A Castle Conquered by Snails?

We are again in Central Europe, in the Czech Republic, a few kilometres from the capital. We are in the town of Říčany, specifically at the ruins of the castle there.

Only the ruins of the castle remain. To get an idea of its appearance, here is a model. What about the snails?

There was a group of younger teens before me. I assume the snails on the model are their creation. And I don't think the snails liked it there. I moved them to the ground. It looks better this way.

The Czech Republic is a superpower in terms of the number of castles. But other European countries can compare with us. In the Middle Ages, there was a castle on every hill. Well, I'm exaggerating.

But we have at least a thousand castles. Although I don't feel like counting them exactly. It's hard to say what's a palace, what's a castle, what's a chateau, what's a fortress.

Castles in Bohemia were mostly built in the first half of the 13th century. The last ones were built at the beginning of the 15th century. However, only ruins remain of most castles. Such as the castle in Říčany.

There were royal castles and noble castles. There was a difference between the castle of a nobleman and the castle of a common knight. This castle was one of the more splendid. Its owners served the king directly at his court.

Between 1419 and 1434 there was a fierce religious war in my country. My ancestors fought amongst themselves, the Crusades came into the picture, and our neighbors were not left behind when they thought there was still something to be gained. And the Czechs, in turn, made forays abroad. For religious, political, military reasons, but also because they wanted booty.

My country has lost maybe a third of its population. Not all of them perished, but many people escaped.

This war saw the first massive use of firearms. The old castles were powerless against them. Once, the only chance to capture a castle was by starvation, undermining the walls or a bloody attack with ladders or assault towers. Now all it took was a few shots into the walls.

Few castles were rebuilt after the end of this war. They had to be completely rebuilt to withstand artillery. That was expensive. Only the wealthiest feudal lords could afford it.

Most of the castles were gradually abandoned and the buildings began to serve as quarries for the construction of every conceivable building. This can be seen in the photos. Many of the stones in the town have their origins in the castle.

The castle decayed for about 600 years. Then the town and the state started to take care of it as a tourist monument.

The castle has become part of the tourist routes. I don't understand that there is no text in English as well.

I also visited the castle as a tourist. I must admit that I prefer water castles. They don't stand on a hill and they don't have stairs leading up to them. I'm no longer the youngest and skinniest.

But the climb up the stairs was worth it. It was nice to see this place. If you visit the Czech Republic, take a look around the hills. Not every hill has a castle on it, but there are plenty of castle ruins.

Říčanský hrad, hrad dobytý šnek?

Jasně, že ne... Ale nemám chuť otrocky překládat, co jsem zplodil v basic češtině a přehnal překladačem do angličtiny, zase do češtiny. Takže velmi volně...

Jsme hradní velmoc. Spolu s dalšími evropskými zeměmi. I když z těch hradů zbyly většinou už jen zříceniny.

Co u nás vznikla šlechta, koncem 12.století, měl každý urozenec nutkavou potřebu postavit hrad. Nebo alespoň hrádek, v nejhorším tvrz... A králové ty hrady potřebovali také.

Stavělo se nejvíc v první polovině 13.století. Ale sem tam se objevuje nějaký ten nový hrad až do začátku husitských válek.

Pak se ukázalo, že hrady jsou na nic. Nebyly projektovány, aby odolaly palným zbraním. Některé byly tak festovní, že to dokázaly, třeba Karlštejn, ale většina ne.

Po skončení bojů už byly jen tak halabala provizorně opraveny, aby se v nich dalo bydlet. Ale jen ti nejbohatší feudálové si mohli dovolit z nich vytvořit moderní pevnosti, nahradit hradby kasematami a dostavět dělostřelecké věže a střelecké šance.

Většina bývalých hradů chátrala. Nejpozději po Třicetileté válce se začala šlechta stěhovat do zámků a hrady byly opuštěny, zapomenuty a staly se z nich kamenolomy. Ten osud potkal i hrad říčanský.

Město hrad stavebně pohltilo. Jak parcelu, tak jeho kameny. Jedinými jeho obyvateli zůstali holubi. Ale rád jsem se sem zase zatoulal... Naposledy jsem tu byl v roce 1992. A to tu byla jen kopřivami a šípkem zarostlá hromada kamení obehnaná rezavým drátěným plotem. Te%d je to tu lepší. Člověk se může zamyslet třeba o pomíjivosti toho lidského pinožení... A potkal jsem tu i dvě rodiny a skupinku turistů.

Jsme zvědavý, jestli se sem podívám třeba za sedm let, co tu najdu...