Kaltenštejn Ruin

Kaltenštejn was a Silesian castle on a solitary hilltop near Černá Voda in the Jesenicko region. Since 1964, it has been protected as a cultural monument.

It is first mentioned in two documents from 1295 and 1296. The castle was then described as newly built, and it was disputed between the Svídnický duke Bolek the First and the Wrocław bishop Jan Romka. It stood on episcopal land, and the duke purchased it from the original builders, whom the documents call enemies of the Church. The Kraków bishop decided that the duke must either demolish the castle or hand it over to the Wrocław bishop. The duke chose to hand it over. By 1299, the castle already belonged to the bishop and was commanded by the castellan Dětřich, the bishop's brother.

In the first half of the 14th century, the castle was repeatedly pawned, sometimes to several holders at once. In 1345, Bishop Přeclav of Pohořelá partly inherited it and partly purchased it. The bishops then held it directly and from it administered the villages of Stará Červená Voda and Jindřichovice u Vidnavy. During the Hussite Wars, the castle was apparently not occupied, but the depleted episcopal treasury led to further pawning. Among the pledged holders in the 15th century were the Wrocław chapter, the Meinholt family, and the Opava duke Přemek the Second.

In 1441, the knight Zikmund Rachna seized the castle. He had abducted the daughter of the Kłodzko captain Půta of Vaak, and when he was fleeing from her stepfather Hynek Krušina of Lichtenburg, he unexpectedly occupied the castle. However, the episcopal army conquered it, and the main perpetrators were tortured and executed.

In the 15th century, the castle was not repaired and by the middle of the century it was already dilapidated and obsolete. In 1505, Bishop Jan Čtvrtý Roth redeemed it from the pawn. Instead of repairing it, however, he had it demolished against the will of the chapter. By 1512, it is recorded as completely destroyed. According to tradition, it served as a source of building material for the nearby castle Jánský Vrch, which was extensively rebuilt at that time.

Nevertheless, Kaltenštejn is among the best preserved medieval castles of Silesia, on whose sites no later château was built. The oval-shaped core measures at most 45 by 30 meters. Due to its position on the hilltop, it did not need a moat. Inside stands freely a circular tower, or bergfrit, with a diameter of over 10 meters. Its walls were more than four meters thick on the ground floor and only a meter and a half on the upper floors. It was entered through a small portal on the first floor. It had arrow slits and a gallery with crenellations. An explosion destroyed the tower, but it has survived to a height of roughly 20 meters.

To the core wall was attached a two-story palace, of which only cellars remain, one of them with traces of vaulting. Two outer wards were created on the northwest. Later a palisade wall was added around the entire hilltop with a main gate. The path to the castle led from the south.