Rokštejn Ruin

Rokštejn is the ruins of the chateau lying on a rocky hill above the valley of the Brtnice river in the cadastral territory of Panská Lhota in the Brtnic district of the Jihlava district. The remains of two palaces with a characteristic prism tower and farm buildings form one of the largest chateau ruins on the Bohemian Moravian Highlands. The chateau is situated in a landscape where the valley of Brtnice is still breaking into the rock hills, which gave it exceptionally strategic value in the past.

Rokštejn is among the oldest Moravian chateaux of the Danube type and comes from the 1980s of the 13th century. He was originally named Rutestýn and took his name from Ruth (Hruta) of the Hrutovic family, who probably founded it after 1270. The first mention in the written sources dates back to 1289 from the charter where Ruth is listed as the holder of the chateau. Around 1359 he seized the chateau of the Moravian Margrave Jan Jindřich, which made the chateau the centre of his local property and used it as a defense against the nearby Jihlava. In 1362 he had the chateau expanded and rebuilt.

The uniqueness of Rokštejna lies in its architecture - it was a so-called double chateau, or ganerbenburg, building unusual in the Czech territory. The upper chateau consisted of a tower and palace with a chapel and a large hall which heated tiled stove and fireplace. On the east side there was also a significantly smaller tower. The lower chateau contained a palace, kitchen and economic buildings. This architecture speaks of the complexity and wealth of the original horde.

After Jan Jindřich followed his son Margrave Jošt, later he moved the chateau to Prokop. It was in debt and was taken over in 1399 by Hynek z Valdštejna, which thus became the founder of the Waldstein line in the region. The Waldstein chateau was further expanded while buying up surrounding villages. During the Hussite wars, the chateau belonged to Zikmund of Valdštejn, who alienated the Catholic Jihlava. The Jihlava army surrounded the chateau and forced its defense to surrender. The chateau was demolished, by the mid-15th century the Valdstejns had already transferred it to Brtnice. Until the post-white mountain confiscation, Rokštejn remained owned by the Valdstejns, then controlled by the Colalts until 1945.

Since 1981, there has been systematic archaeological research on Rokštejn, which revealed the skeleton of the newborn child at the base of the tower - probably proof of pagan rituals believed in magical protection of the chateau. In the shaft of the gate to the upper chateau was found a unique set of more than 200 playing dice, the largest European collection that shows how the guards shortened their time during long guards. These findings bring valuable knowledge of life in the chateau over the centuries.

Today Rokštejn is the property of Brtnice city and remains freely accessible to visitors. Археологic research continues under the leadership of Jana Mazáček from the scientific research station Panská Lhota. The summer season includes guided tours and cultural events.