The ruins of Žumberk Castle (, ) are located next to the market town of

Žumberk Žumberk () is a market town in Chrudim District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants. Administrative division Žumberk consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): ...

in the

Pardubice Region Pardubice Region () is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It is named after its capital Pardubice. As an administrat ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

History

The castle was probably built during the end of the 13th century, on a hilltop above the village, and was known under the German name ''Sunenberg'' (or Sonnenberg, later Sommerberg), which means sun (German = Sonne) mountain (or later namend summer (German = Sommer) mountain).Antonín Profous: Místní jména v Čechách : Jejich vznik, původ, význam a změny. Bd. I.-III., Česká akademie věd a umění, Praha Its walls formed a

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

and were surrounded by a deep

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, with a service yard was placed next to the castle. Later, a township grew up under the hill. The first known owner of the castle and neighbouring villages was a robber knight; ownership of the castle changed many times afterwards. At the beginning of the 18th century, the castle was not inhabited, though during 1760–70 a physician lived there. The castle became desolate and was left to be a source of construction material. During 1926–48 the castle was owned by the Club of Czech Tourists, and its structure was stabilized to prevent further destruction. Today the market town of

is responsible for its maintenance, and access to the castle is unlimited and free.

References

August Sedláček August Sedláček (28 August 1843 – 15 January 1926) was a Czech people, Czech historian and archivist. Sedláček was born in Mladá Vožice, Bohemia. Notably, he worked in medieval history, detailing the history of Medieval castles in the ...

, "Hrady, zámky a tvrze Království českého", 1882, volume I

External links

Description of the castle, photos
(in Czech)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zumberk Castle Chrudim District Castles in the Pardubice Region Ruined castles in the Czech Republic