- Type
- Ruin
- Origins
- 1264 · 13th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Style
- Gothic architecture
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 50.5390°, 14.7197°
History
King Ottokar II of Bohemia began building the castle on the summit of Bezděz hill around 1264, to strengthen royal power in the north of the kingdom. After he fell at the Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278, the regent, Margrave Otto V of Brandenburg, held his widow Queen Kunigunda and her young son Wenceslaus II captive here, later carrying the boy off to Brandenburg. Over the following centuries the castle was repeatedly pledged and changed hands, and in the 1620s it was acquired by Albrecht von Wallenstein. In 1661 it was given to the Benedictines, who turned it into a monastery and place of pilgrimage. Once Joseph II dissolved the monastery in 1785, the castle was abandoned and fell into ruin.
What to see
The ruins crown a phonolite hill over 600 m high, dominated by the Great Tower, from which there are views over the Doksy area and Lake Mácha. Walls of several courtyards survive, along with the royal palace and, above all, the castle chapel with its early Gothic windows and carved corbels. A steep path climbs up from the village below, and beside the castle rises its twin hill, Malý Bezděz.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1186381
Popularity: articles about this site in 14 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).