Žíkovec Hillfort

Welcome to Castle Žíkovec. Stop for a moment and just feel the space around you. You're standing in a place that holds the secrets of several millennia. Look around you at this distinctive island you are on and perceive its strategic position over the right bank of the Vltava. Even though this place is dominated by the calm water tank Orlík, in ancient times this landscape was completely different, wilder and absolutely crucial for the people who lived here. You see before you the remains of one of the most important prehistoric settlements in this area, which served as a fortress, home and center of power.

Let us now return together in time, very far away, until the tenth century BC. Imagine we're in the late Bronze. It was at this time that the first phase of the walls arose and Žíkovec became the local centre of the so-called shield culture. Why did people choose this place? The answer lies in the geography itself. This high rocky island provided natural protection from several sides, while allowing a perfect overview of the surrounding terrain and river Vltava trough, which was the region's most important transport and commercial artery at that time. Whoever controlled the Žíkovec also controlled the surrounding landscape and the movement in the valley.

Now pay attention to the terrain under your feet and surrounding space. Although you may not see walls erected today that resemble medieval castles, the architecture of this castle was impressive in its time. Note in particular the northeast part where a massive wall was built. This is the part that was most threatened by the inland attack, and that is why the defense was the strongest here. Try to reconstruct in your mind what these walls looked like when they were new, how people worked in them, and how the walls separated safe inner space from the dangerous world outside. The acropolis, the highest and most fortified part of the castle, is a key element of the complex. This is probably where the most important buildings were located and probably where the local elite was based.

Life on Znikovec was not a one-time event but a long trial. After the Bronze Age, the settlement continued here in the period of the Hallatians and the Hradiste. It means that generations have taken turns here, and each of them has brought something of its own to this place. Although cultures and technologies were changing, the strategic importance of the island was the same. The interesting thing is, the fort didn't completely disappear, but it was reused in the early Middle Ages. At the time, however, it was probably not a large centre with many inhabitants, but rather a specific strategic point. At this time, the acropolis could serve as a refuge for the surrounding population in the event of danger, as a hunting camp for the nobles, or as an important guard point that guarded access to the river.

When you go through this terrain today, it's good to think of the people who helped us rediscover this place. The history of Žíkovka would have remained hidden in the country if Bedřich Dubský had not been alerted to it in the 1940s. It was he who carried out the first archaeological surveys that revealed that under the layers of soil a fascinating primordial settlement sleeps. Later, in the 1980s, Lubomir Smetek, who, under his leadership, carried out detailed archaeological research on fortifications. Thanks to their strenuous work and their scientific approach, we now know about the shield culture and how powerful the walls once stood here. Imagine the hours of precise digging, the nets of strings and the meticulous documentation of each shard found or the rest of the wooden elements of the wall.

And now to invite you to one small consideration that is linked to Zíčíkovka. Because there is a certain mystery that follows every castle this old. Why did people at some point decide to leave the place? What led to the decline of this once powerful centre of Shitara culture? Was it the pressure of enemies, climate change, or perhaps the shift in trade routes that lost its value? This question remains open and that is the magic of archeology. Each stone and every layer of sediment can be the key to the answer. If you look at today's peaceful landscape, it's hard to imagine that there once was blood boiling here, there were challenges from the guards and bronze tools and weapons melting in the fires.

Imagine Žíkovec as a layered book. The first chapter was written in the tenth century BC, when the center of power was created here. Other chapters were written by the Hallatians and later the early Middle Ages. And the last chapter is written by archaeologists and visitors like you today. This site is not just a pile of stones and soil, it is a monument to human efforts for safety, organization and dominance over the landscape.

Now that you know the basic story of this place, I suggest you continue to explore the area. Take a slow walk around the edge of the island, see the wind from the Vltava and try to imagine how the world saw itself from this point 3,000 years ago. Follow the lines of terrain that indicate where the walls once stood, and think about how short human life is compared to the age of this place.

Thank you for joining me on this short journey in time. I hope you are interested in the atmosphere of Žíkovka and that you are leaving with a sense of respect for the people who once built their homes and their forts here. I wish you a pleasant further journey and many other fascinating discoveries in our beautiful landscapes. Goodbye.