Tvrz Bošovice Fortress

Tvrz Bošovice is a Gothic-Renaissance monument in the village Bošovice in Vyškovsk. Her history goes back to the end of the 14th century. The building represents a significant dominant part of the village and is among the few Moravian strongholds that have survived to this day.

There are only reports of the oldest history of the site. Petr z Bošovic is mentioned in 1298; It is assumed that on the site of today's stone building could stand an older woodclay fortress. In writing, the existence of a fortified place is not safely documented until 1398 as the property of the gentlemen of Kunštát. During the fighting between the Margrave Jošt and Prokop at the beginning of the 15th century, the fort was likely destroyed because the records from 1408 and 1415 call it desolate or mention only the bare hill.

The construction of a new stone fortress made of bricks and stone dates back to 1415 when Jimram z Doubravice decided on it. During the 15th century, the construction was further expanded, probably under Jan Zají from Valdek, which obtained it between 1423 and 1434. The Vladyks of Polanka, who owned the building since 1481, deserved a late Gothic form and other modifications in the 16th century. At that time, the guard tower was raised, the rooms were veiled and a Renaissance wing was formed at the site of the original defensive ditch.

The original defense system consisted of a deep and wide moat surrounding the object from all sides, lined with a clay bead with a reinforced oak palisade. Access was provided by a ramp leading to a gate in the wall and a wooden bridge. There was a deep well in the middle of the courtyard. The living quarters included a one-storey palace with two skylights on the ground floor and two on the floor.

The fortress has often changed owners over the centuries. After gentlemen from Kunštát, Jan Kos from Okrasovice, Jimram from Doubravice and Jan Zajíc from Valdek in 1481, the masters from Polanka took it. Since 1627 he became owner of Maxmilián z Lichtenštejna and remained in possession of this family for another 300 years. However, this period was a gradual decline. the object ceased to serve as a noble residence and was used as a residence of officials or granary.

After World War II, the fort served as a social centre. In the 1980s, it underwent an inconsiderate and unfinished reconstruction which damaged a number of original architectural elements. After 1989, the work was stopped as a result of restitution to the original owners. Since 1997 the fortress has been protected as a real-estate cultural monument of the Czech Republic, yet its construction condition remains poor in the long term.

This monument represents valuable evidence of the development of the aristocratic residence from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Despite the dismal technical state, it remains an important historical point, which shows changes in Moravian architecture over the centuries.