Scholars have since discovered cracks in Hjek's histories, and any evidence of Oronto's existence is rather dubious. If bottomless represented the unknown, its a very small leap of thought to assume there were monsters in this abyss. There are many names that describe this curious castle. As legend has it, Ottokar II of Bohemia ordered the castle built to seal the gateway with a fortress for good. Hjek also recounted local folklore that described the emergence of a crack in the cliff. Its impossible to discuss bottomless pits without invoking the idea of gates to hell. As the gothic structure today attracts thousands of visitors each year, its reputation has been tainted as one of the most haunted locations anywhere in the world. Philbrook, S. and Burgess, F. (2017). As with many sinkholes, it connects to and drains into the underground openings. To fall into the pit is symbolic of the descent into hell and damnation. The lake had formed from a cavern roof collapse after an earthquake some 2000 years ago. There is no way you could measure such a deep hole in this way. Sorbian prince Slavibor. Before Houska Castle was built, archaeologists have also found evidence of a wooden structure existing there in the 9th century. http://visions.indstate.edu:8888/cdm/landingpage/collection/folklore. You can visit this location during the kosher tours with Kosher River Cruise to the gems of Central Europe! The castle has been open to the public since 1999. But stagnant waters made us uneasy with their silence. Houska Castle in World War II Like quicksand, the bottomless pit has also become a media horror trope. The remains of three Nazi soldiers are said to have been found in the courtyard. Even Thoreaus famous Walden Pond was rumored to be bottomless. The victims would just vanish to never return again. The castle is built upon a fabled bottomless pit from which winged creatures and half-man-half-beasts allegedly exited. They were said to have conducted unknown experiments there, perhaps trying to make the Spear of Destiny lead people to immortality or what not, nobody knows. The walls of the chapel are covered with some of the . Houska Castle, an early gothic, was built between 1253 and 1278, and although Atlas Obscura claims (no sources provided) the fortress was built as an administrative center for the king's estates, the folk legends surrounding the castle make for a chilling tale. The castle was founded by Czech king Pemysl Otakar I in the 13th century. Manage Settings 1 / 3 513 104 104 comments Add a Comment AutoModerator Please note these rules: Centuries-old legends may be able to answer that question. June 4, 2021. The Frightening Legend of Houska Castle by Prague Morning June 4, 2021 In the second half of the 13th century, a mysterious Gothic castle was built. In this feature, I explore these folklore themes utilized widely for local holes, pools and lakes to mark their cultural significance. As Bohemian chronicler Vclav Hjek detailed in his Czech Chronicle in 1541, the first known structure at the site was a small wooden fort in the ninth century. (1960). The name comes from the old Saxon word nicor meaning water spirit or monster. According to folklore, Houska Castle was constructed over a large hole in the ground which was known as The Gateway to Hell. PORTAL TO HELL | Exploring Houska Castle, Czech Republic 286,245 views Dec 16, 2018 7.6K Dislike AmysCrypt 222K subscribers Houska Castle is said to be built on top of a Portal To Hell. The first of these craters were discovered in July 2014. The ocean, while clearly deeper, at least moved, ebbed, and flowed. (1995). Slavic tribes migrated to the area that is now Czechia as early as the sixth century C.E. Water kept flowing in. Due to groundwater extraction, these spring-fed pools may eventually shrink or dry up. This instilled villagers with so much mortal fear that two local hunters assassinated him. He claimed to be the owner of a property seized by the U.S. government that was the location of a mysterious hole associated with very weird goings-on. Situated on a clifftop and surrounded by dark legends and unsettling accounts, the Houska castle is one of the most feared castles in the world. Earth was dumped into it with no effect. The Czechs do have quite a black sense of humor. 3. They are named for the deep blue color and their depth may actually be difficult to discern as they are connected to carbonate solution cavities and fissures that extend below sea level. Locals at the time reported strange lights and horrifying sounds coming from the castle. Required fields are marked *. This is entirely unsubstantiated, and the bay is not bottomless but has a strong current that may have prevented accurate line measurements. Houska Castle: The tale of the gateway to hell is not for the faint of heart! It was filled only to be restored to its original condition the next day. Notable features include a predominantly gothic. The goal was to study the lower crust. [6][11], The Travel Channel series "Legendary Locations" covered several sites in Season 2, Episode 4, including the castle "said to protect a portal to hell". The Youdig marshland of Yeun Elez in Brittany, France is loaded with legends and lore as a bottomless bog. Falling into Mels Hole.Skeptoid Podcast. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}502928N 143726E / 50.491N 14.624E / 50.491; 14.624. The Central Bohemian town of Mlnk. Volcanic crater lakes often have the folkloric feature of being bottomless. The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest hole on earth at 40,230 feet. 108/5 1 . . . 70160. The Spruce Hole in New Hampshire is an ice age bog now recognized as unique by the National Park Service as a Natural Landmark. Bale Lake was also rumored to hold a dragon. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. A young and healthy man upon descending, his hair had turned white when he emerged with his face having aged decades in mere moments. The Houska Castle is located in the forests north of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, which is bisected by the Vltava River. They acquired their name when local herdsmen could not discern the bottom via ropes. Some people trying to explore the underwater caves have perished. The men saw the muddy bottom but simply assumed the monster was hiding under the mud. 300-million-year-old wheel found in a mine in Ukraine! First up, we'll be discussing the mysterious Houska Castle, a 13th-century Gothic structure in the Czech Republic which was supposedly built over an actual gateway to Hell. Blatce, Czech Republic Houska Castle (Ghost Hunters International) Most castles are defensive fortifications, meant to keep people out. Your email address will not be published. Houska Castle has been open to the public since 1999. The Houska Castle is located in the forests north of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, which is bisected by the Vltava River. [3], Houska Castle was built in the second half of the 13th century probably on the orders of Bohemian ruler Ottokar II of Bohemia during his reign (125378) to serve as an administration center from which the extensive royal estates could be managed. Mylroie, J.E., Carew, J.L. [8][unreliable source?] According to Castles Today, some believe they needed to secure the 13,000-manuscript library of SS leader Heinrich Himmler, who was obsessed with the occult and believed that its power would help the Nazis rule the world. In accordance with the castles paranormal origins, one highly significant feature of the castle is its defences. The light cannot penetrate far into the gloom so the bottom cant be seen. In a practical sense, bottomless simply means someone tried to detect the bottom and couldnt. This list now takes us to a remote part of the Czech Republic's countryside and to an actual port to Hell. Go, or I will swallow you up and no one tried since. The weight of the line (at least 40 pounds) would mask the feeling of a weighted end hitting bottom. It can be difficult to measure a true bottom if a cavern extends into a deeper karst system. The first man to do so was young and healthy, and he happily accepted. Swimmers were warned that an icy cold swell or sucking whirlpool would imperil them. Many of the world's so-called gateways to hell amount to nothing more than a creepy setting with a really spooky urban legend attached, but then there's Houska Castle, a 762-year-old gothic castle that was built to seal shut what locals believe is the real-life entrance to the underworld. Astonishing Legends podcast https://www.astonishinglegends.com/. Wikimedia CommonsSkeletal remains of Nazis were purportedly found in the courtyard of Houska Castle. Montezuma well in McGuireville Arizona is a collapsed carbonate pool 368 feet wide and 55 feet deep. You will have to walk from the parking for about 10 minutes to the castle. Continue with Recommended Cookies. But even today, over seven hundred years after the pit has been sealed, visitors still claim to hear the scratching of creatures from the lower floors at night, trying to claw their way to the surface. The castle today is littered with unsettling decorations. Petr David, Vladimr Soukup, Lubomr ech, Learn how and when to remove this template message, | Haunted Castles Around the World |October 10, 2017, |This castle is believed to be the entrance to the underworld |TravelBook.de |Annette Schimanski |April 24, 2020, |Discover the dark history of Houska Castle |CzechTourism 2017, |The Most Haunted Places in Prague, Czech Republic |Prague Visitor Staff | September 24, 2019, |The Scariest Places in the World |Bob Curran, |Houska Castle Blatce, Czechia |Folklore says this medieval fortress was plopped atop a portal to hell to trap the demons below |29 January 2018, |This castle is believed to be the entrance to the underworld |Travel Book |Annette Schimanski |April 24, 2020, See the castle in Czech Republic, believed to be the gateway to hell with bottomless pit, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houska_Castle&oldid=1142138997, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing translation from Czech Wikipedia, Articles lacking reliable references from February 2023, Articles with disputed statements from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. A holy chapel was built on the site to cover this "Pit to Hell" and later a castle was constructed to guard against whatever could come out of that hole. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. In 1990, Rich Buhler, a radio host for Christianity Today, tracked the story back to the propaganda article that was based on a made-up story. Tales are told of swimmers pulled to their doom by whirlpools or some other underwater force. Hrad Houska Nature Hiking Adventure An old Gothic style castle that is perfectly hidden in the deep forest and riddled with mystery, come if you dare! He was said to have amassed a collection of over 13,000 pieces of material, many of which were stored at Houska Castle. The listener may hear no splash or crack of a stone hitting some surface below.
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