Osule: An Unfinished Gothic Castle in Czechia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Czechia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Bohemia
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page6 sections
History
Osule, also known as Vitějovice, is an unfinished Gothic castle in Czechia, founded probably by King Přemysl Otakar II during the second half of the thirteenth century. Přemysl Otakar II was a king of Bohemia whose reign brought extensive castle building and territorial expansion. Work stopped after his death, and the partly constructed castle may have been damaged or demolished as early as 1276.
From royal foundation to noble estate
Jan of Michalovice acquired Vitějovice in 1283. Bruno of Vitějovice was recorded there in 1298, while the estate was held in 1312 by the brothers Přibík, Racek, and Vernéř. In 1317, the three brothers exchanged Vitějovice with Bavor of Strakonice for Pořešín Castle.
The brothers may have lived at a nearly vanished fortified site south of the Vitějovice church rather than at Osule itself. After the exchange, Vitějovice lost its importance and was abandoned. By no later than 1344, when the estate passed to the Rožmberks, the built portions of the castle had been demolished because of fears that they might be misused. The Rožmberks were a powerful noble family in medieval Bohemia, particularly in southern Bohemia.
The name Osule and later protection
The name Osule first appears in written records in 1379, after the castle had ceased to exist. The surviving ruins have been protected as a cultural monument since 1963.
Remains
Castle layout
The castle occupied a rectangular site on Osule Hill, west of Vitějovice, at an elevation of approximately 640 metres. Its northern entrance side contained a round bergfried, a usually freestanding defensive tower used for defence and observation. Behind this tower was a smaller courtyard, where no traces of buildings survive. Beyond it lay a second, southern courtyard enclosed on all sides by palace wings. Access to this courtyard passed through an opening in the centre of the northern wing.
Towers and surviving walls
A second round bergfried projected beyond the outer wall of the southern palace wing. The ruins now consist of fragments of both towers together with sections of the walls belonging to other castle buildings. These remains preserve the arrangement of the two courtyards and the defensive and residential elements of the unfinished Gothic complex.
