Vízmburk Castle – the Pompeii of the Giant Mountains

Grandma’s Valley in the Kladské pomezí is not just Ratibořice castle and Staré bélidlo. If you go upstream of the Úpa River, you will come across the ruins of Vízmburk Castle, also called the Pompeii of East Bohemia. In the 1970s, it was rediscovered during archaeological research.

The mighty castle, equal in quality to royal castles , was one of the oldest residences in Eastern Bohemia . His neighbors from Silesia and Lusatia were so afraid of the castle that they bought it and had it demolished. The remains of the castle were discovered in 1972 under a layer of clay, up to 8 meters high in places, by archaeologist Antonín Hejna .

Vízmburk Castle stood in the middle of the woods on an inaccessible promontory above the bend of the Úpa River . Until the archaeological research, which began in 1972, the castle was hidden under a blanket of rubble, and its location was evidenced only by the castle hill with the modest remains of the tower, ditches and ramparts.

Vízmburk itself was founded by Mr. Tas , or perhaps by his father, Mr. Petr from Skalice. From Dalimil’s chronicle, we learn about him that in 1278 he led battles with the Brandenburg troops, which invaded Bohemia under the leadership of Margrave Ota Brandenburg after the death of the Bohemian king Přemysl Otakar II. In 1289, he appears in the retinue of King Wenceslas II. He held the office of provincial governor in Krakow and later in other places in Poland. In 1303 he became a royal chamberlain in Bohemia , until in 1304 he was murdered in Prague by Jan Vlk, whom Tas unjustly sentenced to life as an outlaw and deprived him of his property. The heir to his father’s fortune became his son Jaroš, a violent type who was forced to sell the castle and estate due to his actions. In 1330, it was bought by the lords of Dubé. The castle disappeared in a somewhat unconventional way – in 1447, the princes of Lusatia and Silesia and the Silesian towns, for whom the castle represented a constant danger, bought it and demolished and burned the castle after an agreement with the owners.

Vízmburk was ranked among the castles of the king’s favorites , who could take advantage of their position and secure a top-class construction company working on the monarch’s buildings. Their castles are miniatures of royal castles. The castle was a feared threat to the Silesian princes and townspeople from Lusatia and Silesia, who ultimately decided the fate of the castle. However, it happened in a somewhat unconventional way: instead of a military expedition, they simply bought Vízmburk and some other castles in the vicinity and demolished them after an agreement with the owners. The ruins of the large tower covered the other buildings , which, thanks to the strong perimeter wall, did not collapse to the sides. Thanks to this “closure”, Vízmburk has been perfectly preserved to this day. In the years 1972-1982, thanks to archaeological research, it was literally dug out of the ground and uncovered in its current form. Nowadays, it is a popular place for organizing various cultural events.

Reconstruction of Vízmburk and a new exhibition

In the history of the castle, this was the largest repair of this monument. The roof was replaced, the  perimeter walls and buildings were roofed, the cellars were repaired , the castle towers were made accessible . In May 2021, a new exhibition was opened to the public for the first time , in which you will find, among other things, photos from research that took place in the 1970s. Several rooms are dedicated to the Middle Ages, specifically, visitors will learn how people lived and feasted in the castle. There is also a banqueting room , in which you can see mannequins of characters, historical glass and ceramics, and a tiled stove. In the cellars you will find smaller exhibitions mainly presenting archaeological finds from Vízmburk. Permanent exhibitions are also in the rooms in the castle torso.

Operator

Association for Vízburg
Havlovice 38
Úpice
542 32 Havlovice
Tel.: +420 604 134 241

E-mail: kostik@email.cz

Facebook: https://www.faceb…

WWW: www.vizmburk.cz

GPS: 50.484709 16.049910

Region: Hradec Kralove region
Region: Kladsk border
Tips for a trip: Havlovice and surroundings

Opening hours

May
1.5. – 31.5.
Saturday Sunday 10:00 – 18:00

June – September
1.6. – 30.9.
Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 – 18:00

October
1.10. – 31.10.
Saturday Sunday 10:00 – 18:00

Admission

Price:  70 CZK

Reduced price:  CZK 40

Note:
Please put the money for the entrance fee – contribution for further repairs into a wooden bag.

Duration

1.5 hours