Vítkův castle
If you find yourself on the right bank of the Lipno dam, be sure to visit the ruins of Vítkův Kámen castle. You must walk to the ruins from the nearby car park, but this is not a hike. The reward will be a beautiful view of the entire dam and the surrounding area (in clear weather you can see the alpine panorama with binoculars) as well as sitting and refreshments in the local buffet.
Information for visitors
Interesting facts Vítkův castle
The highest castle in Bohemia
You can find the ruins of the castle on the original old land border. It is not an extensive building, the castle served mainly as a border fortress on the salt path. Only the three-storey castle tower and part of the buildings and external fortifications have been preserved. However, Vítkův Kámen is the ruins of the highest Czech castle, which rises above the defunct village of Sv. Thomas.
Ruins as a tourist lookout tower
The guard castle was founded by Vítek of Krumlov in the 13th century. The castle consisted mainly of a residential tower and fortifications. On the ground floor there was a prison, a kitchen and an armory, on the first floors there were living rooms. In the 14th century, Vítkův Kámen was owned by the Rožmberks and King Wenceslas IV was briefly imprisoned there. In the 17th century, the castle changed owners and began to decay. The ruins were modified in the 19th century before the visit of Crown Prince Rudolf. The ruins were used as a lookout tower, but after the Second World War, the place reached the border zone and served as an air defense observatory. After the reconstruction, Vítkův kámen is now accessible again and again serves as a lookout tower.
The ghost of Vítkov Kamen
A ghost walks around the ruins of the castle, hurting no one but moaning and wailing. This ghost used to be a young priest who was guilty of seducing a woman to provide spiritual comfort. The woman then began to live an immoral life and cursed him who had caused her decline on his deathbed. The priest tried to live godly and honestly for the rest of his life, but he never confessed and confessed to his deed, so the curse worked and after his death he became a ghost wandering around the castle ruins and moaning.
Author: Helena Syslová