Tvrz Tetourů z Tetova Fortress

Welcome to Podbýšská Lhota, in the quiet part of the village Chyšky, where time now seems to be almost stopped. You are standing in the very place that once formed the centre of power and the seat of the nobility. Maybe now you're looking around and wondering where the promised fortress is in this peaceful landscape. It is true that at first sight, there are no monumental walls or tall towers that we know from fairy tales. What you see here today is a silent testimony about the passing of time and how history gradually fits into everyday life.

Let us go back a few centuries together, to a time when this landscape was much more divided and more dangerous. Probably back in the fifteenth century, the Tetours' fortress was built here. At the time, it was not just luxury housing, but a safe haven and a status symbol. The fortress served as the birthplace of the nobles of the House of Tetours, who managed their good here and performed their management over the surrounding area. Imagine this place at the time of its greatest glory, when there were voices of horses, rustling of clothes and everyday hustle and bustle accompanying the administration of the manor. Although the first written mention of this building dates back to the year one thousand five hundred thirty-eight, it is very likely that the masonry stood here much earlier.

Now pay attention to what you see right in front of you. Since the fort has gradually disappeared over the centuries, its traces have not only become empty meadows. Please take a look at the building with the descriptive number three. This is where the greatest secret of this place is. If you look carefully at the perimeter walls of this house, you will realize that history is not just in the books, but in the stone itself. The fragments of the original masonry of the old fort were built directly into the walls of this house over time. It is fascinating to think that the walls that are now used for ordinary living are actually the rest of the noble manor from the late Middle Ages. Touch the view of these walls and try to feel the connection between today and the time before the 500 godin.

When we think about the architecture of this fortress, we have to rely on the clues that the ancient cartographers left. Even though you no longer see a deep riverbed full of water, in the year one thousand eight hundred thirty an imperial print of the building cadastral was drawn up. This historical document is invaluable to us because it clearly shows the visible old water ditches and remnants of walls. Now try to draw a picture of a water fort in your mind. Imagine how the building was surrounded by wide ditches filled with water, which served as the first and very effective defense against potential enemies. The water was not only an obstacle, but also a mirror in which the walls of the Tetours' mansion reflected. Even though these trenches are now erased by time and forgotten, the spirit of that time is still around you in the field.

The names of the people who left their trail are linked to this place. The first of these are, of course, Tetourové z Tetova. It was the people who built this place and made it their home. Their influence took several generations to change the fate of the generations. Another important name is Jiřík z Těmic, which in the year one thousand and five hundred seventy became the owner of the Lhota settlement. The arrival of the new owner often meant a change in priorities and access to asset management. It was during this period, in the late sixteenth century, that the fortress began to lose its meaning. Gradually, it stopped being inhabited and began to desolate. It is sad, but at the same time poetic to see how the former proud mansion slowly fell into decay, how moisture settled in empty spaces and how nature began to return to where the human hand once ruled.

Here we come to the greatest mystery of this place. Why exactly did its inhabitants leave the fort? Was it because of economic decline, a change in the political situation, or perhaps because more comfortable and modern mansions began to be built at that time? History does not give us an answer in direct form, but it is this uncertainty that gives the place a special atmosphere. The Tetours' stronghold did not become a pile of rocks that were completely removed, but merged with the surroundings. She became part of the village, her stones helped build houses for people who lived here later. It's a story about recycling history where old people serve new people to survive.

Now, when you look around you, feel the silence of Podbýšské Lhoty. It's a silence that carries the echoes of the 15th century. You stand at the point where the noble past meets the simple rural life. Tvrz Tetourů z Tetova may no longer have its walls, but its existence is still documented in the catalogues, archives and several stones built into the wall of house number three. It's a reminder that even the smallest details in the landscape can hide great secrets.

Now we invite you to look around in peace and try to reconstruct in your mind the shape of the water ditches the Imperial Catastrophe spoke of. Take a look around, feel the atmosphere of this forgotten corner, and perhaps you'll hear the whispers of the long-gone Tetours in silence. We hope this short trip to history has helped you to see more than just a simple settlement in Lhota. Thank you for spending some time with us at the remains of the Tetours' Tetor fort. We wish you a pleasant continuation in your discovery of the beauty of our landscape and I bid you farewell.