Bělá Castle () is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

located in Dolní Bělá municipality in the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region or Plzeňský Region (also known as Pilsen Region; ) is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the western part of the historical land of Bohemia and named after the capital, Plz ...

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 ...

. The first mention of the castle comes from somewhere between 1315 and 1318.Dolní Bělá hrad at Hrady.cz
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History

The castle of Bělá was built between 1313 and 1315 by Racek, a member of the influential Czech house of Hroznata. The village itself was first mentioned in a written document in 1318. The Hroznatas held Bělá until 1415, when they sold it to Neustup and Bavor of Švamberk. The castle was sold or even confiscated several times during 15th century and 16th century. The most notable owners during that time were probably the Gutštejns - Volf of Gutštejn was a robber and the castle was confiscated from him in 1509. The original heavily fortified castle was rebuilt to a chateau sometimes towards the end of the 16th century, while owned by the family of Markvarts of Hrádek. At that time, the castle had a prominent guest—

Kryštof Harant Kryštof Harant of Polžice and Bezdružice (, 1564 – 21 June 1621) was a Czech nobleman, traveler, humanist, soldier, writer and composer. He joined the Protestant Bohemian Revolt in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown against the House of Habsbur ...

stayed there before he started his journey to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. In 1757, the castle was purchased by the Cistercian monastery of Plasy.Dolní Bělá - Plzeňsko - sever - Vyletnik.cz
/ref> After

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

abolished religious orders, the property was managed by the Religious Fund. Around 1785, the local people were allowed to take the castle apart and use the stones to build their own houses.

References

External links

Castle's History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bela Castle Plzeň-North District Castles in the Plzeň Region Ruined castles in the Czech Republic

History

See also

References

External links