Sion Ruin

Sion is the ruins of a castle about one kilometer east of the village of Chlístovice, roughly eight kilometers southwest of Kutná Hora. It stands on a rocky promontory above the right bank of the Vrchlice stream. According to traditional interpretation, it was built on the site of a small abandoned fortified settlement.

The castle was probably built in the years 1426 to 1427 by the Hussite commander Jan Roháč z Dubé. However, historian Jaroslav Čechura does not rule out that a feudal stronghold stood there before. It would have been the center of estates belonging to the Prague metropolitan chapter, and Roháč would have simply seized it and improved its fortifications. Initially, Sion was more of a representative residence than a fortress. The owner apparently relied on Kutná Hora and Čáslav, where he served as commander. More extensive fortifications were constructed between 1435 and 1437, when the castle was threatened by Emperor and King Sigismund of Luxembourg.

In the autumn of 1435, Jan Roháč retreated here after his unsuccessful role as a Taborite leader. From here he waged a private war against the ruler. The first written mention of the castle is in a document from February 15, 1437, in which the provincial assembly convened forces against its owner. The garrison consisted of several dozen men, supplemented by refugees from Hradec Králové, whose citizens had agreed with the royal side in March 1437.

An army composed of units from Czech nobility and towns arrived at the castle in the first days of May. This occurred shortly after Roháč's men ambushed a Hungarian convoy and captured a large number of oxen and barrels of wine for the king. The army was commanded by the court master Hynce Ptáček z Pirkštejna, who had captured the castle of Ostromeč two years earlier. Sources describe the four-month siege as a major and difficult operation. However, archaeological surveys from 1962 to 1965 showed that the siege works were much more modest. Historians believe that Ptáček prolonged the siege for political reasons. The garrison, which had no well of its own at the castle, apparently faced no obstacles in obtaining supplies or drawing water from the Vrchlice. Fighting probably occurred only after reinforcements arrived from Hungary, which set out from Prague on September 3.

An Italian humanist and later pope, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, described the assault most thoroughly in his work Historia Bohemica. According to archaeologists, however, the bombardment lasted at most a day or two. About a hundred stone cannonballs struck the castle, damaging mainly the palace and a building at the eastern front wall. No traces of a breach in the wall or of tunneling were found. The defenders capitulated and Jan Roháč was captured. The castle was burned and fell to King Sigismund.

By its fortifications, Sion ranks among the foremost works of Hussite military architecture, standing at the beginning of the development of early modern European fortification systems.