Týřov: A Gothic Castle Guarding the Berounka Ford
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Czechia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Bohemia
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page17 sections
History
Týřov is a Gothic castle in Czechia, founded by King Wenceslas I at the beginning of his reign, probably before 1249. It guarded a ford across the Berounka on an important land route and was built with an unusually sophisticated defensive system for Central Europe. From its foundation, the castle was known by both its Czech name, Týřov, and its German name, Angerbach.
Royal Foundation and Early Conflicts
The castle’s first secure mention comes from September 1249, when Wenceslas I imprisoned his rebellious son Přemysl there. Přemysl later became King Přemysl Otakar II, one of the most powerful medieval rulers of Bohemia. The imprisonment places Týřov within the political struggles of the Přemyslid dynasty and shows that the new fortress already served as a secure royal stronghold.
During the following generations, Týřov passed through the hands of several royal and noble holders. Its recorded succession includes the Přemyslid and Luxembourg dynasties, as well as the houses of Zajíc of Valdek, Pluh of Rabštejn, Wittelsbach, Šternberk, Kunštát, Týřov of Ensidle, Lobkowicz, and Habsburg. These changes reflected the practice of pledging royal castles and estates to nobles in return for service or financial support.
Luxembourg Rule and Royal Control
King John of Luxembourg pledged Týřov to William Zajíc of Valdek. From October 1315 to April 1316, William imprisoned Henry of Lipá in one of the castle’s towers. After returning to Bohemia, Charles IV redeemed Týřov for the Crown in 1333. He then listed it in the Majestas Carolina, a legal code defining, among other matters, which royal estates could be transferred or pledged. Týřov was therefore placed among estates that could be pledged only under conditions.
The Bohemian kings valued Týřov for its exceptional military qualities. During the Hussite Wars, the religious and political conflicts that divided fifteenth-century Bohemia, the castle was held in pledge by Aleš Holický of Šternberk, a prominent supporter of Emperor Sigismund, who opposed the Hussite movement. Týřov’s strong defenses allowed it to pass through this turbulent period without being affected by the surrounding events.
Decline and Desertion
During the reign of George of Poděbrady, Týřov was pledged to the king’s secretary Jošt of Ensidle. Later, Jošt’s grandson Jiří was captured at the Battle of Mohács. To raise the ransom demanded for his release, Jiří’s father Henrich pledged the castle to Joachim of Malcaun in 1528.
Lorenz Šlik received permission to redeem Týřov in 1530, but Henrich prevented the transaction by selling large parts of the villages that supported the estate economically. Without that hinterland, the castle ceased to be maintained and deteriorated. It was described as deserted in 1575. Jan the Elder of Lobkowicz paid 12,500 kop for Týřov in 1578, but did not restore it, and the estate was soon incorporated into Křivoklát.
Protection and Recent Damage
Týřov has been protected as a cultural monument since 1965. It stands within the Týřov National Nature Reserve and the Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area. On 17 July 2015, rain caused part of the donjon wall to collapse, affecting the surviving fabric of the castle ruin. The present owner is the Czech Republic.
Remains
Týřov occupies a promontory about 310 metres above sea level, above the confluence of the Úpořský Stream and the Berounka. Its regular castel-type plan, a fortress arrangement using multiple towers for overlapping defensive fire, is divided into a lower castle and an upper castle. The surviving remains preserve the organization of a thirteenth-century stronghold that was later adapted for artillery.
Approach and Lower Castle
Outer Defenses and Entrance
A neck ditch protected the eastern side of the promontory and continued along the southern side, where a substantial rampart stood beyond it. The approach from the east crossed a gate in a screen wall and was protected by a drawbridge. Immediately inside the first gate was a narrow ditch and an inward-recessed gate tower with a pivoting drawbridge, creating successive defensive obstacles at the entrance.
Lower Courtyard and Towers
The lower castle had a rectangular plan with six flanking towers. These towers stood at the centres of the northern and southern sides and at the corners, except at the northwest corner, where the tower was shifted eastward because of the nearby bergfried, the principal defensive tower of a medieval castle. The northeastern tower was reinforced by a massive double-sided projection and contained a well.
Two buildings stood against the curtain walls of the lower courtyard. A stone structure with a timber-framed upper storey occupied the southern wall, while a stone building along the northern wall was added in the fourteenth century. Beneath the bergfried, in the northwest corner, a large enclosed forecourt formed part of the lower castle’s defensive and service arrangement.
Upper Castle and Central Buildings
Palace and Châtelet
A small palace linked the lower and upper castles. Its ground floor contained the gate passage, while the two-storey building had small towers at both corners. Some rooms on the upper floors had vaulted ceilings. In front of the palace stood a châtelet, a fortified foregate reinforced at its corners by small towers. Týřov is identified as the only Czech castle where this type of foregate was used.
Bergfried and Donjon
A massive bergfried stood north of the palace. Opposite it was a basemented donjon measuring 12 by 12 metres. Added in the mid-thirteenth century, the donjon became the dominant structure of the castle. Its basement, ground floor, and first floor each had a separate entrance. Part of its wall collapsed after heavy rain in 2015.
Courtyard Buildings and Water Supply
A semi-subterranean building with a kitchen and bread oven occupied a corner of the courtyard beneath the bergfried. Lighter service buildings adjoined it, while a cistern occupied the western part of the courtyard. A large timber-framed building was erected in this area during the fourteenth century, adding to the domestic and working spaces around the castle’s principal towers.
Fifteenth-Century Artillery Defenses
Wall Walks and Flanking Towers
As artillery developed in the fifteenth century, Týřov’s defenses were modified. Timber-framed or half-timbered wall walks with firing passages were added along the walls, and the flanking towers were adapted for guns. These changes extended the castle’s defensive capabilities without replacing its earlier regular plan.
Southern and Eastern Zwinger
A new zwinger, an outer defensive enclosure between lines of fortification, was built along the southern and eastern sides. It increased the number of artillery positions and required the second ditch to be filled. The addition created another defensive zone outside the earlier castle walls.
Outlying Bastion
An outlying bastion, a detached defensive work controlling nearby high ground, secured the ridge about 400 metres north of the castle core. It occupied the top of a rocky ridge and had an elongated plan between three and five metres wide. The approach crossed a rock-cut ditch, while a lower terrace on the slope preserved traces of a low rampart. This detached position formed part of the castle’s later response to artillery warfare.
