Golden Trail over the Land of Castles
The "Golden Trail over the Land of Castles" with a total length of 89 km from Budyně nad Ohří to Úštěk connects most of the important castle monuments in the area of the Central Bohemian Uplands.
The Central Bohemian Uplands are surely a region with a unique atmosphere of beautiful nature, high basalt mounds and - above all - the land of castle ruins that crown these magnificant peaks. And those wonderful views of the region… you will love them! You will not see anything similar in the Czech lands. Moreover, few people realize that the Central Bohemian Uplands is the place where the oldest Czech legends take place and that it is also the only region where the invincible Czech military leader Jan Žižka from Trocnov imprinted his strategic genius on his own castle - Kalich.
Stops
Ruins of Kalich Castle
Kalich Castle was built in 1421 on the site of an earlier fortification by the famous Hussite leader Jan Žižka of Trocnov (* around 1360 - † 1424). The castle was intended to serve as a strategic stronghold for the Hussites in the area, as well as the governor's personal residence.
Apparently not yet fully completed, the building was attacked by the commander's arch-enemy Sigismund of Vartemberk, but his attack was repelled and the Chalice remained in the hands of the Žižek family until the end of the Hussite Wars. As the garrison of the Kalich remained in purely Hussite positions after the Battle of Lipany on 30 May 1434, Emperor Sigismund ordered the Kalich to be demolished in 1437 as a robber's palace; however, the siege was again unsuccessful. Sometime afterwards the castle was acquired by William of Illburg, and in 1467 by the Kaplířs of Sulevice. The building disappeared, perhaps as a result of a fire, around the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The large castle courtyard was defined by rock cliffs bearing towers on the north and south and unique stone fortifications with stone walls on the remaining, longer sides. Access from the north was controlled by an extended earthen bastion of polygonal shape, which was connected to the castle by a narrow corridor. The form and extent of the fortification system, which probably dates back to the time of Jan Žižka of Trocnov, makes the Kalich a monument of European importance.
Contact
Address
Zřícenina hradu Kalich
Třebušín
Photo gallery
Galerie - Kalich
