Bezděz Castle () is a Gothic castle in the

Liberec Region Liberec Region () is an administrative unit (Czech language, Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Liberec. The region shares international bor ...

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 ...

. It is located about southeast of Česká Lípa. Its construction began before 1264 by order of King Ottokar II of Bohemia. 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, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

.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 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 Ottokar II's death, the castle Bezděz, which was still unfinished, became the place of imprisonment of Queen Kunhuta and her underage son Wenceslaus II, kept under lock and key in very spartan conditions by Wenceslaus's guardian Ota Braniborský, Margrave of Brandenburg, after the

Battle on the Marchfeld The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava (river), Morava Field''; ; ; ); at Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history of Central Europe for the following centuries. T ...

.Petr David, Vladimír Soukup, Lubomír Čech, ''Wonders of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia'', pp. 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, it fell into the hands of Albrecht of Wallenstein. 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 Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

for the

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

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, wit ...

, 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 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 Czechs, Czech Romanticism, romantic poet. His poem ''Máj'' is among the most important poems in the history of Czech literature. Biography Mácha was born on 16 November 1810 ...

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