23/06/2020
BOSKOVICE CASTLE - when and who founded the stone castle above the town of Boskovice, period written sources do not tell us. From the darkness of ancient history, a kind of Jimram from Boskovice emerges in 1222, but he certainly did not build today's castle, because at that time the stone castles in our lands were completely unique and built only by landowners. Archeology tells us a little about the origin of the castle. Finds of pottery from the castle area can be traced back to the second half of the 13th century, and then the Boskovice castle was probably built, on the place where it rises to this day.
The second top of the castle hill, the so-called Bastion, was built later and is a fortress that occupies a very dangerous area for the castle, from where it could be besieged by enemies. The defenders of the castle were convinced of the significance of this place several times. The very first written mention of our castle, bearing the year 1313, informs us about its conquest by King Jan's army. The destroyed castle soon rises from the rubble, but in 1389 it was conquered again, this time by the army of Margrave Jošt. The siege is probably attended by the important nobleman Erhart from Kunštát, who "completely destroyed the castle according to the commendable custom of the land". And perhaps as a reward he received it from Jošt in 1398. Around 1400, a new Boskovice castle was built with a slight exaggeration, which was built by the lords of Kunštát. Back in the hands of the lords with a seven-toothed crest in the coat of arms, the castle and the manor returned in time in 1458. Jiřík of Kunštát and Poděbrady handed over the property to Vaňek Černohorský of Boskovice. There is a period of building development for the castle and the town below it. The appearance of the castle is changing in the spirit of late Gothic building forms, portals with so-called intersecting profiles have been preserved to this day, a gate with an arch ending in a so-called donkey ridge and a large hall with a ribbed vault preserved in torsion.
Other owners, the mining family of the Eder family from Štiavnica and especially the knights from Zástřizl, are transforming the Gothic castle into a comfortable Renaissance mansion, which we can also call a chateau. In 1568, a magnificent portal of the 1st gate was created, which tells us the name of the builder - Jaroš Morkovský of Zástřizl. The reconstructions and life of Zástřizl at Boskovice Castle are represented by his swan song, the later owner - Walter František Ditriechštejn - leaves the high-lying seat and builds the so-called Residence (the building of today's museum) directly in the town. The fate of the castle after the demolition of the roofs (circa 1733) represents a chronicle of the transformation into a ruin. Unprotected walls and wooden elements fall into disrepair and fall, leaving the current torso out of the castle.
The castle was owned by a total of 6 aristocratic families and a number of individual owners, during which time there were numerous reconstructions and destructions. That is why you can notice so many secondarily walled older stone elements (fragments of door portals, window linings, vaulted ribs, etc.). A number of reconstructions thus gave rise to the unmistakable appearance of Boskovice Castle.
A popular exhibit of the castle is a cistern with a pedal wheel, dating from around 1671. The cistern is 26 m deep and it is interesting that water is supplied to it from the second cistern, located in front of the castle. The high ruins provide beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. For those interested in architecture, the torso of the castle offers a large number of traces, on the basis of which it is possible to create an idea of what the castle looked like, where people used to go, where the tiled stoves used to be, where the stairs stood, where the ancient builders etc.
