25 Apr 2012 Unique find at Svojanov Castle

Svojanov Castle is one of the oldest royal and stone castles in the Czech Republic. Ten years ago, archaeologists made interesting discoveries there. They came across four late Gothic loopholes designed to fire outwards from the building.

The history of the castle dates back to 1224, when it was founded by the royal purgrave Svéslav of Bořitov. In 1250, Kuna of Zbraslav is mentioned as the castellan of the castle. Therefore, Svojanov is one of the oldest stone castles in the Czech Republic. It was a kind of guarding fortress, when it provided protection over the provincial trade route connecting Brno with Litomyšl and at the same time guarded the historical provincial border between Moravia and Bohemia. The dominant feature is a cylindrical tower called the hláska, with a sharp blade facing the access road.

In 1910, the town of Polička bought the castle and started the first security work on the individual buildings, tower and walls. However, the castle was nationalised in 1953 and extensive reconstruction was carried out in the 1970s and 1980s, but according to experts, it was rather insensitive. The town regained the castle in 1992. Polička sensitively restored the site. They wanted to return the castle to its mid-nineteenth century appearance, i.e. from the time of the last construction phase of the castle's development.

When the outer perimeter of the castle was reconstructed in 2012, archaeologists discovered four late Gothic loopholes in the walls. Basically, these are openings of various shapes and sizes in the wall of the building in front of the shooting position, designed to fire outwards from the building.

And why were they found so late? According to archaeologists, the explanation is simple, because the loopholes had been walled up and covered with vegetation. It's another attraction for visitors. After the reconstruction, numerous cultural events are held at the castle and it is one of the most popular tourist destinations.

The castellan Zdeněk Dempír told about the discovery. "Shotguns were found in the castle curtin between the bastions under the armourers' house. Several interesting discoveries were made during the reconstruction of the castle a year earlier. For example, a medieval stone trough was uncovered and a well was discovered in the castle courtyard. Archaeologists came across a medieval sewage system while renovating the courtyard. In addition, several coins, a signet ring, parts of tile stoves and other objects were found," Dempír revealed.

Svojanov Castle is also famous for the story that there are people walled up in its walls. In 2018, for example, archaeologists reported that, thanks to modern technology, they had probably discovered a murdered man in the tower wall...

Sources: www.svojanov.cz, www.rozhlas.cz, www.denik.cz