Water Castle Svihov
Do you want to go to the times of the High Gothic and the beginning of the Renaissance? Then a trip to the Švihov water castle is the right decision for you. The castle was even declared a national cultural monument, paradoxically due to the fact that it has been used for economic purposes since the 17th century and was therefore not rebuilt. Therefore, you can see it as it looked in the times of its greatest glory.
Information for visitors
Interesting facts Water Castle Svihov
You saw part of the castle in a fairy tale
You will certainly appreciate the perfection with which the water castle was built - in a very short time, the surroundings of the castle and the inner courtyard could be flooded with water, which could be drained again without the castle being damaged in any way. The world-famous fairy tale Three Nuts for Cinderella was also filmed in Švihov and its surroundings, so you will surely recognize some places. You can also go on two nature trails - the first trail is complemented by boards with the history of the manor and local monuments, the second goes through the history of the area from prehistory to the present.
The magnificent castle was the dream of its owner
The original fortress from the 14th century was soon small for its owner. When Půta Švihovský became one of the very rich and influential nobles of the country in the 15th century, he began to build a truly magnificent and impregnable castle. It was completed by his sons, but due to the cost of construction and representation, they became so indebted that they had to sell the castle. A similar fate befell other owners, and so in the 16th century the castle became the property of the Černín family. The confiscation after World War II saved the dilapidated castle - it was opened to the public and is still being reconstructed.
The legend of the Švihov well
During the tour you will certainly notice the deep castle wells. Mr. Půta from Švihov had four sons who were still competing with each other. After his death, Švihov Castle fell to two of them and they divided it in half. Then they had everything twice - but they did not each have their own well, because there was enough water in the area. They called wells, but every gentleman wanted a well with water better than his brother's. The young well was long searching for a source of quality water. He found it exactly on the border of the two halves of the castle. The brothers had the well dug, it was very deep and the work took three years. However, one of the brothers had the wells murdered. From then on, he began to complain about the quality of the water, which tasted like blood to him. Later, the ghost of the well began to appear to him, and the lord of the castle hanged himself in fear of revenge.
Author: Helena Syslová