Czech-Saxon Switzerland

Description of touristic attraction

Falkenštejn

You can find the ruins of the rocky castle not too far from Jetřichovice. Only a hall with a window and a chapel hewn into a rock are saved today. From the top there is a good view of the surroundings - Havraní rock, Rose hill and even further to Děčínský Sněžník.
The castle was founded probably at the end of the 13th century and was used to protection the trade trail to Lužice, the so called "Czech trail" and also as an administrative seat for the owners of that time the Michalovec´family. Through the years the ownership of the castle has changed hands several times. And is associated with the "robbing crusades" of the wealthy city of Lužice. During its ownership by the Vartenberk´family, the robbing crusades went on. The castle played an important role in the arguments between the Vartenberks and Lužice. The Six-towners besieged the army of the castle while the Prague people were conquering Děčín. It was not possible to gain the castle. So a legend about a white deer tells about how the castle was conquered:

Legend of the White Deer

In ancient times the custodian of the castle and his daughter Zdislava lived in the castle. The guard commander secretly  loved the beautiful  Zdislava, but so did the young guard Hynek who was fascinated by her beauty. One day robbers captured the guard commander, threatened him with  hanging and forced him to let the castle Falkenštejn fall into their hands. The guard commander, with a bloodied face, returned to the castle. The castle master, not knowing the truth, believed the commanders story and awarded him with money. The loathsome commander hatched a plan and for a long time waited for a chance to enticed the master to the window with an excuse that he saw a white deer under the castle. As the master neared the window the commander grabbed his legs and threw him out of the window into a deep gorge. Then he captured Zdislava, threatened her with death and ran to let the robbers into the castle. Fortunately, brave Hynek noticed this unusual behavior and killed the commander as well as the robbers. The owners of the castle named Hynek the castle´custodian and Zdislava became his wife. Only ruins of the castle remain today.

Basic information:

Location: Northeast from Jetřichovice

Directions: The journey to the castle is more difficult
 

Opening hours: Opened throughout the year, no admission

Více informací o zajímavosti

• Type: Romantic places
• Village: {ZAJIMAVOST_Village_NAZEV}
• Region: Czech Switzerland