hrad Sobín Castle

The ruined castle of Sobín, also called the Old Manor near Rynholec or Sovín, lies on the edge of a forested slope at an elevation of 470 meters. It is located in the Rakovnicko region between Rynholec, Rynholecký Dvůr and Lány, above an important road from Rakovník to Prague. Since 1965 it has been protected as a cultural monument.

We know little about its origins. Older sources date the castle's foundation to the thirteenth century. However, no written records have survived that could be reliably connected to it. The castle is only archaeologically documented from the fifteenth century. The castle may have been related to the settlement of the Křivoklátsko region in the fourteenth century, but archaeological findings do not support this. It could also have been built as a strongpoint during the Hussite Wars. Another possibility is the wars of Vladislav Jagiello with Hungary, when Hungarian forces won near Plzeň around 1478. Another hypothesis sees it as a guard post on the Erfurt Road in the section between Tuchlovice and Rynholec.

Ferdinand Velc drew the castle's appearance in detail in his survey of monuments of Slaný district. In the 1980s the site was surveyed by surface examination and geodetically measured. The castle grounds, damaged by more recent quarries, had a rectangular floor plan. It was probably surrounded by a ditch, which completely disappeared on the western side, and there was an embankment in front of it. Inside, only terrain remains of three buildings built without mortar were preserved. Two stood in the southwestern and northeastern corners, the third stood freely.

The local legends are far richer. According to them, the fortress was originally called Sovín and on the opposite hill above Stochovský Dvůr stood the fortress of Holubín. From Sobín a supposedly underground passage led to Vašírov to a fortification called Sobínek and another all the way to Holubín. Local residents told that the passage was partially passable as far as a staircase, which descended steeply down the slope beneath the castle. Further on it was dangerously dilapidated.

According to a legend recorded by both Heber and August Sedláček, sorcerers with a great library lived here. From it supposedly came a precious missal donated to the church in Stochov and valued at 200 kopeks of groschen. Country people from the surroundings also told each other about hoards of treasure in filled-in cellars.

The legend of Two Lindens tells of two daughters of a nobleman from Tuchlovice. One married a cruel knight from Sobín, the other a kind knight from Holubín. After one quarrel both knights killed each other in combat. Two small lime trees were planted at the site of the combat and they stand there to this day.