Kunětická hora 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 ...

in the municipality of Ráby 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 ...

. The castle lies on Kunětická hora Hill, about 6 km from the city of

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

. The castle played an important role during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

of the early 15th century, as a fortress of Diviš Bořek of Miletínek. Today the castle is open to the public as a museum.

History

In 1491 it was bought by Vilém of Pernštejn, who had the castle rebuilt in the late Gothic style, with two towers and a moat. The construction was continued by Vilém's sons in the early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style. During 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 ...

, in the early 17th century, the castle was besieged several times; at the end of the war, Swedish troops burned it to the ground. The castle remained a ruin until the early 20th century, when the Pardubice Museum Society was formed. The group purchased the site in 1919 and began reconstruction in 1923, according to the plans of architect Dušan Jurkovič. The rebuilding was completed in 1996.

Present

Today the castle is open to the public as a museum. On display are surviving

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, including a 1523 work depicting

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

and Delilah, the oldest known

mural in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. The castle also hosts occasional music or theatrical performances.

Gallery

Kunětická Hora from air K2 -3.jpg, Aerial view Kunětická Hora from air M1 -2.jpg, Aerial view Kunětická Hora from air M1 -3.jpg, Aerial view

References

External links

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Virtual show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuneticka hora Castle Pardubice District Museums in the Pardubice Region Historic house museums in the Czech Republic Castles in the Pardubice Region Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century Gothic architecture in the Czech Republic National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic