The ruins of the castle Zvířetice
Above the river Jizera you can see a special panorama of the ruins. Its visit is definitely worthwhile, Zvířetice Castle is a ruin of an early Gothic castle and you can also see the remains of a Renaissance chateau from a later period. Fires damaged the castle several times during its existence, the fire in the 18th century meant the final end for the castle. The half-preserved tower serves as a view of the valley of the river Jizera.
Information for visitors
Interesting facts The ruins of the castle Zvířetice
The ruins are freely accessible
You can see the ruins of Zvířetice yourself. You will learn about the history of the castle on the information board at the entrance and over the bridge over a relatively deep moat you will get to the very remains of the castle. You will be the first to see the tower, which also serves as a lookout. However, it is not possible to reach the top of the tower, which was closed after the fire. Look around the ruins to better orient yourself, it is quite rugged. In the remains of various masonry you can recognize the castle chapel and a well, which was used to preserve rainwater.
The castle was founded by the lords of Lemberk
The founder of Zvířetice Castle was probably Zdislav from Lemberk, his sons were already called lords from Zvířetice. The castle was founded at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. The later owners of the castle became the Vartemberks, who rebuilt the castle into a fortified castle in the Renaissance style. After the White Mountain, the castle fell to the lords of Wallenstein, who had it repaired after the fire, even though they no longer lived in the castle, but in 1720 the castle burned down completely after a lightning strike and was not rebuilt.
Beasts have appeared in movies
The ruins of Zvířetice have attracted filmmakers many times with their romance and location. If you look at the details in the films, you can get to know Zvířetice, for example, in the fairy tale About Stolen Divozence or in the film adaptation of Mách's May. Filmmakers like to use the ruins for its easy accessibility and preservation - the terrain did not allow the inhabitants of the area to dismantle the masonry for construction purposes.
Author: Helena Syslová