Křečov Castle: A Gothic Knightly Residence in Czechia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- 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 page8 sections
History
Křečov Castle is a Gothic hillside castle ruin in Czechia, probably built as a knightly residence during the first third of the fourteenth century. It stands in the cadastral territory of Podbořanský Rohozec and was first documented in 1338, when Racek of Křečov witnessed the confirmation of the rights of the church at Rabenstein.
Fourteenth- and fifteenth-century lords
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Křečov belonged to the brothers Diviš the Elder and Diviš the Younger of Křečov. During the Crusade against the Hussites at Saaz in 1421, crusaders captured the castle. The Hussites were followers of a reform movement associated with Jan Hus, whose conflicts with Catholic and imperial forces led to the Hussite Wars in fifteenth-century Bohemia. During the retreat, Diviš the Elder was taken prisoner and brought to Bavaria.
After his return from captivity, Diviš the Elder transferred Křečov and half of his property to his children Jan, Elena, Anna, and Alžběta in 1424. They held the castle until 1452. The subsequent lords were the knights of Nedvídkov, who became involved in a prolonged feud with the town of Laun. Probably in the second half of the fifteenth century, the estate of Skytaly was incorporated into the Křečov domain.
Tvoch of Nedvídkov was held captive at Laun for a period. Before 1482, his widow Margarethe, born Audriczka of Audrc, controlled Křečov Castle and its court with her minor children. Her guardian, Heinrich Audriczky of Audrc, sold the property without her consent to the brothers Jan and Jaroš of Wrzessowitz. Margarethe recovered it through a lawsuit lasting several years after reimbursing the costs of repairs carried out at the castle.
Decline and later traditions
Around 1510, the Nedvídkov family sold the Křečov domain, including the Skytaly estate, to Georg Audriczky of Audrc. By that time the castle was dilapidated and scarcely habitable. Georg made the fortress at Vroutek his residence and allowed Křečov to decay. In 1543, the castle was described as deserted.
The name Rust, or Teutschenrust, for the ruin arose only in the eighteenth century. Legends then told of buried wine stores beneath the donjon, the principal fortified tower of a medieval castle, and an underground passage to the abandoned Budiš fortress, about 2.5 kilometres away. Joseph Wonibald of Eben and Brunnen, owner of the Teutschenrust-Weiten-Trebetitsch domain from 1765, repeatedly excavated the castle cellar in search of the alleged wine. This digging weakened the donjon’s structural stability.
Around the turn of the twentieth century, itinerant Roma used the ground floor of the residential tower as shelter. Křečov is legally protected as a cultural monument.
Remains
Setting and defensive layout
The ruins lie about 1.5 kilometres southeast of Podbořanský Rohozec, in the foothills of the Doupov Mountains. They occupy a terrace on the southeastern slope of U Hradu hill at an elevation of about 493 metres, above the left bank of the Dolánecký stream. Kamenný chlum rises to the southeast and Na Kamenném to the southwest.
Ramparts and ditches enclosed the castle on a terrace that falls steeply toward the stream along its southeastern long side. The site was exposed toward the northwest, so a deep ditch was cut between the castle and the fields on U Hradu hill. This northwestern ditch is now largely filled in. The state road between Nepomyšl and Podbořanský Rohozec passes over the height north of the ruins, while a Jewish cemetery lies about 600 metres to the west.
Inner castle and entrance
Walled inner castle
The walled inner castle occupied the southwestern half of the site and measured approximately 18 by 20 metres. It contained the donjon and one additional building. The surviving residential tower has barrel vaults on its ground floor, along with remnants of walls from its upper storeys. The tower’s later cellar excavations contributed to the weakening of its structure.
Castle gate and outer bailey
A masonry gate on the northeastern side led across a ditch into the outer bailey, the castle’s additional enclosed courtyard. A drawbridge, a movable bridge used to cross a defensive ditch, provided the passage. Parts of the gate and enclosing wall survive, while the outer-bailey area remains overgrown and retains sections of its ditches.
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