Hukvaldy Castle, Czechia (Czech Republic)
The Hukvaldy Castle is one of the largest castles in Moravia. It was founded at the end of the thirteenth century and is located on Castle Hill, at an altitude of approx. 500 meters above the sea level. The castle itself was constantly expanded and improved over next centuries. Currently, it has a circumference of about 800 m.
Parking in Hukvaldy
There we have a fairly large parking in Hukvaldy village (1; GPS: 49.624521, 18.220026). Parking is paid and its price is 40 CZK (as of 2019). After leaving the parking lot please turn right and then go toward the church. Then you should cross the street and enter a side road leading to the castle hill.
Climbing the castle hill
It takes a while to get to the castle because the path leads gently uphill, but its length is over a kilometer. At the intersection (A; GPS: 49.6182758, 18.2258283) turn left. There also is a monument of vixen, the heroine of the opera "Příhody Lišky Bystroušky" whose creator was Leoš Janáček, a composer born in Hukvaldy. We walk through the park ("Hukvaldská obora"), in which you can find a lot of old oaks, limes, elms and chestnut trees. We can also find here for example fallow deers.
The Hukvaldy Castle
The castle is divided into 6 parts, to each of them leads a separate gate. We enter the castle through the second gate (B; GPS: 49.621431, 18.226967). On the left side we have a vantage point. Another vantage point we can find in the octagonal tower. Farther you can see the best preserved part of the castle: the castle chapel of St. Andrew, built in 1602. To the main building of the castle leads the bridge, which was once a drawbridge. In the building you can go up and during nice weather enjoy panoramic views of the surrounding mountain ranges of Beskidy, as well as the towns Kopřivnice, Příbor and Ostrava. In the courtyard there is a sixteenth-century well with the original depth of 176 m (partly buried). The castle areas are often a place for concerts, theater performances, historical performances as well as weddings. We had the opportunity to participate in such a historical performance called "Honour and Glory - conquering the Hukvaldy castle". The performance was very impressive due to realistic battle scenes and sound effects.
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