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
Košťálov
The history of Košťálov Castle dates back to the 14th century, but its builders are not reliably known.
The first mention about the castle is in the chronicle of Beneš of Veitmile, who in 1372 noted the story of how lightning struck the castle tower. The lighting burst into the large hall and burned burgrave Aleš Jr. from Slavětín's tips of his and his wife’s shoes. After Aleš Jr. from Slavětín, Košťálov was held by the Zajíc family from Házmburk, and sometimes during the Hussite wars it was acquired in an unknown way by the Kaplíř family from Sulevice. Both families belonged to the pillars of royal power and to the most prominent opponents of the chalice in northern Bohemia, which is why the castle was allegedly unsuccessfully besieged by the Hussites in 1422. Since 1486 it has always been divided between at least two owners. During the 16th century, the seat ceased and stopped suiting the lifestyle of the Renaissance nobility and was replaced by more accessible fortresses at the courtyard in the village of Košťálov.
Košťálov Castle occupied the top of the dominant basalt heap (481.5 m a.s.l) near Třebenice. To this day, there is a ruin of a rectangular palace at the very top, which was entered from a short Zwinger along the northeast. The Zwinger defence area was accessible from the lower north courtyard, where other palace buildings, associated to 1486, were found: the so-called "Great House" and "Lower House". The courtyard was entered from the north through a long compartment, closed off mostly by a simple fortification, reachable through a complex system of entrance routes which lead from the lower set pond in the village of Košťálov.
Photo gallery
Galerie - Košťálov
