Southern Fortification

The Castle itself used to be from its beginning a strong and unconquerable fortress above all. It was never conquered by any assault though its garrison had to capitulate twice on condition that they would leave the Castle giving up their arms. As the centuries were passing by, the Castle would be besieged and assailed. At these actions the Castle was every time largely damaged and had burned down for several times. Nevertheless, its defense had since the 18th century been developed and modernized.

It can be said that a sole visible weakness of the Castle defense was an unsteep rock ridge on the southern side where the Castle cliff´s top links itself to the ridge of Brezina. That is why the widest and most massive ´defense´ measures would be concentrated at this place. A unique (and in the Middle Europe unrivalled) complex is so-called Southern Fortification that had been gradually arising from the end of 15th till the 18th century. It consists of the system of three castle girths, separated by two dry moats. Within the defense axis, there are located two bastions that served as terraces for castle cannons. The protruded Mill Bastion is at the rear protected by Jeremiáš´s (Jeremy´s) Bastion.

In the 17th and 18th century, there had been apparently situated radial wood-soil fortresses of Baroque bastion type at the Southern Fortification, of which, however, nothing has been preserved till nowadays. Those are yet illustrated on many plans of the Castle.

virtual tour