Bezděz Castle is a

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 ...

castle located some southeast of

Česká Lípa Česká Lípa (; german: Böhmisch Leipa) is a town in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 37,000 inhabitants and it is the most populated town of the Czech Republic without city status. The town centre is well preserved and is p ...

, in the Liberec Region of 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. The ...

. Its construction began before 1264 by order of

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...

. The royal castle of Bezděz was one of the most important Gothic castles in the Czech lands until its destruction in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

.Humphreys, Rob, Tim Nollen (2004)
''Rough guide to the Czech & Slovak Republics''
Rough Guides, 6th ed. p. 273. Erected between 1260 and 1280 on the

phonolite Phonolite is an uncommon extrusive rock, of intermediate chemical composition between felsic and mafic, with texture ranging from aphanitic (fine-grained) to porphyritic (mixed fine- and coarse-grained). Phonolite is a variation of the igneous ...

hill of Velký Bezděz, above sea level, it became the characteristic landmark of the local landscape and met the demands for an inaccessible as well as respectable royal castle.

History

A year after Přemysl's death, the castle Bezděz, which was still unfinished, became the place of imprisonment of Queen Kunhuta and her underage son

Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...

, kept under lock and key in very spartan conditions by Wenceslaus's guardian Ota Braniborský, Margrave of Brandenburg, after the Battle on the Marchfeld.Petr David, Vladimír Soukup, Lubomír Čech, ''Wonders of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia'', pg. 96–97, Euromedia Group (2004), The boy, only 6 or 7 at the time, remained there alone when his mother escaped under a pretext and it is widely accepted that the place left its mark on him. As an adult, and ruling monarch, he returned to Bezděz to order the construction of a chapel, one of the best preserved areas of the castle today. The castle complex was completed during the reign of Wenceslaus II, who used the local forests very frequently for hunting and relaxation.Ehrenberger, Tomáš (2003), ''The 88 Most Beautiful Castles'', Kartografie Praha a.s., p. 16. It served for this purpose until the

when, as part of the round of confiscations after the

Battle of the White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...

, it fell into the hands of

Albrecht of 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 Th ...

. The famous general started turning the castle into a fortress in 1623, but then halted the construction work. In 1627 he decided that it should be rebuilt into a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

for the

Benedictines , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

from

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

, who later brought a copy of the Virgin of Montserrat (the Black Madonna) in 1666, making the castle a pilgrimage site for years to come. In 1686

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

were built along the path to the castle and the whole complex served for religious purposes until 1785, when the monastery was dissolved on the orders of Joseph II. Pilgrimages were banned and the castle became forlorn, slowly becoming dilapidated. The Romantic Movement's passion for medieval monuments helped preserve the castle, which is a sole preserved example of an unaltered castle of the 13th century. Parts that are accessible to visitors are the castle precincts including the royal palace, burgrave's house and the unique early Gothic chapel. The castle tower serves as an observation tower. The castle's romantic silhouette gave rise to many legends and inspired a great number of writers, artists and composers, the most famous of whom included the poet

Karel Hynek Mácha Karel Hynek Mácha () (16 November 1810 – 5 November 1836) was a Czech romantic poet. Biography Mácha grew up in Prague, the son of a foreman at a mill. He learned Latin and German in school. He went on to study law at Prague University; du ...

and the composer Bedřich Smetana.

References

External links

Hrad Bezděz

View from tower - virtual show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bezdez Castle Buildings and structures completed in 1280 Česká Lípa District Castles in the Liberec Region Museums in the Liberec Region Historic house museums in the Czech Republic National Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic

History

See also

References

External links