, a sheepfold and eight villages in the year 1596 to George Homut of Harasov. The castle is then labeled as deserted from 1614 onward.[2] The Estate was passed down to Homut's daughter Zuzana and her descendants. Out of those descendants Heřman Václav Černín passed the estate in 1674 to a creditor of his, Johann von Sporck. From here on the estate was passed down to a daughter of his nephew, Marie Konstancie, and her second husband Karel Josef Voračický of Paběnice whom she married in 1706. The Choustník castle remained in his lineage up until 1838. On another note, Eleonora Kounicová, a supporter of Božena Němcová, spent her youth around the castle. The castle was expropriated in 1948 from Raol bejnamin Rohan.
The Castle's structure
[edit]The castle consists of two cores. The original composition of the outer bailey is unknown, but in the present day it is fortified by a chemin de ronde, a raised and protected walkway. Access to the castle's core was done by the means of a bridge put on top of three stone pillars. During the construction the castle core was first surrounded by a wall, to which an inhabitable keep was added on the northern side. This keep also fulfilled the function of a bergfried. In the eastern part of the castle core was built a two-room palace.
The castle core was divided into two independent parts during the reign of the Beneš and John brothers at the latest. The original palace was expanded by the addition of a southern wing with a room that was illuminated by tracery windows. Due to these windows the room was considered a chapel. In the smaller eastern core another smaller keep was built and also a palace which has been fractionally preserved.[1]
During the reign of Oldřich of Rosenberg the castle's fortifications were improved due to the advancements of firearms and especially cannons. Along the southern side of the castle wall a zwinger was installed, which was bolstered by two inwards-opened bastions with arrow slits. A ditch and a defensive enbankment were put before the zwinger, and a forward bastion was put on the eastern side of the enbankment. Another bastion was located in the forefield of the castle.[1] According to August Sedláček the forward bastions were named Kokot and Sichrov, respectively.[4] In addition to everything mentioned, the castle core's main wall was refurbished with a shooting gallery, and the wall itself was heightened.[1]
Legends
[edit]
The origin of both the castle and the village's names is tied to a legend. Once upon a time a brave and good-looking squire fell in love with the daughter of Frederick Barbarossa. The emperor's daughter reciprocated the squire's love, but the emperor did not wish for this love to blossom. Thus the lovers fled and after a long journey decided to settle and build a castle in the Tábor region. After some time passed the emperor lost his anger and personally started searching for his daughter. In order to not be recognized he had his red beard cut and in its place had a fake beard attached instead. he wandered and wandered until he came upon the Tábor region and stood before the castle which he did not recognize. After knocking on the gate, he was let in, found his daughter and immediately recognized her. But before he would discard his disguise he made sure that his daughter was happy. Upon finding out that she indeed was, he threw away the fake beard and made peace with the couple. From here on, because the emperor had a fake beard, the castle was called Beardy (Fousáč or Foustník), which eventually was transformed into Choustník.
There are also other legends which have the castle as their centerpiece. According to one legend, the lords of Choustník got the addition of a ladder to their family crest as a reward for their deeds during the siege of Milan, as they were the first to reach the top of the Milan walls. Another legend says they received the family crest from Ottokar I. of Bohemia, and along with it land near Soběslav. Yet another legend says that once a year witches congregate at the castle well in the courtyard and perform rituals.
How to access
[edit]| Year | Number of visitors |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 12,073 |
| 2016 | 14,852 |
| 2017 | 14,338 |
The castle is open to the public in the opening hours. A green-mark tourist trail leads to the Choustník castle from the Černovice village near the nearby castle.[6]
Links
[edit]References
[edit]Literature
[edit]External links
[edit]
- ^ a b c d Zříceniny hradů, tvrzí a zámků: Jižní Čechy. Agentura Pankrác. pp. 40–44. ISBN 80-902873-5-2.
- ^ a b c d Hrady, zámky a tvrze v Čechách, na Moravě a ve Slezsku: Jižní Čechy. Vol. V. Nakladatelství Svoboda. pp. 84–87.
- ^ Ilustrovaná encyklopedie českých hradů. Libri. p. 142. ISBN 80-7277-003-9.
- ^ Hrady, zámky a tvrze Království českého: Táborsko. Vol. IV. Jiří Čížek – ViGo agency. p. 85.
- ^ "Turistická mapa". Mapy.cz.