Potštát Castle: Medieval Fortress Ruins in Czechia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Czechia
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Bohemia, Margraviate of Moravia
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Origins and Destruction
Potštát Castle is a medieval castle ruin in Czechia, situated above the Velička valley near Boňkov in the Olomouc Region of Moravia. Its exact foundation date is unknown, but it probably arose during the colonization of the surrounding area in the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
An early tradition attributes the castle’s destruction to Tatars in 1241 or to Cumans in 1252–1253, although this account remains uncertain. The first known reference to the castle dates to 1318, when it belonged to Záviš of Potštát, a medieval nobleman associated with the settlement. Záviš still held Potštát in 1322.
The castle was later destroyed either during Margrave Prokop of Moravia’s occupation of Potštát in 1394 or in 1475, during the Hungarian–Bohemian War. Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary and Croatia and a claimant to the Bohemian crown, was involved in that conflict. The ruin is known by several names, including Puchart, Zighart, Puchard Fortress, Deserted Castle, Sudeten Castle, Pustý zámek, and Sudetský zámek.
Names and Local Traditions
Potštát Castle should not be confused with Potštát Chateau, about 6 kilometres to the north. The separate chateau was created in Potštát by converting a fortress during the seventeenth century and is also in a ruined condition.
Legends connected with the castle concern robber knights and hidden treasure. Part of the site is occupied by an excursion restaurant whose name recalls a former innkeeper who was allegedly so heavily built that he needed a special chair and a pulley to rise from it.
Remains
Castle Layout
The surviving complex is a ruin divided into a front castle and a rear castle. The two parts stand approximately 150 metres apart above the Velička valley. They lie within the municipality of Olšovec, south of Potštát, and the remains survive in a ruined condition.
Front Castle
The front castle forms one part of the two-part medieval complex. Its surviving remains are preserved as ruins, although the available evidence does not provide further details of its structures or construction.
Rear Castle
The rear castle forms the second part of the complex and stands about 150 metres from the front castle. It too survives in a ruined condition, as part of the castle remains above the valley.
