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General info and a bit of history
Put it simple, Házmburk is a hill with a medieval castle at its top – as many others in the Czech Republic, you’ll say.
Even though the hill is only about 400m high, its shape is prominent and very distinguishable in the flatlands of the river Ohře, in Central Bohemia, and it can be seen from far away.
The castle is quite peculiar, because it rises from the basalt rocks the hill is made of.
The history of the castle is not very clear.
Archeological findings report that the hill was already inhabited in the 5th millennium BC.
However, the first records of the castle say that the Lichtenburg family built a walled residence at the top of the hill in the middle of the 13th century.
The greatest development was achieved in the first half of the 14th century, when the castle was sold to the noble family Zajíc of Valdek.
The nobleman and later archbishop Zbyněk Zajíc worked on extending and enhancing the castle. He built protective walls with an entrance gate and a moat, and added other residential buildings.
At that time the castle changed its name into Házmburk.
“Házmburk” is the Czechized version of the German “Hasenberg”.
And Hasenberg comes from German “hase”, Czech “zajíc”, English “hare”, the animal present in the family’s coat of arms.
Note: in the Kingdom of Bohemia the major languages used were Latin and German.
What is left of the medieval castle until today and which can be visited is:
- The walls.
- A lower area, with the cylindrical, 25m high Black Tower, built using black basalt. This tower was a very important defensive element (or some sources say it was the castle prison).
- An upper area, where the squared, 26m high White Tower stands alongside the remains of a couple of other buildings. This tower is of a lighter colour and was built with light sandstone.
Tourist information
The castle is not always accessible and entry is allowed only when the gate at the top is open.
Check the official page for recent updates about opening time, price, etc..
In the courtyard you find the ticket office (the old lady will immediately scream about buying the tickets) and a kiosk that sells refreshments.
The kiosk is closed out of the tourist season, but you will find packed snacks and drinks at the ticket office.
The access to the White Tower and to the biggest part of the castle costs 140kč.
If you don’t want to pay, you can still see the Black Tower and the area behind it, where few tables are smartly put to let you rest or have a picnic, while enjoying the beautiful view of the surrounding.
How to get there
Let’s start by saying that the castle can be reached only by foot or by bike, in case you like though climbs, but be mindful and respectful of pedestrians.
Wheelchairs and prams will have problems with the basalt stones.
The easiest and shortest way is to reach the parking area under the castle and then walk 2km uphill. The comments say that the parking fee is 100kč for the whole day.
From the parking you walk either on the yellow trail or through an orchard (in winter the soil can be muddy) to connect to the rocky red trail. The distance of both trails is the same.
Otherwise you can enjoy a nice 13km hike, as I did with a friend.
Hike to Házmburk
We took a tiny train in Lovosice to the village of Libochovice.
There we got some food and drinks – there are a Penny and Billa supermarkets, a bakery, a cafeteria and a couple of restaurants.
Then we tarted walking following the red marked path, that brings to Házmburk through fields, apple orchards and wine yards.
After visiting the castle, we went down the opposite direction, towards the village of Třebenice, to the north.
We crossed a forest, again fields and orchards and reached an old mill.
From Třebenice we jumped on the train back to Lovosice, and from there to Prague.
The full hiking path is here.
To continue your journey
The red marked trail of Házmburk is called “The Golden trail of the Land of the castles” (Zlatá stezka Zemí hradů).
This is an 89km long trail that connects the most important castles of the Central Bohemian Highlands (České středohoří).
The trail starts in Budyně nad Ohří and ends with the Ronov castle, close to Úštěk.
If you like translating and reading, at this page you find many details about the trail and each place it crosses.
