A considerable degree of inaccessibility, a national cultural landmark...
TROSKY CASTLE

The ruin of the castle, founded at the end of the 14th century by the House of Vartenberk, overhangs the beautiful scenery of the Bohemian Paradise. The rocky massif on which the castle is situated originated below ground level during the restless mountain-forming Tertiary period. One of the results of the weathering process covering millions of years was this corrosion-resistant basalt chimney prepared from surrounding rock deposits and now forming the landmark of the local landscape.

The observation area affords a view of the whole region known as The Bohemian Paradise, the Krkonose (Giant) Mountains, the Bohemian Central Mountains, the Jested Ridge, the Boleslav region and the landmarks of Prague.

The considerable degree of inaccessibility of the rocky massif was taken advantage of by the Czech nobleman Cenek of Vartenberk who in the years 1380 to 1390 built a strong castle. The castle plan was predetermined by the two hills on which it was built.

A pentagonal tower called Baba (Old witch or Old woman) stood on the bigger hill, a rectangular tower called Panna (Maid or Virgin) stood on the thinner hill. Beneath both the towers there were palaces connected by the courtyard. The different elevations on which the individual castle buildings stood made it possible for the garrison to gain a perfect circular view of both the remote and the immediate environs. Thanks to his debts Cenek of Vartenberk was obliged to hand over the castle to King Vaclav IV towards the end of his life. In 1398 the king presented it to the supreme burgrave of the Prague Castle, Oto of Bergov.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the castle was held by Ota z Bergova, and in 1424 or 1428, during the Hussite period, Trosky Castle was greatly damaged by fire, but the Hussites tried in vain to conquer it even after the disaster. In 1438 the castle fell into the hands of the people of the robber knight Sofa of Helfenburg and his comrade Svejkar. Provincial troops were sent to fight against them and only after three years did they succeed in conquering the castle. After the liquidation of the band of robbers Ota of Bergov's son - Jan - sold the Trosky Castle to Jan Zajic of Hazmburk (Házmburka) in 1455.

In 1467, the castle was conquered by the troops of the Czech King Jiri z Podebrad. In the late 15th century, the castle Trosky was not a residence castle any more. From the end of the 15th century, the castle was sold to different owners many times. During the Thirty Years War Trosky Castle became the property of Albrecht of Valdstejn and towards its end it was for the last time the scene of battles - this time between the imperial and Swedish troops. And once again it fell victim to fire - in the end it became a ruin and lost its importance as a strong seat of the nobility.

In 1821 Albrecht of Valdstejn sold the castle to Count Alpis Lexa of Aehrental who, under the influence of romantism, began work intended to make the view from the tower called Panna (Maiden) accessible. It was completed after his death. The Association of Czech Tourists, between the two World Wars, tried to recover the castle, however, it was managed not later than in the 90's of the 20th century. In 2000, tower Baba was made accessible through a new stairway that opens an other view of the castle ground plan and the new platform in the tower opens an other view of the Elbe Basin and Jizin area with Zebin and the Prachov rocks with Bradlec, Kumburk and Zvicina in the background.