tvrziště Hradiště Motte

Welcome to the unique memory of our past. Right now, you're standing in a place that carries the silent traces of ancient things, and you put on headphones to look beneath the surface of what was left of the ordinary bystander's eyes. Look around you. What is right in front of your eyes is the extinct tvrziště Hradiště, which is located near the picturesque village of Hodkov near the Weaponry. When you look at the terrain inequalities in front of you, maybe at first glance you'll see only an overgrown hill and a wavy landscape, but know that under this layer of green and time, there's a big piece of medieval history hiding. The whole area is today a strictly protected cultural monument, which shows its enormous historical significance. From the original seat of the nobility, the fortress itself has been preserved to this day with clearly noticeable terrain traces of earlier buildings and defensive fortifications. Let us dive together into a story that was unfolding here centuries ago, and let my voice guide us in the footsteps that left time.

Let's move on in time to the beginning of the 15th century. The first written clause on the existence of the fort dates back to fourteen hundred and fourteen, when it was mentioned in the official agreement on the possession of the surrounding goods. At that time and throughout the first half of the sixteenth century, this building served as a proud centre of a small aristocratic estate. Imagine what it looked like back then. Instead of the silence you hear around you now, there was a lively life. There were small rulers and nobles who managed their lands, decided the fate of the subjects and defended their property. The residents of this place often changed because the goods were sold, bought or transferred as part of the family ties.

Now pay attention to the very form of the place where you stand. The architects who once designed this fortress are now unknown, but their construction plan is clear from the ground. The fortress was built as a premeditated object of the so-called motto. That means her heart was a central hill, raised above the surrounding terrain. If you look around you, notice how this hill was protected. On three sides he was surrounded by a deep moat, which in its greatest glory reached a depth of up to six metres. Imagine how hard it must have been to overcome such a fortification. The moat and raised hill formed a natural and very effective barrier against anyone who wanted to get on the fort without an invitation. There is hardly anything left of the original walls and living areas until today, but if you look carefully under your feet and around you, you will see clear terrain tracks of buildings and fortifications that help us to reconstruct the former form of this noble mansion.

This place is associated with a number of fascinating historical personalities whose names have been preserved in the time sheets and the Earth's records. People came through here, forming the shape of the region. We will find Peter from Kolovrat, Jeník from Hodkova, Alberta from Hodkova and Kunesh from Hodkova between the holders and the people associated with this estate. Later included Kuneš z Olbramovic, Otík z Olbramovic, Mikuláš ze Lhoty and Kuneš Kozel z Olbramovic. Names such as Eliška ze Žestok, Jan z Říčan a Hrádku, Václav Dvořecký, Ondřej Dvořecký, Přech z Dvořeckých or Jindřich z Dvořeckých show that there was a great deal of interest in the farm and that there was a change of significant royal families. Načeradec and Petr Rybka z Újezdu left their trail. Each of these people has printed some of their own fate, everyone has been here, dealing with everyday worries, disputes about property or long-distance contracts.

It is also interesting to see the wider context of the area itself, as the first written mention of the village Hodkov itself dates back to the year 133,170, which means that the settlement existed here before the fortress itself was built. But the fate of this place was not too merciful to its material heritage. Over time, the fortress gradually faded as property ratios changed and the center of power moved elsewhere. The break occurred in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the meaning of the estate fell. The important milestone in the chronology is the year 15 hundred and fifty, when the fortress in the earth's plates is explicitly referred to as desolate for the first time. That means she was lifeless at the time, abandoned, and took her fame for granted. A real blow to the physical remains of the building came more than 200 years later. In the year 60, that is to say in the year seventeen hundred sixty, the royal chamber was instructed to begin to dismantle the remaining walls of the fort. People then took bricks and building materials from abandoned ruins to use it elsewhere, and thus the destruction of the above-ground part of this once proud mansion was completed.

Imagine how the face of this place changed over the centuries. From the living aristocratic manor to the abandoned ruins growing through the weeds to the stone-covered walls, which served as a building material for new houses in the area. Today, this place is protected as a silent witness to ancient times. Before I say good-bye, allow me to invite you to further explore. Walk slowly around the perimeter of the former fortifications, feel the shape of the terrain, try to feel through your eyes the direction of the access roads and where the main residence of the noblewoman used to stand. Let your imagination speak, and imagine the stuffing of horses, the screaming of guards on the rolls and the violence of the medieval farm. Thank you for listening to this audio guide, I hope this stop has been rewarding for you, and I wish you a beautiful rest of the day when exploring other historical treasures of our landscape. Goodbye.