Draft:Landek Castle

Landek was a castle (earlier a hillfort and stronghold) located atop Landek Hill in the Czech city of Ostrava (Koblov).

History
According to the 9th-century testimony of the Bavarian Geographer, a Golensizi tribe resided on the site, which constructed a chain of defensive hillforts: Chotěbuz, Koblov (Landek’s northeastern promontory), Kylešovice, Hradec nad Moravici, Jaktař, Cvilín, Holasovice, Krnov-Kostelec, and Víno.

Pottery shards, richly decorated with curved lines, were found during excavations on Landek, which experts have dated to the 10th or 11th centuries. These archaeological traces, along with the remains of other prehistoric settlements that previously stood on the site, are preserved as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

Přemysl Otakar II is considered to be the castle’s founder. It was a frontier castle located in Moravia above the confluence of the Oder and Ostravice rivers. Another castle (Silesian Ostrava Castle), on the frontier with Opole, lay further up the Ostravice at its confluence with the Lučina river. The castle was square-shaped with four fortified towers, one at each corner. Local stone was used for its construction. It was surrounded on three sides by a deep moat and on the fourth side by a precipice dropping down to the Oder. An entrance route with a gate was constructed in the direction of Koblov, two strong stone pillars of which have been preserved to this day.

Landek Castle served to fortify the border of the Kingdom of Bohemia, the salt and amber roads leading around the Oder, and trade routes from Opava through Landek, Přívoz, Ostrava, Těrlicko, Cieszyn, and Krakow.

The first written mention of the castle dates from August 2, 1297, when Žibřid z Barutu held it as a fief from the Duke of Opava Nicholas I. The castle stood on the border between the Bishopric of Olomouc and the Duchy of Opole, as corroborated by a treaty dating from 1297. In 1349, the castle was held as a fief by Peter, former advocatus of Cieszyn. Jutta of Falkenberg, wife of Duke Nicholas II of Opava, received the castle as a fief from Charles IV in 1351. Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, the castle was, with short interruptions, property of the Dukes of Opava. In the 14th century, it was among the most important fortresses of the Duchy of Opava. In the mid-15th century it belonged to the Dukes of Oleśnica/Koźle, whose holding of the castle was confirmed by George of Poděbrady in 1459. During the Bohemian-Hungarian War the castle could not withstand the onslaught of Hungarian troops; it was demolished and was never reconstructed. In 1518, the castle was already mentioned as a ruin. Administration of the Landek lordship passed under the city of Hlučín. In the 17th century, gangs of bandits hid in the castle. The rest of the stone from the castle was salvaged by the population for construction purposes, particularly for foundation masonry.

Legend
A bandit knight is mentioned in the chronicle of the village Ludgeřovice, who raided merchants’ wagons. The knight, known as Schlick, caused all livestock to be taken to the Hlučín market, and the burghers had to defend the city and the castle. The Knight of Landek was not satisfied with his bandit raids; he also carried out raids with his own type of entertainment and different celebrations. During this, he dragged the most beautiful girls away to Landek. The villagers were less than pleased and began to complain. When the complaints multiplied, the Opavan army was sent against him. However, the knight managed to escape.