Hauenštejn
Encyclopedia
František Palacký
František Palacký was a Czech historian and politician.-Biography:...
.
It is situated in the Ore mountains near the cities Stráž nad Ohří
Stráž nad Ohří
Stráž nad Ohří is a village and municipality in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic.-Notes:...
, Ostrov nad Ohří, Klášterec nad Ohří
Klášterec nad Ohrí
Klášterec nad Ohří is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. The River Ohře runs through the town.The town has around 15,700 inhabitants...
and Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
not far from the highest peak of Krušné hory – Klínovec
Klínovec
Klínovec is the highest peak of the Ore Mountains, located in the Czech Republic's part of the mountains at . There is an important TV broadcasting tower on the top of the mountain.- Location :...
.
History
The castle was built in the 13th century by Přemysl Otakar II or his son Václav II to guard royal paths and local mines. The first known owner was Mikuláš Winkler, burgraveBurgrave
A burgrave is literally the count of a castle or fortified town. The English form is derived through the French from the German Burggraf and Dutch burg- or burch-graeve .* The title is originally equivalent to that of castellan or châtelain, meaning keeper of a castle and/or fortified town...
of Loket Castle
Loket Castle
Loket Castle is a 12th-century Gothic style castle located about 12 km from Karlovy Vary on a massive rock in the town of Loket, Karlovarský kraj, Czech Republic. It is surrounded on three sides by the Ohře river. Once known as "the Impregnable Castle of Bohemia", because of its thick walls,...
, who sold Hauenštejn to the monastery in Doksany
Doksany
Doksany is a village and municipality in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 369 ....
. The monastery exchanged it for another building with King John of Luxemburg. His son Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
enlarged the castle‘s domain. The castle frequently changed its keepers in the second half of the 14th century and the 15th century but it more or less remained royal property. The rich family of Šlik
Slik
Slik were a Scottish pop group of the mid 1970s, most notable for their UK no.1 hit "Forever and Ever" in 1976. Beginning with glam rock and changing their style to soft rock/bubblegum...
that started silver mining near Jáchymov
Jáchymov
For other places called Joachimsthal, see Joachimsthal Jáchymov . compl: "Sant Joachim's Sthal" is a spa town in north-west Bohemia in the Czech Republic belonging to the Karlovy Vary Region. It is situated at an altitude of 733 m above sea level in the eponymous St...
won the castle in the 16th century. The Šliks rebuilt the castle in the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
style after a fire in 1600. In 1663 the Šliks sold the castle to the Saxe-Lauenburg
Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg
The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg between the 14th and 17th centuries), later also known as the Duchy of Lauenburg, was a reichsfrei duchy that existed 1296–1803 and 1814–1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein...
ducal family and it became part of the Ostrov domain. The castle was in the hands of the Baden family from 1689. When the last male member of the family died in 1771, the property of the Badens in Bohemia was inherited by the royal family of Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
. The Habsburgs sold it to the Buquoy family in 1837. Countess Gabrielle Buquoy started to rebuild the castle in a Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
style. Ferdinand Buquoy continued the reconstruction under the influence of historism
Historism
Historism is a philosophical and historiographical theory, founded in 19th-century Germany and especially influential in 19th- and 20th-century Europe...
, taking its examples from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, Arundel
Arundel Castle
Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror...
, Belvoir
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....
, Lancaster
Lancaster Castle
Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle located in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of the River Lune. In 1164, the Honour of Lancaster, including the...
or Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
) and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
(Hohenswangau, Lahneck).
20th century
In World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was used by the Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
and it was also used for snake experiments – a snake from the genus of Coluber
Coluber
Coluber is a genus of thin bodied, fast moving, colubrid snakes commonly known as racers. They are widespread around the world and vary greatly in habitat and behaviour. In the past, Coluber was a catch-all genus which included almost all snake species known at the time...
was set in the location to fight the adder
Vipera berus
Vipera berus, the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. Known by a host of common names including Common adder and Common viper, adders have been...
and a kind of serum was developed there that Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
used in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. After the war it was confiscated by the state and communists made it an accommodation for the uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
miners in Jáchymov, and then for a youth organisation. In 1958 it was condemned as not suitable for living and closed up. From that time it was constantly being ruined, partly by time, partly by vandals
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
.
Present
In 2000 Pavel Palacký, a descendant of Czech historian František PalackýFrantišek Palacký
František Palacký was a Czech historian and politician.-Biography:...
, bought the castle from the village of Krásný Les
Krásný Les
Krásný Les may refer to several places in the Czech Republic:* Krásný Les in Karlovy Vary District* Krásný Les in Liberec District...
and started with its sanitation. He brings a lot of events and tourists. He lives in the castle with his wife and son.