Strádov: A Gothic Spur Castle in Czechia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- 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 page12 sections
History
Foundation and Medieval Lords
Strádov is a Gothic spur castle in Czechia, probably built during the first half of the fourteenth century by the Lords of Lacembok of Chlum. Its position above the valleys of the Chrudimka and Libáňský stream gave the castle a naturally defensible setting, while its fortifications protected the approach from the plateau.
The castle first appears in written records in 1374, when Jaroš Lacembok of Strádov held the patronage of the church and monastery of St. James at nearby Práčov. His son Jindřich Lacembok of Strádov is recorded as the owner from 1382. In 1409, the castle was associated with Bleh of Lipka and Strádov.
Hussite Wars and Decline
In the spring of 1421, Hussite forces captured the monastery at Práčov. The Hussite Wars were religious and political conflicts in fifteenth-century Bohemia connected with the reform movement founded by Jan Hus. Strádov probably also came under Hussite control during these campaigns.
In 1438, Jan of Strádov pledged the castle, the town of Nasavrky, and nine villages to Aleš of Bítovany, Beneš of Křivé, and Jan of Lipka, the son of Bleh. The Nasavrky and Strádov estates were sold in 1444 to Jan Slon of Seslavec for 400 score of groschen.
Strádov may already have been ruined and abandoned during the Hussite Wars. Nasavrky Fortress then became the seat of the lordship, and Strádov was described as deserted when the Lipka estates reverted to King Ladislaus Postumus in 1457. Ladislaus Postumus, king of Bohemia and Hungary, received estates without a legally recognized heir when they reverted to the monarch.
Auersperg Hunting Estate and Protection
During the second half of the eighteenth century, Johann Adam von Auersperg established the Slavice deer park within extensive lordly forests between Libáň, Slavice, Licibořice, Šiškovice, Trpišov, and Práčov. The castle ruin lay inside the enclosure. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Vincenz Karl Joseph von Auersperg had a wooden bridge built across the castle ditch to improve access for hunting parties. The Auerspergs were a prominent Central European noble family.
Strádov was protected as a cultural monument in the mid-twentieth century and is registered under monument number 17130/6-904.
Remains
Setting and Defensive Layout
Strádov stands at an elevation of about 355 metres on a rocky spur roughly 70 metres above the Chrudimka and Libáňský stream valley. The wooded ruin lies within the Slavice deer park, the Železné hory protected landscape area, and the Strádovské Peklo nature reserve. Red granite forms the spur, whose steep slopes and rock faces protected the castle on the north and west. The southeastern approach from the plateau was defended by stronger fortifications and a deep ditch.
Forecourt
The southern part of the complex formed a forecourt enclosed by a curtain wall, a defensive wall surrounding the castle. A second ditch cut into the rock separated it from the inner castle on the northwestern side. Service buildings occupied the forecourt, and its entrance gate stood on the eastern side. Double ditches and a double rampart or wall separated the forecourt from the plateau, with a gate probably reached by the medieval road from Nasavrky to Svídnice.
Inner Castle
The inner castle occupied the outermost end of the spur and followed its irregular rocky outline. Its irregular plan was separated from the forecourt by a deep ditch crossed by a bridge. The curtain wall formed a projecting corner beside the eastern tower, allowing defenders to direct flanking fire. Its northern section was founded directly on the rock and survives to about 11 metres high.
Tower and Residential Buildings
Entrance Tower
A nearly square defensive and residential tower, measuring approximately 8.5 by 11 metres, stood at the eastern entrance. Its upper floors provided living quarters, while the original entrance portal survives on its northern side. The tower was probably a later donjon, a principal fortified tower that could also provide residential accommodation. It may have replaced an earlier round bergfried, or strong defensive tower, possibly incorporated into the curtain wall beside the gate.
Palas and Courtyard
A palas, the principal residential building of a medieval castle, stood against the curtain wall in the western part of the inner castle. Walls connected it with the tower and enclosed a small courtyard. Another small residential palace may have occupied the western side directly above the rock face. The palas now survives at foundation level, while vaulted cellars and ground depressions mark former buildings in the forecourt.
Surviving Fabric
The castle area is now wooded. Most walls survive only as foundations, apart from the northern curtain wall and the lower outer walls of the tower, which stand about 3 to 4 metres high. The ditches remain, although the outer ditch between the forecourt and its surroundings has been partly filled. These surviving earthworks, wall fragments, foundations, cellars, and depressions preserve the relationship between the inner castle, forecourt, and surrounding defenses.
