Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages

Milan Sýkora

doi:10.37190/arc210411

Abstract

The oldest royal and nobility castles appear in Northwestern Bohemia in the 2nd third of the 13th century. Builders mainly use castles with a Bergfried and a palace or with a donjon, regular castle dispositions remain limited to the environment of royal cities. However, the growth in construction of nobility castles did not occur until the reign of John the Blind, when many of them were built as fief castles. During the 14th century we can observe different tendencies in the construction of castles. There are more sophisticated mansions, where a large palace stands as the main building. In the last quarter of the 14th century we can already observe decline in the use of defensive components. The direction of the castle architecture towards comfortable settlements was disrupted by the Hussite wars and the massive development of firearms. During the war years in Bohemia, an ingenious architecture was being created using both passive and active defence means, which spread throughout Europe and formed one of the sources of inspiration for modern bastion fortresses. After the Hussite wars, we see tendencies aimed at improving the quality of residential and representational components. The purpose of this article is not only to present the complicated beginnings of castles in north-western Bohemia (today’s Ústí region), but also to attempt to describe the development trends of castle architecture until the late Middle Ages. In his work, the author focused on the description and interpretation of several key objects and on the outline of general trends.

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2021

4(68)

DOI: 10.37190/arc210411

Milan Sýkora*

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages

Introduction

The 13

century was not only a radiant period of the reign

of the last kings of the charismatic Přemyslid dynasty, but

also a period of gradual and lengthy transformation of the

lands of the Czech Kingdom, which fundament ally changed

its appearance and ways of life. In addition to constituting

the nobility as a social group represented by a wide variety

of visual symbols, one of the manifestations of this trans-

formation was the replacement of Early Medieval hillforts

with the new stone castles. High Medieval castles, unlike

their predecessors, had a more diverse range of functions,

which was also quite variable in individual cases. The

castles of Early Middle Ages variously combined, preferred

or suppressed mainly residential, military, central, adminis

trative, economic, legal and symbolic functions. The aim of

this paper is not only to present the complicated beginnings

of castles in Northwestern Bohemia (today’s Ústí region),

but also to try to describe the developmental tendencies of

castle architecture in a wider period of the High and Late

Middle Ages. Since it is not possible to give a systematic

and exhaustive explanation in the limited space, I will focus

on the description and interpretation of several key objects

and an outline of general trends.

The beginnings of High Medieval castles

in Northwestern Bohemia

The oldest stone Medieval castle in Northwestern Bo he

mia is Roudnice nad Labem, built by the bishop of Prague

and Duke Jindřich Břetislav of the Přemyslid dynasty. We

know the date of construction very precisely, based on

dendrochronological dating this happened sometime after

the turn of the years 1189/1190. In the mass of today’s Ba -

roque chateau a part of the massive Romanesque palace

with solid towers has been preserved. The other build-

ings of the castle are known from earlier descriptions and

depictions, but cannot be dated exactly. Perhaps in its be 

ginnings, the castle was equipped with the outer bailey

with a gate tower and the inner bailey dominated by the

aforementioned palace (Fig. 1). Roudnice Castle, the seat

of Prague’s bishops and archbishops, is completely unique.

At a time when the Czech principality was still dominated

by Early Medieval castles, such as Litoměřice, the archi-

tectural type of a High Medieval stone castle, which was

already quite common in contemporary Western Europe,

appeared for the rst time. However, the expansion of their

construction did not occur until the reign of the Czech King

Wenceslas I (1230–1253) [1].

One of the oldest Wenceslas castles in Northwestern

Bohemia is the Most Castle, later also called Landeswarte,

built together with the royal city [2, pp. 31–39]. The origi-

nal appearance of the castle has been changed by the

construction of a restaurant and a lookout tower from the

turn of the 19

and 20

centuries. However, preserved

Medieval parts, descriptions and old depictions assist us

in reconstructing its appearance. The castle, located on the

top of a hill above the city, was divided into two sections

– the outer bailey and the inner bailey. The inner bailey was

dominated by a massive circular Bergfried (a freestand-

ing, ghtingtower) with a diameter of 14 m. To the west of

it was a twostorey palace with a chapel, king’s chambers

and a great hall. To the east of the tower was another

palace with a prismatic tower. We assume agricultural and

operational development in the outer bailey, perhaps even

burgrave dwellings. The original gatehouse was located

on the northern side. At the end of the 15

century, the

castle was rebuilt in late Gothic style, while new anking

towers and towers were also built and the gatehouse was

moved to the south (Fig. 2).

During the reign of Wenceslas I, the royal towns of

Ústí nad Labem and Žatec were also established, within

* Ústav archeologické památkové péče severozápadních Čech

(v.v.i.), Most, Czech Republic, email: sykora277@gmail.com

108 Milan Sýkora

which castles were built. Unfortunately, their appearance

remains completely unknown. The same is true with the

appearance of one of the oldest nobility castles – Bílina,

on the site of which a Baroque chateau was built. We

know from written sources that the core was dominated by

a circular Bergfried, next to which there was a gatehouse

and in the back part stood a donjon [2, p. 40]. Such an

economical approach will be typical for the residences of

the nobility throughout the 13

century.

In Northwestern Bohemia, Rýzmburk, later referred to

as Osek, is one of the most complex and extensive castles

(Fig. 3). Sometime before or exactly in 1249, it was founded

by one of the most important nobles in the kingdom, Boreš

of Rýzmburk. Its former appearance with a Bergfried,

a modest palace and an outer bailey with a cis tern corre-

sponds to contemporary nobility buildings. Only the addi 

tional construction of a high prismatic don jon with elabo

rate architectural details from the period after 1260 was

motivated by the eort to increase the re presentatio

nal function of the building [3, pp. 149–203].

During the reign of King Přemysl Otakar II (1253–

1278), the town of Kadaň was established. On the western

side of it a castle was built above the slopes of the Ohře

river, which then or shortly afterwards took the form of

a rectangular castle with four corner towers and periph-

ery housing. In addition to the main wall, the castle was

fortied against the city by an outer ward with a wall

Fig. 1. Roudnice nad Labem Castle: 1 – moat, 2 – tower gate,

3 – outer bailey, 4 – inner bailey, 5 – Romanesque palace,

6 – large tower from the 2

half of the 14

century

(drawing by M. Sýkora)

Il. 1. Zamek Roudnice nad Labem: 1 – fosa, 2 – wieża bramna,

3 – podzamcze, 4 – podzamcze wewnętrzne, 5 – pałac romański,

6 – duża wieża z 2. połowy XIV w.

(rys. M. Sýkora)

Fig. 2. Floor plan of Most Castle and its depiction

from the beginning of the 17

century by Jan Willenberg:

1 – Bergfried, 2 – royal palace, 3 – palace, 4 – prismatic tower,

5 – wall separating the inner bailey from the outer bailey,

6 – building, 7 – old gate, 8 – new gate from the 15

century,

9 – flanking towers (drawing by M. Sýkora)

Il. 2. Plan piętra zamku Most i jego widok

z początku XVII w. według Jana Willenberga:

1 – Bergfried, 2 – pałac królewski, 3 – pałac,

4 – wieża graniastosłupowa, 5 – mur oddzielający podzamcze

wewnętrzne od podzamcza zewnętrznego, 6 – budynek,

7 – stara brama, 8 – nowa brama z XV w., 9 – baszty flankujące

(rys. M. Sýkora)

and a ditch (Fig. 4A) [4, pp. 235–237]. Another royal

castle in Budyně nad Ohří, built on the site of an older

Přemyslid curia on the edge of the newly founded royal

town during the reign of Přemysl Otakar II, had the same

form [4, pp. 90–92], [5, pp. 454–459]. The appearance of

both castles was based not only on the monarch’s demand

on representation, but also on the conned conditions of

cities, where the castle layout had to be adapted to the

regular division of the city by street network.

Přemysl Otakar II built the Svádov castle near the royal

town of Ústí nad Labem as a stronghold. The castle was

divided into two parts – the outer bailey and the inner bailey.

The inner bailey was built around on almost all sides.

At the northern section of the wall was the main palace,

headed by a cylindrical Bergfried (Fig. 4B) [4, p. 530].

While royal castles usually took the form of a castellum

or a layout with compact stone buildings, nobility castles

in the 2

half of the 13

century were far more modest.

The main elements were usually a circular Bergfried and

a palace (a typical example is the Unknown Castle near

Albrechtice), but sometimes the core was occupied only

by a large donjon (Unknown Castle on Josena Skála,

Fig. 4C). The towers did not always have to be cylindrical,

but also prismatic, while they could also full a residen-

tial function (Starý Žeberk, Fig. 4D). However, the castles

could also stand free of towers – the castle in Žerotín had

only two palace wings perpendicular to each other, while

the remaining sides of the courtyard were surrounded by

a moat [6, pp. 77–114].

Přemysl’s successor Wenceslas II (1283–1305) probably

only continued the completion of castles founded under his

father, his only foundation is the establishment of a castle

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages 109

in Litoměřice, which, however, was not completed until

the reign of John the Blind (of Luxembourg). Also Wence-

slas III (1305–1306) was not active in founding, having

too short a life, ended with an insidious attack by an

unknown murderer. During the subsequent struggles for

the Czech Kingdom, when Rudolf I of Habsburg (1306–

1307) and Henry of Carinthia (1307–1310) took turns on

the throne, no other settlements were built, but some of the

royal castles got into temporary possession of the nobility.

In 1310, the royal estates included the castles of Budyně

nad Ohří, Kadaň (in temporary possession of the nobili

ty), Königstein, Litoměřice, Most (temporary possession

Fig. 3. Rýzmburk Castle:

A – hypothetical reconstruction

of the form at the end of

the 13

century,

B – hypothetical reconstruction

of the form at the end

of the 15

century,

C – ground floor plan of the castle,

1 – Bergfried, 2 – old palace,

3 – donjon, 4 – palace with

tower and chapel from

the 1

half of the 14

century,

5 – first outer bailey,

6 – second outer bailey,

7 – Bergfried

(drawing and 3D model by

I. Lehký)

Il. 3. Zamek Rýzmburk:

A – hipotetyczna rekonstrukcja

formy z końca XIII w.,

B – hipotetyczna rekonstrukcja

formy z końca XV w.,

C – plan przyziemia zamku,

1 – Bergfried, 2 – stary pałac,

3 – donżon, 4 – pałac z wieżą

i kaplicą z 1. połowy XIV w.,

5 – I podzamcze,

6 – II podzamcze, 7 – Bergfried

(oprac. I. Lehký)

110 Milan Sýkora

Northwest Bohemian castles as a support to royal power,

while economic interests had the same or perhaps great-

er importance. A colonization wave entered the interior of

the Ore Mountains as early as the 13

century, creating

mostly isolated settlements. Attractive deposits of ores and

precious metals, as well as a dense network of longdis-

tance routes, could be a valuable source of nance for the

royal treasury, while uninhabited territories could satisfy

ambitions of the representatives of the elites.

The combination of all these factors led King Jan to

the completion of the network of castles in Northwestern

Bohemia. After taking the throne, Jan regained ownership

of the Most and Kadaň castles and completed the castle in

Litoměřice. At the same time, he supported the construc-

tion of new ef castles Perštejn, Hasištejn, Nový Žeberk,

Krupka, Kyšperk, Střekov and Kamýk, while the owners

of the older castles of Starý Žeberk and Rýzmburk also

joined the network of ef castles (Fig. 5) [7].

Undoubtedly the most interesting castle building of

the 14

century is the town castle in Litoměřice [7], [9,

pp. 182, 183]. The castle originally stood outside the city

walls, only under Charles IV it was included in their forti-

cations during the expansion of Litoměřice. According to

archaeological ndings, the beginnings of its construction

are connected with the reign of Wenceslas II, though only

the foundations of buildings of unclear purpose, perhaps

a residential building, date from this period. Later, during

the reign of John the Blind of Luxembourg a regular castle

was built, the front of which was strengthened by two

cylindrical towers, between which a gate with portcullis

was placed in the wall. In the third corner of the layout

of the nobility) and Svádov. Bílina was a ef in the po 

sse ssion of the lords of Friedberk. Noble families

held

Dě čín (until 1305 a royal town with a castle), Egerberk,

Un known Castle upon Kotvina, Klapý (Házmburk), Maš ťov,

Mojžíř, Unknown Castle near Albrechtice, Un known Castle

on Josena Skála, Šarfenštejn / Ostrý, Rýzm burk (Osek),

Starý Žeberk, Šebín, Těchlovice, Vel ké Březno I, Vinařice

and Žerotín. The spectrum of fortications is complement-

ed by three localities of unknown type and owner – forti-

ed settlements near Brandov, Český Jiřetín and Levín, as

well as commandery of knightly orders in Kadaň, Chomu-

tov, Most, Býčkovice and Ploskovice, and the bishop’s

castle in Roudnice nad Labem [7, pp. 124–135].

Castles during the reign of The Luxembourgs

Until recently, the reign of the rst Czech king of the

Luxembourg family, John the Blind (1310–1346), was

perceived as a time with insignicant castle founding activ-

ity, especially in comparison with the Přemyslid prede-

cessors and an extraordinarily capable successor, namely

Charles IV. It is true that very few new foundations date

from the time of his reign, but it must be noted that the

basic network of castles had already been completed, and

that the construction and completion of previously estab-

lished settlements continued. In addition, a large number

of newly built castles were established as ef castles [8],

where the owner was obliged to the monarch not only for

military service, but the castle had to remain open for the

needs of the king. The military conict was only one of

a number of reasons for the construction of a network of

Fig. 4. Castles of the 2

half

of the 13

century: A – Kadaň,

B – Svádov, C – Unknown castle

on Josefina skála,

D – Starý Žeberk

(drawings by J. Novotný,

J. Otradovec, M. Sýkora

and F. Záruba)

Il. 4. Zamki 2. połowy XIII w.:

A – Kadaň, B – Svádov,

C – nieznany zamek na skale

Josefiny, D – Stare Żeberka

(rys. J. Novotný, J. Otradovec,

M. Sýkora i F. Záruba)

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages 111

there was a prismatic tower, the fourth was later complete-

ly destroyed by the construction of a brewery. The inner

development included a palace with courtyard galleries on

the west side. The inner bailey of the castle was surrounded

by a wall with an outer ward, on the eastern side there was

an outer bailey belonging to the castle (Fig. 6). Litoměřice

was the only royal castle in Northwestern Bohemia, among

many existing ef castles owned by the nobility.

Two castles were held by a German family of lords

from Šumburk (Schönburg). Perštejn Castle rst appears

in written sources in 1343, according to archaeological

ndings, its origins date back to the 1

half of the 14

century. So far, minimal attention has been paid to the

construction of this castle with a very complicated layout

[4, pp. 425, 426]. It seems that the oldest phase, docu

mented in relics, included an inner bailey with Bergfried,

a palace, a gate, a perimeter wall and an outer ward. An ad

ditional section with compact buildings around the cramped

courtyard was added to the inner bailey, and the castle was

also signicantly modied in the 15

century.

Fig. 5. Castles

in Northwestern Bohemia:

A – town, B – castle,

C – commandery,

1 – royal property, 2 – fief,

3 – temporary possession of

the nobility, 4 – nobility property

(map by M. Sýkora)

Il. 5. Zamki

w północnozachodnich Czechach:

A – miasto, B – zamek,

C – komandoria,

1 – własność królewska,

2 – lenno, 3 – czasowa własność

szlachecka,

4 – majątek szlachecki

(oprac. M. Sýkora)

112 Milan Sýkora

While in the case of Perštejn the reconstruction of its

appearance is more or less hypothetical, in the case of

Hasištejn Castle the uncertainty is signicantly lower. It

was built at the beginning of the reign of King Jan of the

Šumburk family as the centre of the estate, where signi

cant

mining activities were carried out. In the oldest construc-

tion phase, Hasištejn was equipped with a freestanding

Bergfried, which was entered through a nearby tower build-

ing. Opposite the Bergfried, a tower palace with massive

buttresses connected to the perimeter wall stood out on

a rock. A twostorey chapel building was tied to the wall.

Today, the castle is accessible through a gate in the north-

western part of the inner bailey, through a courtyard, which

was built on a steep slope sometime around the middle of

the 15

century. However, the original gate complex was

located on the northeast side, where two gate towers were

connected to the outer ward and the main wall. In front of

the castle there used to be an outer bailey, equipped with

farm and residential buildings, destroyed during the siege

of the castle by the royal army in 1418 (Fig. 7) [10, pp. 75–

88], [11, pp. 39–74].

Another of the ef castles, Nový Žeberk, was built

sometime around 1321 as a residential building, which,

for this purpose, was to replace the inconvenient Starý

Žeberk built too high and far from the property. The

oldest phase includes a palace with a stair tower, to which

an outer bailey is connected with perimeter buildings,

which seem to have complicated development. The castle

is surrounded by an outer ward, from which two probably

newer mural towers protrude, of the same age is proba-

bly a pentagonal bastion, protruding from the outer bailey,

which guarded the entrance to the castle. On almost all

sides, the castle was surrounded by a moat and an earth

rampart in front of it, from which several earth towers

also rise. However, this fortication, as well as two other

lines of embankments with moats, belong to the youngest

construction phase from the 1

half of the 15

century

(Fig. 9A) [12].

During the reign of King Jan, Rýzmburk also became

a ef castle. Under the original inner bailey of the castle,

a new complex of buildings was added to the rock in the

half of the 14

century. A prismatic tower was built in

the corner and a palace adjoined it, which together formed

a residential unit. Along the other side of the courtyard,

a chapel was built at the same time, which is one of the

largest castle buildings of its kind in Bohemia. Another

outer bailey, a large cylindrical tower and part of the forti-

cation of the rst outer bailey were probably built in the

same period (Fig. 3) [3].

Střekov Castle was founded in 1319. Part of the oldest

phase of the castle on the dominant rock above the Elbe

was a donjon with a courtyard surrounded by a wall at

the highest point. Shortly after the castle was captured by

a powerful lords family of Vartenberk, a new castle section

was established, which blocked the way to the older royal

ef castle. It was equipped with a Bergfried connected to

the perimeter fortications and a gate with a drawbridge.

In the middle of the longer sides of the new complex there

are small mural towers, the northeast corner included

a subtle tower. On the south side, a large rectangular palace

protrudes from the wall. Although the bastions and towers

could have a military function (protection of the access

road), their construction was motivated more by the desire

for the visual attractiveness of the seat (Fig. 8) [13].

Kamýk Castle was founded in the same year as Stře 

kov. The main structure of the oldest phase was a pentag-

onal donjon. Below it, the area was surrounded by a wall

with an embedded gate and another building on the op 

posite side. To the south below the tower, a Renaissance

palace was built at the wall in the 16

century. The whole

Fig. 6. Litoměřice Castle –

ground floor plan of preserved

parts and projection of the state

in around 1400: A – masonry

before 1300, B – masonry from

the period 1310–1330, C – masonry

from the end of the 14

century,

1 – building, 2, 3 – cylindrical

towers, 4 – gate, 5 – remains of

the palace, 6 – prismatic tower,

7 – new palace from the end of

the 14

century, 8 – city

fortification tower (drawing

and 3D model by M. Sýkora)

Il. 6. Zamek Litoměřice

– plan zachowanych części

i wizualizacja stanu

ok. 1400 r.:

A – mury przed 1300 r.,

B – mury

z lat 1310–1330, C – mury

z końca XIV w., 1 – budynek,

2, 3 – wieże cylindryczne,

4 – brama, 5 – pozostałości pałacu,

6 – wieża graniastosłupowa,

7 – nowy pałac z końca XIV w.,

8 – miejska wieża obronna

(oprac. M. Sýkora)

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages 113

castle was still surrounded by an outer ward (Fig. 9B) [4,

pp. 241, 242].

During the reign of King Charles IV (1346–1378) no

new royal castles were built in Northwestern Bohemia,

even the reconstructions are very sporadic and partial, if

we can distinguish them at all. New buildings of nobility

provenance are also relatively rare, especially in compar-

ison with the previous period. This is quite understand

able, considering that the settlement network with castles

had basically been completed.

One of the few aristocratic buildings is Petrohrad Castle,

which unfortunately has not been thoroughly researched

so far, which, due to its relatively long existence until the

middle of the 16

century, causes considerable diculties

Fig. 7. Hasištejn Castle

– ground floor plan of preserved

parts and projection of the state

around 1418.

1 – masonry from 1310–1330,

2 – masonry from the middle

of the 14

century,

3 – masonry from the end

of the 14

century,

4 – masonry around 1500,

5 – 19

century, 6 – undated

(drawing and 3D model by

M. Sýkora)

Il. 7. Zamek Hasištejn

– plan zachowanych części

przyziemia i wizualizacja

stanu około 1418 r.,

1 – mury z lat 1310–1330,

2 – mury z połowy XIV w.,

3 – mury z końca XIV w.,

4 – mury z ok. 1500,

5 – XIX w., 6 – niedatowane

(oprac. M. Sýkora)

114 Milan Sýkora

in distinguishing between individual construction phases

[4, pp. 426–428]. The highest part of the castle hill was

occupied by the inner bailey, which probably consisted

of two complex buildings, arranged in a line. We have no

data on their appearance and equipment, although we can

assume residential purposes. This complex of buildings

was surrounded by a wall in a massive oval down the

slope, which formed another castle section on the north

west side. In it we have found the remains of a building,

near which stood a massive Bergfried, guarding the access

road to the castle. The entrance to the castle was located

on the north side, where in a kind of barbican the road

turned at a right angle and passed through two gates.

Part of the protection of both gates was a prismatic tower

standing above them.

The castle in Roudnice nad Labem underwent signi-

cant changes. In the times of Bishop John IV of Dražice

and Archbishop Ernest of Pardubice, the castle grounds,

consisting of a Romanesque palace with turrets, were sig 

ni cantly expanded. The palace was extended to the east,

where it ended with the main tower (diameter of 15 m)

with a chapel (Fig. 1).

Košťálov Castle is rst mentioned in 1372, it was built

shortly before by the Zajícové of Házmburk [14, pp. 66–75].

The inner bailey of the castle at the highest point of the

hill was occupied by a tower palace building, which was

surrounded by an outer ward on the front. Behind the inner

bailey on the slope below was another walled section of

unknown function. In front of the castle there was an

outer bailey with at least three buildings, documented by

archaeological probes, two of which served as a residence

of a large family of the castle owners in the 15

century.

We are missing the dating of the outer bailey buildings,

although we assume this section belongs to the original

part of the castle. In front of the outer bailey we see traces

of three sections from the 15

century, placed along the

access road. The inner one had a stone fortication, the

middle one was accessible by a brick gate and, like the

outer one, was only fortied by an earth wall and a wooden

wall-walk (Fig. 9D).

The tendency to develop comfortable residential build-

ings can also be observed at the castle called Jezeří (Eisen

berg), which is rst mentioned in 1365. The castle was

later rebuilt several times, around 1549 in the Renaissance

and after 1696 in the Baroque style, but thanks to architec-

tural history research and analysis of the terrain situation we

can partially describe its appearance [2, pp. 111–115]. The

building reected the period’s tendency towards balanced

two-pole layouts with two palaces opposite each other.

These are complemented by two towers, one at the front and

the other on a high rock at the back of the castle (Fig. 9C).

In addition to relatively large structures, we also nd

more economical buildings from the reign of Charles IV.

Skalka Castle is rst mentioned in 1357 [14, pp. 126–131].

To this day, only a Bergfried has been preserved from the

castle, but we can assume that another building could

have stood on a distinctive rock behind it, and below the

tower – an outer bailey in front of a moat. The main living

quarters were probably located on the site of today’s

chateau below the castle (Fig. 9F).

As in the case of Skalka, we also recognize a small struc-

ture in Oparno, the dimensions of which may be related to

the not very large economic power of the builder, who built

his seat sometime between 1341–1354 [15, pp. 233–255].

The highest point of the castle rock was occupied by the

inner bailey, separated on both shorter sides by moats

and surrounded by a high chemise wall with crenellation,

inside it were two longitudinally oriented buildings, the

remains of one of which allow us to interpret it as a residen-

tial building. On both shorter sides of the inner bailey we

see two more castle sections. The front one undoubtedly

had a defensive function and guarded the access, while the

rear, and the lowest situated, fullled economic and opera-

tional functions. Later the castle was divided between

two owners and also served residential purposes.

From the reign of King Wenceslas IV (1378–1419) we

know mainly two extensive reconstructions of older castles

– Egerberk and Litoměřice. In 1384–1395, Eger berk was

radically rebuilt by Jindřich Škopek of Dubá, the kingdom’s

Grand Master of the Household. At that time, a new

palace

with a bay chapel was built in the inner bailey and

a halfcylindrical tower was rebuilt. Behind the inner bailey

of the castle we nd the outer bailey, another section spirals

around the previous two and at its head is a high tower

gate. It was accessible by a bridge over a moat and an outer

embankment, at the top of which stood another gate acces-

sible by a narrow forework enclosed by two walls. This

Fig. 8. Střekov Castle – ground floor plan of preserved parts

and reconstruction of the state around 1500.

Dark red masonry from 1310–1330, light red masonry

from the end of the 15

century

(floor plan by M. Sýkora acc. to D. Menclová, projection by J. Novotný)

Il. 8. Zamek Střekov – plan zachowanych części przyziemia

i rekonstrukcja stanu około 1500 r.

Kolorem ciemnoczerwonym oznaczono mury z lat 1310–1330,

a kolorem różowym mury z końca XV w.

(plan piętra oprac. M. Sýkora wg D. Menclovej, wizualizacja J. Novotný)

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages 115

forework is

the rst example of defensive elements, more

examples of which we nd later during the 15

century.

The castle of Litoměřice underwent similarly extensive

reconstruction as Egerberk. Under Wenceslas IV a new

palace was built, but because there was no place for it

inside the castle, it was placed in front of the northern

wall. The palace, although it had only two oors above

the ground, was a new feature of the castle due to its

massiveness. The ground oor contained one living unit

and a chapel area. On the rst oor, accessible by a spiral

staircase partially protruding from the courtyard façade,

we nd two more residential units. The courtyard façade

Fig. 9. Castles of the 14

century:

A – Nový Žeberk at the end of the 14

century (3D model by M. Sýkora), B – Kamýk at the end of the 15

century (3D model by M. Sýkora),

C – Jezeří at the end of the 14

century (3D model by M. Sýkora), D – Košťálov at the end of the 15

century (3D model by I. Lehký),

E – Rýzmburk at the end of the 14

century (3D model by I. Lehký), F – Skalka at the end of the 15

century (3D model by M. Sýkora)

Il. 9. Zamki z XIV w.:

A – Nový Žeberk pod koniec XIV w. (model 3D M. Sýkora),

B – Kamýk pod koniec XV w. (model 3D M. Sýkora),

C – Jezeří pod koniec XIV w. (model 3D M. Sýkora), D – Košťálov pod koniec XV w. (model 3D I. Lehký),

E – Rýzmburk pod koniec XIV w. (model 3D I. Lehký), F – Skalka pod koniec XV w. (model 3D M. Sýkora)

A B

116 Milan Sýkora

was equipped with a remarkable portal on the ground

oor, and the rst oor was equipped with large rectangu-

lar windows (Fig. 6).

During the reign of King John, we can observe the con

tinuation of the building traditions of the Přemyslid period,

as well as the tendency to develop residential components

at the expense of defence capabilities. Certainly surpris-

ing is a large number of newly built ef castles, where

the structural and artistic appearance varies greatly from

ordinary small buildings to impressive structures, of which

the undoubtedly most interesting one is the new expansion

of Rýzmburk Castle with one of the largest castle chapels

in the Czech lands.

Also in the 2

half of the 14

century, castles of dier-

ent quality were built in Northwestern Bohemia. From

simple nobility residences, equipped with a Bergfried and

a palace, or enclosed by a mantle wall or with a tower

palace as the main building, to elaborately equipped

residences, of which the most interesting and unique for

its time is the Wenceslas reconstruction of the castle in

Litoměřice. The peaceful period of the 14

century was

reected in architecture in the emphasis on the residential

and representational qualities of settlements, often at the

expense of the military ones. And it was this error that was

soon to appear as absolutely fundamental.

Castles in the turmoil of the Hussite wars

After several decades of the reign of King Wenceslas IV

latent economic, social and religious problems began to

manifest themselves, which eventually resulted in the

Hussite Revolution (1419–1437). During the war times

(the reign of Sigismund of Luxembourg, 1420–1437),

the use of rearms and artillery grew gradually, and their

eect was quite signicant. Few castles could withstand

the heavy siege and repower of the increasingly eective

artillery. As a temporary solution, at the time of the threat,

earth ramparts were built around the castles, nished with

various wooden or stone walls with wallwalks. Howev-

er, thanks to their exible construction, they proved to be

the only possible solution for protecting castles [16, pp.

153–177].

Probably the rst case of using such technologies in

the area is Hasištejn Castle. After its conquest in 1418, the

core of the castle was surrounded by a ring of walled earth

rampart, on the crown of which stood unknown structures,

replaced sometime in the 1840s by a wall fortication with

a building and a gate (Fig. 7).

The earth rampart at Hasištejn was only a passive de fence

structure, but active defence systems soon appeared. Kalich

Castle, built in May 1421 not far from Litoměřice by the

Hussite military leader Jan Žižka [17], is a perfect example

of military ingenuity and resourcefulness. The inner bailey

of the castle was equipped with a three-part palace and

several other buildings. At one of the highest places stood

a tower, probably prismatic. The entire fortication of the

inner bailey took the form of massive walled ramparts with

wooden structures at their top, allowing not only anking

with rearms, but also resisting their attack. The key element

of the fortication is the advanced work. It consisted of

a corridor limited by parallel walls, which were connected

at one end to the fortications of the castle’s inner bailey, at

the other end stood a massive walled earth tower. Togeth-

er with the vertically layered strips of the fortications of

the castle core, the advanced work allowed the anking of

a long section of a narrow road cut into the steep slope and

the area around the castle, which completely eliminated the

blind spots. Below the castle, fortied with more embank-

ments and moats, there was an additional outwork section,

which could serve as a place of temporary residence for

Hussite troops (Fig. 10A). The fortications of Kalich Castle

were an unprecedentedly progressive solution in their time,

combining passive and active defence. Due to its location

on a solitary hill, the castle could hardly be endangered.

Its qualities are also evidenced by the fact that it was not

conquered during the sieges in 1421 and 1437. It stood until

sometime around 1500.

The nearby Castle Panna (Litoměřice district) was

built in 1421 by Catholic nobleman Zikmund Děčínský of

Var tberk as a counterweight to Kalich Castle, as evidenced

by its symbolic name. In 1423, the Hussites conquered the

castle and occupied it with their garrison. The original small

castle with three buildings (probably a tower, a residential

building and another structure between them) and an outer

bailey was extended by several other lines of fortications,

again formed by walled earth ramparts and wooden struc-

tures. Unlike Kalich, it was to be used for purely military

functions and for temporary accommodation of the army,

so we also do not nd many permanent residential units,

only a few smaller wooden build ings. Both large earth

towers

and small defensive ghting position protruded

Fig. 10. Castles of the Hussite wars period:

A – Kalich at the end of the 15

century (3D model by I. Lehký),

B – Panna (3D model by M. Sýkora)

Il. 10. Zamki z okresu wojen husyckich:

A – Kalich pod koniec XV w. (model 3D I. Lehký),

B – Panna (model 3D M. Sýkora)

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages 117

from the line of fortications, from where it was possi-

ble to eectively protect the forecourt and the access road

(Fig. 10B). It is no wonder that the siege of this purely

military building in the winter of 1437 lasted for seve ral

months and was successfully completed only by the sudden

capture of the local governor. Emperor Sigismund of

Luxembourg then ordered the demolition of this castle.

Sometime in 1421–1423, Zikmund of Vartenberk built

another castle, Litýš, which then served as a seat until the

half of the 16

century. Earth ramparts and towers,

which gradually descend from the inner bailey at the top

and follow the access road, probably come from the oldest

phase. The inner bailey was equipped with a gradually

expanded three-winged palace and at the highest point

probably a tower.

Military innovations have spread to other castles, re gard

less of the denominational aliation of their owners. Os 

trý Castle, built in 1433–1436, had two wall towers at the

ends of the inner bailey and a palace in the middle between

them. The outer fortications consisted of walled earth

ramparts and two protruding triangular walled earth towers.

An extremely progressive element are the massive walled

earth towers built on the slope, one triangular and the other

pentagonal, from which it was possible to control a long

section of the road to the castle. Ostrý is also a wonder-

ful example of trends in everyday life in the 15

century,

when a fortied castle on a high hill serves as a military

structure, while residential – in this case a manor house in

Bílý Újezd – is located at the bottom in a village or town.

Sometime in the 1

half of the 15

century, the forti-

cation of Nový Žeberk Castle was reactivated, when

a massive earth wall was built around almost the entire

castle outside the moat, with ve protruding earth towers.

On the access side the fortications were reinforced with

two lines of moats and earth walls, limiting the advance of

a potential attacker (Fig. 9A).

A very exceptional case is Žlutice, where Jakoubek of

Vřesovice modernized an older town castle from the 13

cen -

tu ry, surrounded the town with a new circle of fortica

tions and built two new castles Mazanec and Nevděk, whose

function was predominantly military, and which served as

a symbol of command over the landscape and the city.

Only a few cases from a wide range of buildings show

us very clearly that at the beginning of the 15

century

ingeniously fortied settlements were built in Bohemia.

These stand on the very start of modern fortress construc-

tion. Elements such as massive earth ramparts, round, trian-

gular or pentagonal earth towers (sometimes of enor mous

dimensions), advanced work or outwork appear here. We

can observe the tendency to search for castle con struction

sites on high hills. In case of unfavourable geo morpholog-

ical conditions, the valley is ooded by ponds or the castle

is hidden behind a massive earth wall. The construction

methods develop to the point where the defence no longer

forms a continuous line, but rather a system of fortica-

tions, which are able to cover each other by anking. With

the spread of Hussite mercenaries across Europe, these

innovations spread to other Central European countries,

where they found their use and, inuenced by local archi-

tecture, led to the development of the bastion fortress. It is

a historical paradox that in Bohemia, after the situation

calmed down after the Hussite wars, these discoveries were

forgotten and the castle architecture was slowly moving

towards chateau settlements.

Castles in the late Gothic and Renaissance period

During the reign of George (lord of Kunštát and Po 

děbrady, 1458–1471) and the Jagiellonians Vladislaus II

(1471–1516), Matthias Corvinus (1469–1490) and Louis

Fig. 11. Castles of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period:

A – Chomutov (plan by M. Sýkora,

projection of the state at the end of the 15

century by J. Pachner),

B – Doubravská hora (plan by M. Sýkora acc. to D. Menclová).

I – before 1250, II – 2

half of the 13

century,

III – 2

half of the 15

century, IV – beginning of the 16

century.

1 – Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, 2 – commandery,

3 and 4 – tower, 5 – Late Gothic buildings, 6 – wall tower

Il. 11. Zamki późnego średniowiecza i wczesnej epoki nowożytnej:

A – Chomutov

(plan M. Sýkora, widok stanu na koniec XV w. J. Pachnera),

B – Doubravská hora (plan M. Sýkora wg D. Menclovej).

I – przed 1250 r., II – 2. połowa XIII w.,

III – 2. połowa XV w., IV – początek XVI w.,

1 – kościół św. Katarzyny Aleksandryjskiej, 2 – komandoria,

3 i 4 – wieża, 5 – późnogotycka budowla, 6 – wieża murowa

118 Milan Sýkora

(1516–1526), the main emphasis in castle architecture is

again on the quality of housing. Although we can observe

some eort for military ability of the seats in the form of

construction of walls with allure or covered allure, wall

towers, gun towers or outwork, sometimes their eective

ness is highly questionable and does not constitute a com

prehensive and wellthoughtout defence system.

Around the middle of the 15

century, Hasištejn Castle

was equipped with a system of wall towers, which, around

1500, was supplemented by an outwork fortication with

a gun tower and earth fortications. However, a new large

palace is also being built on the castle, as a substitution to

the original compact residential tower (Fig. 7).

Far greater emphasis on the residential component is

obvious in the reconstruction of the Most/Landeswarte

Castle from the period after 1480, when the two older

palaces were rebuilt and expanded, using the contempo-

rary German lateGothic style of Arnold von Westfalen

(Fig. 2). The same sources of inspiration can be seen in the

reconstruction of the former commandery of the Teuton-

ic Order in the town of Chomutov from the same period,

because Chomutov and Most had the same owner – the

family of lords from Weitmíle. The Chomutov mansion,

which was equipped with only one defensive structure –

a wall tower protruding from the fortication ring, was

mainly a glamorous residence (Fig. 11A). However, the

missing military component was substituted by the forti-

cations of the city itself. This example also shows us the

tendency to build settlements within or near cities and

towns, where there were far more opportunities for the re 

presentation of the family (decoration of churches – nec 

ropolises, town halls, gates and towers).

Although reconstructions of some settlements (e.g., Je 

zeří) took place during the 16

century, a number of castles

were denitively abandoned in favour of more comfortable

manor houses and chateaux. The last modications of the

castles are known from the period of the 1

half of the 17

century. Around 1600, Doubravská Hora was rebuilt, when

not only 7 gun towers were built, but also a progressive

bastion fortication (Fig. 11B) [2, pp. 172, 1

73]. During the

Thirty Years’ War, military garrisons appeared in castles

that still served their purpose, and sometimes fortica-

tions were improved – for example, three earth bastions

built at Most Castle.

Conclusions

The oldest royal and nobility castles appear in North-

western Bohemia, as well as in the whole kingdom, in the 2

third of the 13

century, although we know rare exceptions

from the previous period. Typologically, during

the reign

of the Přemyslids (until 1306), builders mainly use castles

with a Bergfried and a palace or with a donjon, regular

castle dispositions remain limited to the environment of

royal cities. While royal residences are concentrated in the

traditional settlement areas in the lowlands, near the rivers

and in the vicinity of the royal cities, the nobility castles

penetrate the newly inhabited mountain areas. However,

the growth in construction of nobility castles did not occur

until the reign of John the Blind (1310–1346), when many

of them were built as ef castles. These buildings were to

serve not only as strongholds and power points of the king

and his vassals, often nobles of nonCzech origin, but also

as centres of colonization of mountain areas.

During the 14

century we can observe dierent ten 

den cies in the construction of castles. Simple mansions

equipped with Bergfried and a palace or with a donjon as

the main building are still used. In addition to them, howev-

er, there are also more sophisticated mansions, where

a large palace stands as the main building. While during

almost the entire 14

century there is still an emphasis on

the military component of castles in the form of multi-

plication of wall lines, towers or wall towers, in the last

quarter we can already observe decline in the use of defen-

sive components. The peaceful period of the 14

century

was reected in the improvement of the residential and

representational component of the settlements.

The direction of the castle architecture towards comfort-

able settlements similar to later castles was disrupted by

the Hussite wars and the massive development of rearms.

During the war years in Bohemia, an ingenious archi-

tecture was being created using both passive and active

defence means, which, together with military know 

ledge (cannons, composite iron lead ammunition) spread

throughout Europe and formed one of the sources of inspi-

ration for modern bastion fortresses.

After the Hussite wars, we see tendencies aimed at im 

proving the quality of residential and representational

components of settlements in the castle architecture ten-

dencies aimed at improving the quality of residential and

representational components of settlements, with in spira tion

often taken from contemporary constructions in neigh bour

ing Saxony. Their military equipment was often de mon-

strative and representative in nature and was not adapted for

combat at all. The downside last manifested itself during

the Thirty Years’ War, when castles were last used militar-

ily. This nal episode of the life of the proud residences of

social elites symbolically closes the long period of exist-

ence of castles. Even after many centuries of gradual decay,

however, they still tell us their stories and provide evidence

of the daily lives of their owners.

Translated by

Jaroslav Barok

References

[1] Sýkora M., Roudnický hrad, [in:] M. Trefný (ed.), Roudnice nad

Labem, Roudnice nad Labem 2021 [in press].

[2] Pyšná sídla mocných. Hrady a tvrze na Mostecku, I. Lehký, M. Sý

kora (edd.), ÚAPPSZČ, Most 2014.

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages 119

Abstract

Castles of Northwestern Bohemia in the Middle Ages

The oldest royal and nobility castles appear in Northwestern Bohemia in the 2

third of the 13

century. Builders mainly use castles with a Berg-

fried and a palace or with a donjon, regular castle dispositions remain limited to the environment of royal cities. However, the growth in construction

of nobility castles did not occur until the reign of John the Blind, when many of them were built as ef castles. During the 14

century we can observe

dierent tendencies in the construction of castles. There are more sophisticated mansions, where a large palace stands as the main building. In the

last quarter of the 14

century we can already observe decline in the use of defensive components. The direction of the castle architecture towards

comfortable settlements was disrupted by the Hussite wars and the massive development of rearms. During the war years in Bohemia, an ingenious

architecture was being created using both passive and active defence means, which spread throughout Europe and formed one of the sources of in-

spiration for modern bastion fortresses. After the Hussite wars, we see tendencies aimed at improving the quality of residential and representational

components.

The purpose of this article is not only to present the complicated beginnings of castles in northwestern Bohemia (today’s Ústí region), but also

to attempt to describe the development trends of castle architecture until the late Middle Ages. In his work, the author focused on the description and

interpretation of several key objects and on the outline of general trends.

Key words: Northwestern Bohemia, High Middle Ages, castle

Streszczenie

Zamki północno-zachodnich Czech w średniowieczu

Trzynasty wiek był nie tylko świetlanym okresem panowania ostatnich królów charyzmatycznej dynastii Przemyślidów, ale także okresem stop-

niowej i długotrwałej transformacji ziem Królestwa Czeskiego, która zasadniczo zmieniła jego wygląd i sposób życia jego mieszkańców. Oprócz

ukonstytuowania się szlachty jako grupy społecznej reprezentowanej przez różnorodne symbole wizualne, jednym z przejawów tej przemiany było

zastąpienie wczesnośredniowiecznych grodów nowymi kamiennymi zamkami. Wysokie średniowieczne zamki, w przeciwieństwie do swoich po-

przedników, miały bardziej zróżnicowane spektrum funkcji, które dodatkowo różniły się w zależności od poszczególnych przypadków. Zamki wcze-

snego średniowiecza w rozmaity sposób łączyły swoją główną funkcję mieszkalną z funkcjami wojskowymi, centrotwórczymi, administracyjnymi,

gospodarczymi, prawnymi i symbolicznymi.

Celem artykułu jest nie tylko przedstawienie skomplikowanych początków zamków w północnozachodnich Czechach (dzisiejszy region Ústí),

ale także próba opisu tendencji rozwojowych architektury zamkowej aż do późnego średniowiecza. W swojej pracy autor skupił się na opisie i inter-

pretacji kilku kluczowych obiektów oraz na zarysie ogólnych trendów.

Słowa kluczowe: północnozachodnie Czechy, późne średniowiecze, zamek

[3]

Lehký I., Malý “obří hrad” Rýzmburk, [in:] J. KuljavcevaHlavová,

O. Kotyza, M. Sýkora (edd.), Hrady českého severozápadu. Sbor

ník k životnímu jubileu Tomáše Durdíka, ÚAPPSZČ, Most 2012,

149–203.

[4] Durdík T., Ilustrovaná encyklopedie českých hradů, Libri, Praha

1999.

[5] Menclová D., České hrady, 2. díl, Odeon, Praha 1972.

[6] Sýkora M., Počátky hradu Žerotína a jeho stavební podoba, [in:]

Poohří 9. Sborník z konference konané v Lounech 10.–11. října

2019, Oblastní muzeum v Lounech, Louny 2020, 77–114.

[7] Kotyza O., Sýkora M., Litoměřický hrad a jeho počátky (Poznámky

k hradní politice Jana Lucemburského v severozápadních Čechách),

[in:] J. KuljavcevaHlavová, O. Kotyza, M. Sýkora (edd.), Hrady

českého severozápadu. Sborník k životnímu jubileu Tomáše Durdíka,

ÚAPPSZČ, Most 2012, 124–135.

[8] Kavka F., Západoevropský lenní institut jako nástroj vnitřníkrálov

ské politiky za poślednich Přemyslovců a za Jana Lucemburského,

“Český časopis historický” 1990, R. 88, 225–251.

[9] Gabriel F., Kursová L., Hrad Litoměřice, [in:] J. Klípa, M. Ottová

(edd.), Bez hranic. Umění v Krušnohoří mezi gotikou a renesancí,

Národní galerie v Praze, Praha 2015, 182–183.

[10] Kypta J., Sýkora M., Předhradí a předpolí hradu Hasištejna.

Zemní fortikace předsunuté bašty a stopy další zástavby, “Průz-

kumy památek” 2014, R. 21, č. 1, 75–88.

[11] Razím V., K stavebnímu vývoji a významu hradu Hasištejna, “Průz-

kumy památek” 2014, R. 21, č. 1, 39–74.

[12] Sýkora M., Stavební podoba a historie hradu Nový Žeberk (okr.

Chomutov), “Castellologica bohemica”, Sv. 16, Západočeská uni-

verzita v Plzni, Plzeň 2016, 57–96.

[13]

Razím V., Hylmarová L., K počátkům města Ústí nad Labem aneb

ústecké hrady, “Archeologické rozhledy” 2017, R. 69, č. 3, 493–513.

[14] Sýkora M., Šlechtická sídla v Milešovské části Českého středohoří,

Bachelor’s thesis at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles Univer-

sity, Most 2007.

[15]

Nový M., Sýkora M., Průzkum jádra hradu Oparno, [in:] J. Kuljav-

cevaHlavová, O. Kotyza, M. Sýkora (edd.), Hrady českého severo

západu. Sborník k životnímu jubileu Tomáše Durdíka, ÚAPPSZČ,

Most 2012, 233–255.

[16] Sýkora M., Hrady doby husitské, Diploma thesis at the Faculty of

Philosophy of Charles University, Most 2013.

[17] Kalich a Panna. Hrady Jana Žižky, I. Lehký, M. Sýkora (edd.),

ÚAPPSZČ, Most 2016.

Zagórze Śląskie, Grodno Castle.

The portal of the foregate

of the upper castle from around 1570.

The frieze presents the genealogy

of Georg von Logau

and Anna from the von Seidlitz house

(photo by A. Gryglewska, 2021)

Zagórze Śląskie, zamek Grodno.

Portal przedbramia górnego zamku

z około 1570 r. We fryzie przedstawienie

genealogii Georga von Logau

i Anny z domu von Seidlitz

(fot. A. Gryglewska, 2021)