Ko-ko-korin: a fortress near Prague
Fortress Kokoř í n
If it suddenly turned out that you already know the castles near Prague like the back of your hand, and there is sorely not enough time to visit South Moravia, Northern Austria, Central Germany or Czech Switzerland, then pay attention to the Kokorzhin Fortress (Hrad Kokoř í n) . For public transport, it is located extremely inconveniently, guides also dislike Kokorzhin, since the fortress is located on a rather high mountain, and tourists are not only young and full of energy. So rent a car in Prague, for example, from RUNWELL (their website is runwellrentacar. com), and drive to the castle on your own. Keep on the road D8, about 60 kilometers from Prague and the destination is located. On the way, you will pass the town of Mě lní k, also a very interesting place from a historical and architectural point of view, but our goal is not the Mě lní k castle, but the Kokoř í n fortress.
The fortress is located on a mountain, and the road leads to the very bottom of the gorge, and you find yourself there pretty quickly. A picturesque road and huge boulders of sandstone, pines, moss, roots - "Three Nuts for Cinderella" suddenly pop up from memory - you find yourself in a fairy tale. Stone labyrinths were once a haven for robbers from the highway and helped them to disappear after the "case" a moment before the appearance of the authorities. Beautiful and mysterious!
But return from the charms of nature to the Kokorzhin castle. Or rather, fortresses, because this is what the Czechs mean when they say "Hrad". Leave the RUNWELL car in paid parking (50 CZK without time limit) and walk a little in the opposite direction. In front of you is a staircase with generous width steps - I would like to believe that they have been preserved in their original form from the 14th century, when the fortress was built. The ascent, although steep, is not long, you are unlikely to have time to get tired.
The Kokorzhin tower is almost 40 meters high and ends with an observation platform, from which the entire gorge was perfectly visible in the Middle Ages. The fortress was thoroughly battered in the Hussite wars, and for a long time no one was interested in its condition. Only at the end of the 19th century, the wealthy commoner Spaczek decided to purchase the ruins, restore them at his own expense and thereby receive the coveted nobility. By the way, today Kokorzhin belongs to the descendants of this worthy man.
The second extension is the residential part of the fortress, where you can get acquainted with the structure of life in a medieval house.
Today, this Czech fortress, which is in excellent architectural condition, is not only a popular place for tourists from all over the world, but is also constantly in demand among filmmakers and photographers who are happy to use the rich medieval texture for creativity, shoot films, clips, and organize photo shoots. The firefighters of the Czech Republic are training their climbing skills, in general, life is in full swing!
Pay attention to the well in Kokorzhin, and be sure to take a stone with you to throw it into the center of the structure. It flies to the bottom for a long time - the depth of the well is about 40 meters.
It remains to be added that the Kokorzhin fortress near Prague is open from April to October on a regular basis, and from November to March, if you really want, you can arrange a private visit with the management.
