Houska Castle (Czech: Hrad Houska) is an early Gothic castle in the municipality of Blatce in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It lies about 47 km (29 mi) north of Prague. It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. Some notable features of the castle include a predominantly Gothic chapel, a green chamber with late-Gothic paintings, and a knight's drawing room.
Folklore considers this castle to cover one of the gateways to Hell, built to prevent demons (trapped in lower levels) from reaching the rest of the world.
History
Houska Castle was built in the second half of the 13th century probably on the orders of Bohemian ruler Ottokar II of Bohemia during his reign (1253–78) to serve as an administration center from which the extensive royal estates could be managed. Later on, it passed to the hands of the aristocracy, frequently passing from the ownership of one to another. The castle was built in an area of forests, swamps and mountains with no external fortifications, no source of water except for a cistern to collect rainwater, no kitchen, far from...
myrmepropagandist
All GNU social JP content and data are available under the