Javor Fortress

Javor is an extinct medieval fortress near Kornatic in Rokycany district, which probably existed from the 14th to 15th century. Today it is protected as a cultural monument in the form of a fortress in the natural park of Stones in a place called U Chateau. The building was part of a larger settlement, which was made up of the fortress itself and the village that is now extinct.

Only indirect data exist on the oldest history of the fortress. Two pottery pits from the second half of the 13th and 14th centuries were found in the neighbourhood. The fortress formed the centre of the settlement together with the village Javor, which lay about 500 metres north of the line Zvoníčkovna. It is assumed that both objects had the same owners.

The fortress was built over the right-hand presence of the Kornatic creek. The central part consists of a hill with a platform approximately eight metres in diameter, where probably a wooden tower stood. The defense was provided from the west by a pond and from other sides by a wall with a moat. The traces of the building itself have not been preserved.

The first known owner of the village was Čáslav z Javora, reminded in 1373- 1379. They followed Drslav in 1391-1393, Chval in 1403 and Kunrat z Javora in 1405. Later he became the holder of Čejchan z Javora, which also owned a part of the extinct Rooms. Jaroslav z Javora sold the fort before 1427 and moved to Blovice. The new owner was probably Olfart z Javora, the captain of Vildstejn, who died around 1447. The last known member of the royal family of Javora was his son Burjan, remembered in 1449. Later, the fort was attached to the village estate.

The fate of the owners was closely linked to the conflicts of the 15th century. Jaroslav and Kunrat z Javora took the side of Catholics against the freshmen during the Hussite Wars. It is believed that both the fortress and the nearby village were destroyed during the fighting between the Union of the Greens and King George of Podebrad. In the records of 1601, the fort and the village were already listed as desolate.

At present, Javor is preserved as a fortress recognised as a cultural monument. The building is located in the location of the natural park Kaminky. Visiting this place allows you to observe the remnants of medieval fortifications and to think about the fate of the royal family of Javora.