Potštejn (german: Pottenstein) is a municipality and village in

Rychnov nad Kněžnou District Rychnov nad Kněžnou District ( cs, okres Rychnov nad Kněžnou) is a district ('' okres'') within Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the town of Rychnov nad Kněžnou. List of municipalities Albrechtice ...

in the

Hradec Králové Region Hradec Králové Region ( cs, Královéhradecký kraj, ; pl, Kraj hradecki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec K ...

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 1,000 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

The village of Brná is an administrative part of Potštejn.

Etymology

The name of the municipality was derived from name of castle with the same name, which was named after its founder Půta of Drslavic: Puttenstein, misspelled as Potštejn.

Geography

Potštejn is located about south of

Rychnov nad Kněžnou Rychnov nad Kněžnou (; german: Reichenau an der Knieschna) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Adm ...

and southeast of

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

. It lies on the border of three geomorphological regions:

Orlice Table Orlice (german: Adler) is a river in the Czech Republic. It is tributary of the Labe (''Elbe'') river, which it enters in the city of Hradec Králové. Its main tributaries are Divoká Orlice and Tichá Orlice. Part of the Divoká Orlice acts as t ...

Svitavy Uplands The Svitavy Uplands or Svitavy Hills ( cs, Svitavská pahorkatina) are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Pardubice Region and it belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. Geomorphology ...

and Orlické Foothills. The highest point is at above sea level. The municipality is situated in the valley of the

Divoká Orlice Divoká Orlice ( pl, Dzika Orlica, german: Wilde Adler, English: ''Wild Eagle'') is a river in the Sudetes, separating the Bystrzyckie Mountains and Orlické Mountains. It is one of the main tributaries of the Orlice River, and is a part of El ...

River.

History

The first written mention of the castle of Potštejn is from 1259, 1287 or 1295. The castle was conquered only once in history, in 1339 by Charles IV before he became king. The village below the castle was first mentioned in 1350. The golden times of the castle were after 1495, when it was bought by

Vilém II of Pernštejn Vilém II of Pernštejn (german: Wilhelm II. von Pernstein or ''Wilhelm II. von Bernstein'', cs, Vilém II. z Pernštejna or ''Vilém z Pernštejna a na Helfštejně''; 1438 – 8 April 1521) was a Czech nobleman. He held the office of High Tre ...

, who had rebuilt it. In the 17th century, economic decline came, the castle fell into disrepair, and the entire Potštejn went bankrupt. In 1746, the estate was bought by the nobleman Jan Ludvík Harbuval Chamaré, who had built here a château. After the House of Chamaré died out in the mid-19th century, Potštejn was acquired by marriage by the Dobřenský of Dobřenice family. They owned it until 1945, when their properties were confiscated. The renewed

Unity of the Brethren Unity of the Brethren (Latin ''Unitas Fratrum'') may refer to: *Unity of the Brethren (Czech Republic), the province of the Moravian Church in the Czech Republic *Unity of the Brethren (Texas), a Protestant church formed in the 1800s by Czech immig ...

was founded in Potštejn in 1870.

Demographics

Transport

Potštejn lies on the railway line heading from Hradec Králové to

Letohrad Letohrad (; until 1950 Kyšperk; german: Geiersberg) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cu ...

Sights

The Potštejn Castle is a castle ruin with an exhibition on the history of the castle. The castle complex includes the Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk from 1766 and the last station of the

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 ...

from 1754. The Potštejn Château is a late Baroque castle, built in 1749–1755. Today it is privately owned, but it is open to the public. There is a castle park next to the castle, which is a combination of a French garden and an English park with rare species of trees. The Church of Saint Lawrence was built in 1815–1821.

In literature

The Potštejn Castle was famed in

Alois Jirásek Alois Jirásek () (23 August 1851, Hronov, Kingdom of Bohemia – 12 March 1930, Prague) was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a high school history teacher in Litomyšl and later in Prague until his retirement in ...

's novel ''Poklad''.

Notable people

* Rudolf Ropek (born 1970), photographer and orienteer

Twin towns – sister cities

Potštejn is twinned with: * Pottenstein, Austria * Pottenstein, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potstejn Villages in Rychnov nad Kněžnou District