Preitenstein Ruin

The ruin of Preitenstein - originally called Breitenstein - dominates the landscape of the Plzeň-sever district as a silent memento of medieval power and complex history of Czech noble families. It stands on the hill above the village of Nová Městečko near Nečtin and is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

The place where the chateau grew has a rich history. Archaeological findings show a settlement already in the eneolite, where there was a high settlement of the people of Chamese culture. Even later, in the late period of the Hallatians, the hill was occupied, although it is not certain whether there was a fortress or just an unspecified settlement.

He built his own chateau in connection with the acquisition of the Netinese estate by the King Jan Lucemburský after 1330. As soon as it was completed, Oldřich Pluho of Rabštejn, who is evidenced as a pledge holder between 1330 and 1333, stopped it immediately. Under the castle Oldřich Pluh founded later the famous village of Nečtina. Since 1333, he bought it and took over the Car Karel IV., which explicitly included it in the chateaux that were not allowed to be stopped in Majestas Carolina. That's how he should remain in direct royal possession.

Reality was less ideal. Václav IV. stopped it at the end of the 14th century by Petr Frosty from Svoshín. Further exchanges and collateral followed: Oldřich Huler replaced him with Ice Cream for Orlík in 1407-1408. Then he owned it and extended it to Zikmund, who stopped it from Nepra Duc from Varina. The Hollow of the Manor was gestated by Zbyněk z Kočova, who was involved in the fight against the Hussites. When the Hussites were in imminent threat to Pilsen in 1434, Zbynek smuggled food into the malls and helped her survive the siege. After Hussite wars, however, the chateau "borrowed" Petr Brad from Nekměr and destroyed him during the dispute and burned down the neighbouring Nečetiny.

Before 1441 he was acquired by Burian I. z Gutštejna and his family liked him so much that he carried his seat here and began to write by sitting in Nečina. Burian's son received 500 Hungarian gold from King Vladislav II for maintenance. But in 1506, four brothers rebelled against the king, and the chateau went back into the royal hands. Ferdinand I. stopped him in 1511 by Hanusi Pluh of Rabštejn - the House of Ploughs returned to the history of the chateau.

A tragic epicologist comes with Kaspar Pluhoma from Rabštejn, son of Hanušov. In 1547 he participated in the state resistance against the king's power. After the defeat of the rebellion, he fled the country. In absentia he was sentenced to death and confiscation of all property. As a result of this judgment, Preitenstein was burned down - in the middle of the 16th century, the chateau was destroyed, which for more than two centuries created several chapters of Czech history.

Today, a visitor meets a ruin protected by the state. Its ruins are reminiscent of the time when dynasties took turns in Bohemia, when Hussites and Papists fought for the soul of the earth and when the state resistance tried to provoke a power conflict. Preitenstein is not the site of magnificent architectural relics, but rather the key to understanding feudal politics and its undetermined volatility.