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The history of Landštejn Castle
The history of Landštejn Castle goes back to at least the year 1222, when the Moravian Margrave Vladislav died and Bohemian King Přemysl Otakar I assumed administrative rights over this area. In an effort to secure the Czech borders, he built a castle along disputable borders. On the route directly across from the older, perhaps identically named, castle of the Austrian Lords of Zöbingen, the royal palace of Landštejn was founded. The castle guarded not only the local trade routes, but also part of the border between the Czech lands and Austria. The Vítkovec family gained the castle in the late 13th century from the hands of the king. One of the branches of the Vítkovec family, with the seal of a silver rose on a red background, adopted the attributal name of the castle as their own, and the Lords of Landštejn soon became one of the most powerful families in the kingdom.
During the reign of Vilém of Landštejn, the family also owned the territories of Třeboň, Lomnice, Nové Hrady, Hluboká, Bystřice, Trhové Sviny, Lutová and Borovany. Vilém's political ambitions brought him into conflict with the Czech King Jan of Luxembourg, who sent his army after him. With the help of his uncle, Petr of Rožmberk, Vilém managed to force the royal army to withdraw. Both uncle and nephew made peace with the king in 1318, becoming his loyal servants and receiving generous privileges.
King Charles IV respected Vilém, greatly entrusted him with various diplomatic tasks, and in 1351 named him Burgrave of Prague. The old land route leading below Landštejn was a great source of wealth for the Vítkovci. Since the beginning of the 14th century, the Landštejn family had been in conflict with the neighboring Lords of Hradec concerning the direction of this route. The dispute finally culminated in open warfare between Vilém and Jindřich of Hradec in the middle of the century, as Jindřich tried to divert the route through Bystřice to Hradec.
Even though King Charles IV interceded several times, the conflict ended with a duel in which Vilém was mortally wounded by Jindřich. Here one of the most powerful men of the kingdom died at Landštejn in April of 1356, thus ending the most glorious period of the Lords of Landštejn. In 1381 King Václav IV gave Landštejn to Konrád Krajíř of Krájek. This family, originally from Austria, very soon made themselves at home in Bohemia, even taking part in both sides of the Hussite Wars. The son of Krajíř, Leopold, fought against the Hussites on the Catholic side as Sigmund's hetman of Budějovice. In return, the Hussite Jan Žižka burned down Bystřice Castle, kidnapped his wife and children, and turned on Landštejn. Leopold's son Wolfgang was but a weak resemblance of his father's military prowess. He tended towards Hussitism for a while, but never formed any real alliance with them, despite their persuasions. The House of Krajíř brought the comforts of the Renaissance to the stark Gothic castle, including a spacious three-storeyed palace with hot-air heating, a new access route, and more modern fortifications with bastions. The age of Krajíř ends for Landštejn in 1579 with the last heiress Anna, married into Roupovská, selling the castle to the highest ancestoral chamberlain in Austria, Stefan of Einzig. The castle soon passed through several owners, ceased to be the residence of a lordship, and became a mere center of commerce.
In 1771, lightning struck the large tower and the ensuing blaze destroyed the residential part of the castle. The deserted castle quickly fell into disrepair, became a source of building material for the surrounding villages, and finally became a romantic ruin, the patriotic destination of the Czech Hiking Club. The last owners of Landštejn Castle were the Austrian Counts of Sternbach in 1923-1945, who didn't really use the castle much and simply took trips here as recreation in the inter-war period. After World War II, the ownership of the castle was assumed by the state. Volunteer reconstruction of the disintegrating walls began on a large scale after 1972, ultimately bringing the castle into the state it was in 1990, when it was finally opened to the public.
The castle was built at the beginning of the 13th century, evidently by the Moravian Přemysl family, as a foot-hold on the territories of Bohemia, Moravia, and Austria. Its conception of two towers connected by a palace represents a unique complex of its type in Bohemia and is one of three preserved Romanesque castles in Bohemia, and one of the most significant Romanesque monuments in central Europe. The upper part of the higher tower has been converted to a look-out tower, from which the deep forests of Czech Canada open up below. An exhibition presents the castle's history, local archeological findings, and Medieval weaponry. The monumental walls of the castle evidently found favour with the German poet Friedrich von Schiller, who placed the stories of his bandits in the surrounding woods. During the seasonal months, the Landštejn Celebrations take place here.
