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Houska Castle

Do you like mysteries? Are you attracted by mysterious forces and unexplained phenomena? Then you are in the right place, because Houska Castle is one big mystery. Just the reason for its very existence… it stands in a place that has no strategic significance, they are not close to the country path, it is not a border or royal castle. It is located in a completely desolate landscape without an available source of water. His defense system is aimed at the "inner enemy", but who is it supposed to be?

Information for visitors

Adress: Horní Houska 1, Houska
GPS: 50.49095310, 14.62446920
Houska Castle map

Interesting facts Houska Castle

The castle was founded by Přemysl Otakar II. at the end of the 13th century on the site of an originally wooden, later stone fortified settlement. It has undergone many building modifications, so here you will find elements of Romanesque, Gothic or Renaissance style. It is also referred to as a Renaissance chateau with elements of a Gothic castle. He changed a lot of owners, but no one invested much in it and it affected his condition. During the war he served in the German army and in 1950 there was the archive of the State Library of Klementinum. Subsequently, in restitution, it was handed back to the descendants of the original owners - Ing. Jaromír Šimonek and MUDr. Blance Horová. They contributed to its repair and subsequently in 1999 to open the castle to the public.


The bun is the source of many legends and myths, for example, the one about the convict is told about the gorge to hell, which was supposed to be here. The inhabitants of the castle wanted to know what such hell looked like, and they decided to find out by dropping a prisoner to death in exchange for mercy. When, after a while, they heard the convict's desperate cry, they immediately pulled him out. He was decades old, did not want to talk about what he saw, and after a few days died of madness. Because people were afraid, they tried to fill the hole, but failed, and in its place built a chapel to prevent the infernals from entering the ground. Houska is full of these legends, you will find secret rooms here, only recently discovered cellar spaces with "non-people" skeletons.


To calm your nerves after visiting Houska, you can go to the quieter castles of Bezděz and Kokořín or get on a bike and go cool off in the nearby Mácha's Lake.

Author: Marie Bukovinská