Homberk Ruin

On a bullion rock called Homberk, there was a castle that became a symbol of ambition and the fall of one important Moravian nobility. This extinct castle near the village of Příkosice was the birthplace of the masters of Homberka, whose roots reached the ancient House of Buzice. Today, only modest terrain remains have been preserved, but their historical background tells a story full of tension and dramatic turns.

The name of the castle has an interesting origin - it comes from the German term "an dem hohen Berge" (on a high mountain), as evidenced by various historical shapes since 1284. The castle was probably built by Heřman of Homberka sometime before this year and testifies about how the founding nobles ensured a strategic position in the countries. The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1368, when Bleh z Homberka gave his wife a dowry of a third of the castle and part of the surrounding villages. This opened the beginning of the decaying situation in the family - the estate was divided into smaller parts among family members, leading to their financial poverty.

The poor nobles used to travel in those times often dark roads. The men from Homberka were engaged in road robberies and they had a real wild life. Their behavior forced punishment - Jiřík of Homberka was killed by Rokycan fishermen, and his brother Ješek was killed by peasants at the feast in Trokavec. Heřman z Homberka conspired directly with the robbers and hid them in the castle, which cost him his freedom and life - he was captured by the Rožmberks and executed by the beheading.

When the robbery of the castle became intolerable, the royal army decided. Václav IV. had the castle besieged - the siege lasted from autumn 1406 until February 1407. During it he was captured and executed by Sezema z Homberka. The written sources of the end of the siege remain silent, but everything suggests that the castle was conquered and burned. The House of Lords of Homberka gradually died out - no one mentions it anymore in the mid-fifteenth century. In 1454 Bedřich of Donín saved for the castle with his daughter Jaroslav of Homberka, and with a certain Jan who claimed rights as son of Jan Hájek of Homberk. King George of Poděbrad eventually left the estate to Bedřich in 1457. Whther castle was still habitable at the time, remains unclear. Its demise is likely to have caused a massive fire - either during the struggle of Podebrad unity in 1450 or in the clashes with the unity of the Greens in 1467.

He survived very little from the construction process. Only the dam of the pond remained from the foothills and economic facilities. The main construction was the prism tower, which was probably about ten to twelve metres and stood in the northeast part of the rock. Below it was a small courtyard protected by a moat and a wall. From the tower there is a narrow neck with a slight forward fortification, which was probably created until the siege of 1407. The first scientific survey was conducted in 1894 by teacher B. Moravec of Mirošov, who found here a massive layer of ash from a large fire. Younger research continues - it was carried out by Petr Rožmberský and Milan Novobilský.

There is no marked trail to the castle. The nearest one can be reached by a tourist with a road connecting Příkosice and the Visas, followed by a bicycle route number 2147 from Blevic to Cinnamon.