Strážnice Castle
Strážnice Castle
In the second half of the 13th century, a castle was built near the Moravian-Hungarian border near the town of Strážnice, resembling a royal moated castle. It was built during the time of the strengthening of the borders of the Bohemian state under Přemysl Otakar II, when borders were redrawn, and the Strážnice estate became part of Moravia. Several castles, amongst them the Strážnice castle, were built to protect the borders. The name of the castle, and the town itself, was derived from its primary function as a guard, in Czech “stráž”.
Originally, Strážnice was owned by the Crown. The oldest written records date back to the early 14th century when the estate was acquired by a very prominent Moravian family, the Lords of Kravaře, who reconstructed the original fortress, and added a western wing around the year 1450. Only parts of the hollow bastions with the Gothic Black Gate have survived from the former formidable fortifications. The family is also credited with the development of viniculture in this region. During the Hussite uprisings, they sided with Jan Hus. At the end of the Hussite wars, the town underwent a rapid expansion. In 1458 the state of the castle and the town was deemed worthy enough to host a meeting of the Kings of Bohemia and Hungary. It is said that the retinue of King George of Poděbrady alone included 4,000 horses. The Strážnice Convention became a very important document, and its violation by Matthias Corvinus resulted in another decade of wars.
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