Bezděz Castle

Paper model of Bezděz castle. The cutout is processed in a scale of 1: 400.

 

It is possible to build two full-fledged models from the cut-out, both the historical reconstruction and the current appearance of the castle.

 

The model also contains optional parts suitable for experienced modelers, which can be omitted.

Bezděz is a castle ruin near the village of the same name on Bezděz Hill (606 meters) in the Dokesská Uplands, six kilometers southeast of the town of Doksy in the Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region. It is protected as a national cultural monument and is open to the public during visiting hours.

 

The castle was founded by King Přemysl Otakar II. in the second half of the 13th century. The construction was mostly completed in 1279, when the young Wenceslas II was imprisoned in the castle. From the beginning of the 14th century, a number of aristocratic families took over the ownership of the castle, such as the Berks of Dubá, the Lords of Michalovice, Cimburk or the Vartenberks and Wallensteins. During the 16th century, the castle lost its settlement significance. At the beginning of the Thirty Years' War, he was damaged by the imperial army. Albrecht of Wallenstein briefly tried to rebuild Bezděz into a modern fortress, but did not complete his plan. Since then, the castle has served church purposes and the castle chapel has become an important place of pilgrimage in the 18th century. After its abolition, the castle began to decay and gradually turned into a ruin, which in the Romantic period served as a source of inspiration for many artists.

 

Bezděz is one of the best preserved castles from the thirteenth century in the Czech Republic. Extensive remains of several palaces, two round towers and a unique system of fortifications have been preserved. Unlike older castles, the dominant interior of the castle was no longer a large hall. Instead, a living unit is repeated in all the palaces, consisting of a smaller vaulted hall, to which the vaulted chamber and a room with internal wood paneling adjoined on the sides. The castle chapel is an artistically exceptional space.