Egerberk Castle

The name Egerberka was derived from the German name of the river Ohře. The exact time of its foundation is not certain - historians usually put it at the beginning of the 14th century, although the findings suggest that it may have been made during the second half of the 13th century. The first written mention dates back to 1317, when Vilém z Chýš a Egerberka stayed here.

The castle changed owners repeatedly. William's son sold it to the masters of Shumburk in 1350, but in 1384 he was bought by Jindřich Šupek of Dubé, the influential councilman of King Wenceslas IV. The schoolhouse had Egerberk significantly rebuilt, selected a type of two-palace layout and extended the fortification to meet the higher requirements of representation and defence. It was his reconstruction that determined the appearance of the castle as we know it from preserved remains.

In 1411 the castle was seized by Mikuláš Augustinův z Prahy, just named highest earth scribe, but already in 1413 he sold it. Since 1422 it was co-owned by the brothers Ota and Wend z Illburka together with their uncle Zhoda. In 1430, King Zikmud confirmed it to them as the royal plains.

After that, they had a power dispute over property. Around 1435, Wend z Illburka got into huge conflicts with William of Šumburk, who seized Egerberk with deceit. He tortured the captured Wendo in the castle with hunger - an act whose consequences lasted decades. Vilém ze Šumburka sold Egerberk in 1443 to Jakoubek from Vrísovice. Although the castle was declared dead in 1454 and won by Jan Calta z Kamenné Hory by King George of Podebrad, the court in 1457 finally ruled in favour of Half of Illburk, who had to buy it back for two thousand kicks.

Since 1460 he owned the castle Boš of Fictum, his descendants of Dětry and Věnek, in 1488 Děřich and his wife Kateřina of Müldorf. In 1557 the castle was purchased by Bohuslav Felix Hasištejnský z Lobkovic, but it moved to the new Felixburg Castle at the end of its life. Egerberk has become the property of his wife Anna of Fictum and his status has changed from a royal lily to a free farm. Since then, only the Castelan has lived here.

When Anna died in 1587, she bequeathed her half to her nephews, one of whom sold it to Linhart Stampach of Stampach. The regulars did not enjoy Egerberk, and the castle gradually fell into decay.

A part of the wall of the half-cylinder tower, the core walls and the fortification of the second courtyard were preserved from the construction form. The castle had a complicated arrangement with a dam that contained a glass water tank, and several courtyard. The entrance was led by a small tower with a foothold, from where the bridge was crossing the moat and entering through two gates in the next tower. The first courtyard contained an economic building with a valentically sealed cellar, the second courtyard separated a complex of two palaces - larger with trapezoidal plan and smaller with semi-circular. The mighty wall connected them and formed a rectangular courtyard with a pavement in the level of the second floor. Today, the courtyard is filled with structural destruction.