Kager: A Vanished Medieval Castle in Czechia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Czechia
- Primary era
- Bronze Age
- Eras represented
- Bronze Age, Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Bohemia
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Fort
On this page8 sections
History
Kager, also known as Starý zámek or Kolová, is a vanished medieval castle in Czechia, generally placed on Hradiště Hill above the confluence of the Malá Libava and Libava rivers south of Libavské Údolí. The site lies at about 510 metres above sea level and occupies a locality with a much earlier history, including Bronze Age settlement by the Cheb group of the Urnfield cultures.
Bronze Age and medieval occupation
The hill was fortified before the medieval period, and later occupation made use of those prehistoric defenses. During the thirteenth century, a small town existed at the locality for a short time. It represented an unsuccessful attempt by Wenceslaus I, king of Bohemia from 1230 to 1253, to establish Kynšperk nad Ohří. The area may therefore have been connected with the town’s foundation. The castle, however, may have stood elsewhere, survived the town’s decline, or been established only after the town disappeared.
The medieval castle is inferred from records of 1352 and 1355, which name the knights Oldřich and Jindřich of Kager. They were related to the Štampach noble family and held their position as vassals, men bound to a superior lord through a feudal relationship, within the fief system of the nearby Kynšperk castle. Hanuš also used the designation “of Kager” in 1427 and 1444.
Discoveries and archaeological investigation
In 1827, between 2,000 and 3,000 silver coins were found at the locality inside a vessel. Later discoveries of iron objects, including spurs and stirrups, were associated with the Thirty Years’ War, the European conflict fought mainly from 1618 to 1648 through religious, dynastic, and political struggles.
Archaeological work took place in 1926, 1966, and 1986. The 1986 investigation by the Archaeological Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and the Cheb Museum established that the hillfort was occupied again during the second third of the thirteenth century and that its prehistoric fortifications were reused. Kager has been protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic since 1988.
Remains
Fortifications and settlement area
The archaeological locality covers about 3.5 hectares and contains evidence from both prehistoric and later occupation. The approach comes from the north. Its front section is protected by two ramparts, artificial defensive banks, and two accompanying ditches. The ramparts stand approximately 60 metres apart and are probably prehistoric, although they were reused during the thirteenth-century occupation.
Ramparts and ditches
In 1926, an investigative section cut through the inner rampart and the outer ditch. The rampart consisted of earth and stones, showing the basic construction of the surviving defensive work.
Sunken structures
Several sunken structures line the approach road. These partly underground buildings or working spaces are associated with the thirteenth-century attempt to establish a town at the locality.
Possible castle position
If the medieval castle stood on Hradiště Hill, it was probably located on the farthest rocky part of the spur. That area has been damaged by quarrying, and the castle’s exact position remains uncertain.
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