Loket Castle
Will you try to guess what nice you will see over the river Ohří? Rely on many beautiful and even Gothic castles, standing on a promontory. Loket Castle was founded in the middle of the 13th century. A fiefdom was established in the vicinity of Lokte, which was granted to knights and German lords for military assistance. The Hussites tried several times to conquer the castle, but were unsuccessful. In 1434, King Sigismund stopped him to his chancellor Kašpar Šlik. The Šlik family later came into conflict with the royal power and the king confiscated their estate.
Information for visitors
Interesting facts Loket Castle
Ferdinand I of Habsburg lent Loket Castle to the lords of Plavno, but since they managed quite poorly, he took it away from them again and the townspeople from Loket borrowed it. The place became a prison for Jiří Popel of Lobkovice, who conspired against Emperor Rudolf II. And Elbow was the place of his death. Even in Loket, they did not avoid disasters during the Thirty Years' War. First, the castle was besieged and succumbed. In 1648 it was conquered by the Swedes and the destroyed town and castle sank into decline.
In the 19th century, some parts of the castle were demolished and could not be easily repaired. From 1792 to 1948 the castle served as a state prison.
At present, you can see the torso of a single-armed cross, a Gothic cross and a catapult ball from the Swedish army at the castle - you can see it all just behind the second entrance gate. The Margrave's House offers an exhibition of porcelain with objects for decorative and utility purposes - vases, statuettes, toilet and coffee sets, spa cups, etc. The Governor's House includes an exhibition of archaeological finds from the castle and its surroundings. For example, you will see sacrificial items, coins, sculptures. The wing at the tower is filled with rod weapons, a mountain cannon, plate armor and ornate firearms. The castle also has rooms with an exhibition of the course of torture.
And if the tour of the interiors attracted you, we have one interesting thing for you at the end. They exhibit the rest of the meteorite on the castle, which landed here sometime around 1400. It is called Purkrabí and was originally much larger.
Author: Petra Nachtmanová