This week my sister decided to pay me a visit and as she is really interested in history she only had one wish: to see some ruins! Me being the now experienced travel blogger that I am I immediately thought of a place that I had read about a while ago while doing research for this blog - nový hrad. Nový hrad or the new castle is a massive ruin of a castle built at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries. It's located near Lužná in the Šumperk district. It was once one of the largest Moravian castles, but the tooth of time has been gnawing on it for nearly five centuries.
GOING BACK IN TIME
Before I start talking about my experience I think it is important to take a closer look at the history of this place. The first mention of the castle dates back 1374. It was originally built to guard the town of Šumperk however when it originated it was a small castle called Fürchtenberk (this roughly translates to "fear mountain" - you're lucky I know German). As its owner changed over time the castle changed with it. The new additions and construction gave the place the name it bears today: New Castle. (very original - they must have thought long and hard about this one)
The castle held political importance and strong military potential. It was not only a reliable guard of the royal landlords' interests in this area, but also a very strong defensive shield against the Hussites in North Moravia.
During the course of the against the hungarian King Matthias Corvinus the castle was sieged and later destroyed. It was sold many times but none of its owners made the effort of restoring it to its once magestic state.
In the year of 1964 it became a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.
If you would like to know more about the castle's history and how it once looked you can visit nový hrad website. It's also where I got most of the information!
WHEN THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY
There are a few different ways to access the ruins and you can choose which one you would like to take depending on how much you would like to walk and where you live. The first path starts at the Raškov train station where yellow signs will lead the way for 1.3 km. It's a fairly easy climb to the top and only takes 30 minutes. The second possibility is to follow the green signs from the Bohdíkov train station to the ruins for about 5 km. Your last option is to start your journey in Kopřivná and walk along the path that is marked blue for about 4 km. It is a pleasant way that lead through the village of Lužná.
My sister and I opted for the first one. There sadly is no direct train from Zábřeh to Raškov but the 40 minute journey was definitely worth it. The path is a little steep but totally manageable even for all of you who feel like they are out of shape - I can confirm from personal experience! The view is absolutely breathtaking and we enjoyed the fact that all we could hear was the sound of nature. Especially my sister who lives in a big and noisy city appreciated that she didn't hear the sound of a single car. I do recommend to wear appropriate and waterproof shoes! There is a little stream that you have to cross at least twice and there is no way around getting your shoes a little wet. If you don't believe how beautiful it is just see for yourself - I honestly could not stop taking pictures:
STEPPING INTO HISTORY
Once you lay eyes on the ruins there are two possibilities:
Follow the perfectly normal path that will lead you to an easily accessible part of the ruins or do what my sister and I did: Climb up the hill and over the wall of the ruin the explore its insides. To be perfectly honest with you I do recommend doing both. (Don't worry if you are normal sized and don't have dwarf like legs like my sister and I all you probably need to do is take a larger step) If you are able to overcome the small obstacle of climbing the wall you will have the opportunity to see the ruin from a totally different perspective. The walls of an ancient castle tower over you and if you think about it you are actually standing in the middle of what used to a building.
The other path will take you to a part of the castle that we couldn't really explore because some people pitched their tent there and we did not want to disturb them It also lead to a place for campfires and an old building. A very friendly czech man who was there with his daughters and their dog explained to us that everyone who comes here writes their name on the wood so that it is like a guestbook by now.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I totally recommend visiting this historical place! I can only imagine how nice it must be to take a blanket with me and have a nice little picnic in spring or summer. It is a really nice getaway from your daily life and really let's you explore a piece of history.
For me personally it was absolutely fascinating to think about what part of history I had actually stepped food into. To think that those massive stone walls weren't just randomly placed but were carefully placed to make rooms. The fact that countless people were standing in the same place centuries ago but we were looking at something completely different is mind blowing to me. My sister and I took a train and walked a ready-made path to the top of the hill while people used to walk through a forest or ride horses to get to the same destination. It is crazy to me that a building that was once so important has completely lost its value in the blink of an eye. The greatest damage wasn't the siege or the destruction but that we all humans did nothing to preserve this important piece of history.
If you are still not sure if you should go take a look at this slideshow and I bet you will want to go!