Bílá vež hradu Házmburk / White Tower of Hazmburk Castle (North-West Bohemia)
N 50° 26.053 E 014° 00.855
33U E 429993 N 5587375
White tower (Bílá vež) of Gothic Házmburk castle nowadays serves as a look-out tower which offers magnificent vista over Central Bohemian Uplands (Ceské stredohorí) region...
Waymark Code: WMPY74
Location: Ústecký kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 11/09/2015
Views: 53
White tower (Bílá vež) of Gothic Házmburk castle nowadays serves as a look-out tower which offers magnificent vista over Central Bohemian Uplands (Ceské stredohorí) region.
The ruin of Hazmburk castle, located on a noticeable basalt hill above the village of Klapý 3.5 km NW of town Libochovice, is the dominant feature of the landscape of Lower Poohrí region, and a "rival" landmark of mystical Ríp Mountain for some. The castle is mentioned in the medieval Chronicle of Dalimil, but people used to live there since time immemorial, which is evidenced by many archeological findings. The castle was the residence of the old Czech noble House of Zajíc (Zajíc = hase in German) from the 14th to the 16th century. The castle has two towers, the White Tower and the Black Tower. It used to be one of the biggest and strongest castles of that time and was practically impregnable. All attempts to conquer the castle failed. The top of the castle is 418 m high. The dominant feature of the Lower Castle is the massive oval Black Tower, 25 m high, built of dark basalt. It is 9 m wide, and its walls are 2 m thick. The White Tower with battlements dominates the Upper Castle. It is 2 m higher, built of light sandstone, and it is open to the public. In the century before last the ruin of the castle attracted Czech Romanticists, for example the Czech poet Karel Hynek Mácha. Other artists were inspired by various legends and tales connected with the castle. The castle was affected by several natural disasters. You can get to Hazmburk Castle from three sides – from Libochovice, from Slatina, and from Klapý; there is a car park below the castle in Klapý. Hazmburk offers a marvelous view of Libochovice and entire Lower Polabí (dolní Polabí) and Poohrí, with mystical Ríp in the distance, as well as of the breathtaking panorama of the Central Bohemian Uplands. It is probably most beautiful in the spring when apricot orchards all around are in bloom.