I’ve often seen forts and castles built according to the geography of the land. I’d never seen one designed according to the material used to build it. Until I visited the Czech Valečov castle ruins, that is.

The drive up from Prague passes through some magnificent countryside. Trees flupped past my window as I flew through field and forest towards the castle. I knew this part of the countryside is as green as can be. If it weren’t for technological developments we may not have any forest left.

Up till the 12th century, people built fortifications and castles out of timber. Use of stone was increasing and historians reckon there were many castles built of both. The problem with timber is that it is not as resilient as stone is. With developing technology, invaders soon figured out how to attack a wood-built fortification. Timber became obsolete soon enough¹.

(For architecture enthusiasts, Český Šternberk Castle and Bouzov castle are more of those “unusual because it’s built out of stone” castles.)

If you think about it, without the shift to using stone for buildings, we may not have the forests we do in Europe today.

I pulled into a rudimentary gravel-lined car park housing a wooden cabin doubling up as a pub. I spoke pigeon Czech o the owner to pay for my parking spot, before we headed up to the castle.

Valečov castle was built in the 14th century^{2 3}. It’s location in Central Bohemia is close to the 182-square kilometre Czech Paradise Protected Landscape Area. In Czech this is the Český ráj and is a popular hiking and trekking destination. One of this region’s features is the sandstone formations created through erosion. It is a great hiking destination during the warmer months.

Whoever designed the castle thought to use the sandstone rocks as part of the castle itself². Rather than quarry or cut the rock to make bricks, the builders used the formations as walls of the castle.  Cracks in the rocks became a wine cellar². The formations limited them so they designed the castle based on the material.

It’s the first time I’d seen a building designed in this way. You can see there’s something unusual about this place because the layout is strange – the building is long, almost stretched out. It’s a limitation of the design but it leads to a castle with a strong fortified base. What could be stronger than the earth itself?

The approach to the building masks the exact size of the place. There aren’t many trees but it’s surprising how well camouflaged the place is. We strolled across the grass and followed the curve of the well-worn path along the short incline to Valečov.

The first version of the castle was a wooden one². When that burnt down in the 15th century², the owner realised a stone structure would be better. At an altitude of 330 metres³, this building towers over the nearby flatlands. It must have been a key target during successive wars and invasions.

In the 15th century, this castle was in ruins.

It still is in ruins to some extent but the local authorities are doing a great job of preserving and restoring it. The path around the building is full of natural caves and eroded openings. It is a treasure trove for independent minded kids. We climbed, squatted and photographed as much as we could too.

In 1623, Czech nobleman Wallenstein bought the castle^{2 3}. He owned plenty of castles in the region due to his wily dealings during the Thirty Years’ war. (See my article on his mansion which isn’t far from here⁴ ). He too left the castle in ruins. People living nearby scavenged for building materials^{2 3}, as they had done with nearby Bezděz castle⁵.

There is a dark musty cabin in front of the castle. You can get tickets from the grumpy grey-haired gent behind the counter. As you enter the castle’s antechamber, you’ll see an exhibition about the place. While of some educational interest, it is small and almost not worth bothering with. Climb up to the next floor and clamber up on to a large balcony for an incredible view. This part of the castle used to have a roof and housed a dining hall. Signs and diagrams show you how a further two storeys used to exist. The breath-taking sights are marvellous so don’t forget to walk round and take it all in.

The newly formed Czechoslovakia took control of the castle early in the 20th century². It still is in municipal hands and is now one of the country’s cultural monuments^{3 6}.

The place is open for visitors. I’d recommend seeing it in the warmer months when you can enjoy the ruins at ease and roam around the surrounding countryside. It is an hour’s drive from Prague; there are no suitable train connections.

Share this with someone who loves exploring castle ruins!

References

1. Allen Brown’s English Castles; Allen Brown, Reginald; The Boydell Press; ISBN 1-84383-069-8[↩]
2. Castle Valečov; Pruvodce.com; (Retrieved 2018-10-06) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
3. Castle Valečov; Hradvalcov.cz; (Retrieved 2018-10-06) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
4. The mansion that thinks it’s a castle; Antoine Borg; The Unexpected Traveller; 2017-08-28[↩]
5. Do you know how to see a quarter of Bohemia in one go?; Antoine Borg; The Unexpected Traveller; 2018-10-01[↩]
6. Castle Valečov; National Monument Institute; (Retrieved 2018-10-06) [↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.