Přimda Ruin

Přimda (in German Burg Pfraumberg) is located on a hill of the same name in the Bohemian Forest in the administrative territory of the city Přimda in the Tachov district of Pilsen region. It is managed by the National Heritage Institute and the chateau area is freely accessible to visitors. Especially as the oldest stone chateau in the Czech Republic, the attention of those interested in the early centre of Central European architecture.

It is possible that the site of today's ruin may have been an earlier early medieval chateau, but its remains have not been shown archaeologically. The chateau was founded in the first half of the twelfth century; The first written mention is found in the Kosmo Chronicle and is linked to 1121. However, the name of the chateau does not appear in the record - it was not until the 15th century that it was identified with Primda and was later accepted by a part of the research community.

The question of the founder remains uncertain. Older historical tradition ascribes the chateau to Depolta II or III from Vohburg, the administrator of the neighbouring German northern mark, which was to establish it to protect the link between its Bavarian estates and the Loket Territory. According to the ander hypothesis, Prince Vladislav I. may have built it, possibly Soběslav I. Vladislav Razí challenged the analogy with Bavarian chateaux in 2008 and argued that the founder was Prince Soběslav I., who wanted to demonstrate the power of the fictional state. In 2012 Karel Nováček submitted a theory that the chateau could have been established in the cooperation of Prince Vladislav I with the Kladrub monastery in whose territory it was located. None of these hypotheses are reliable.

The Přimda is exceptional in the context of the Czech chateaux of its time. The two nearby forts at the time, Tachov and Tasnovice, took the form of chateaux. On the contrary, the Prímské rook is one of the donjons - the massive residential towers that were built in Western Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but appeared in the Czech environment only later, in the 13th century. This tower, characterized by its Romanesque construction, has been preserved to date at the full height of two floors. Inside the tower there is a fireplace and a caravan belonging to the oldest objects of its kind in the country. The other chateau building has not been preserved.

The strategic importance of Primda ensured its position at the border with Bavaria. It was also used by the Overheads as a prison for members of their family. Since the 14th century, the chateau was often built. Since the second half of the 15th century, it has been held by members of the family of the Svamberk lords. Under their administration, the chateau gradually began to decay and was eventually abandoned in the early seventeenth century.

Today visitors can look at the ruins of this important medieval building, which has been chosen for its historical contribution as a national cultural monument. Location in the Czech Forest and the long history that connects Primda with the oldest chapters of the Czech construction tradition makes this place interesting for anyone who wants to become acquainted with the "land of the ancestors." / p >