Hrubá Skála (german: Groß Skal) is a municipality and village in

Semily District Semily District ( cz, okres Semily) is a district ('' okres'') within the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Semily. List of municipalities Bělá - Benecko - Benešov u Semil - Bozkov - Bradlecká Lhota - B ...

in the

Liberec Region Liberec Region ( cs, Liberecký kraj, german: Reichenberger Region, pl, Kraj liberecki) is an administrative unit (Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after i ...

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 ...

. It has about 600 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages and hamlets of Bohuslav, Borek, Doubravice, Hnanice, Krčkovice, Rokytnice and Želejov are administrative parts of Hrubá Skála.

Geography

Hrubá Skála is located about southeast of

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 preserv ...

. It lies 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 al ...

region within the

Jičín Uplands Jičín (; german: Jitschin or ''Gitschin'') is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Th ...

. The adjacent

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) ...

Hrubá Skála rock town with volcanic sandstone pillars stretches to

Trosky Castle Trosky Castle ( cs, Hrad Trosky) is a castle ruin in the municipality of Troskovice in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It lies about south of Semily. It is located on the summits of two basalt volcanic plugs. On the lower peak, , is th ...

. It has been protected as a nature reserve since 1998 and is a popular destination for climbers and hikers.

History

The castle is situated on a steep sandstone cliff on a rock platform and was originally called Skála (The Rock). The first written mention of Hrubá Skála Castle is from 1353, seven years before the first mention of the settlement. It was then a possession of the noble Hynek von Waldstein. The manor was called Hrubá Skála to differ it from nearby

Malá Skála Malá Skála (german: Kleinskal) is a municipality and village in Jablonec nad Nisou District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Bobov, Křížky, Labe, Mukařov, Sněhov, ...

. His descendants owned the castle until 1416 when it was taken over by the lords of Jenstein and then, in 1460, by Zajíc of Hasenburg. Held by the Lords of

Smiřice Smiřice (; german: Smirschitz) is a town in Hradec Králové District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Rodov and Trotina are administrative parts of Smiřice. ...

from 1515 onwards, the rebuilt

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

castle had become the centre of one of the largest

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

estates with more than 50 villages. Seized by Emperor Ferdinand II upon the 1620

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

, it was again held by the Waldstein dynasty from 1630 and devastated by both

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and Imperial troops during 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 ...

. It was rebuilt in 1710 and again in 1804. Hruba

In 1821,

Franz de Paula Adam von Waldstein Franz de Paula Adam Norbert Wenzel Ludwig Valentin von Waldstein (14 February 1759 – 24 May 1823) was an Austrian soldier, explorer and naturalist. A member of the noble Waldstein family, he was born in Vienna, the third son of Count Emanuel Ph ...

sold Hrubá Skála to Johann Anton Lexa von Aehrenthal. In 1859, Skála Castle was again rebuilt in the style of a Renaissance chateau. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Aerenthal family was dispossessed in 1945 and the German-speaking population expelled according to the

Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees, sk, Dekréty prezidenta republiky) and the Constitutional Decrees of the President of the Republic ( cz, Ústavní dekrety presidenta republiky, sk, Ústavné dekréty prezidenta republiky) were a series of laws drafted by t ...

. Under Communist rule, the castle served as a recreation home. For some years now, the property has been operated as a hotel and spa.

Notable people

Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal Alois Leopold Johann Baptist Graf Lexa von Aehrenthal (27 September 1854 – 17 February 1912) was diplomat from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Biographer Solomon Wank says he exuded a strong monarchical-conservative outlook, loyalty to the Empire, ...

(1854–1912), Austro-Hungarian count and politician

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hruba Skala Villages in Semily District