Kyjovský hrádek
rock castle
Kyjovský hrádek, also Horní Karlštejn and Pustý hrádek (German: Oberer Karlstein and Wüstes Schloss) is the name of the ruins of what is supposed to have been a rock castle (Felsenburg) near Kyjov (Khaa) in the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic. The site is in the Kyjovské údolí (Khaatal) valley on a rock terrace above the River Kirnitzsch (Křinice) and covers and area of 150 by 150 metres (490 by 490 ft). Beam supports and the remnants of rooms carved out of the rock are still visible.
History
Nothing is known of the history of the castle site. Castle researchers previously thought that the castle was built in early part of the 14th century.
More recent research now doubts, however, that the site was a castle at all. Ceramic finds date the settlement of the area to the 14th century. It could have served as a place that miners used as a place to live and work, where iron ore was processed and smelted. Old names such as Zlatý potok (Goldbach or "Gold Stream") or Železná jáma (Eisengrube or "Iron Pit"), have survived to the present day in the surrounding area, which indicates medieval mining took place here.
“Kyjovský hrádek” enters the record as rock castle. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Kyjovský, hrádek and rock can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Kyjovský hrádek” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Kyjovský, hrádek and rock provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2021. The linked authority identifier is Q1505666. Authority coordinates are 50.911, 14.453. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kyjovský hrádek”, its source revision and the description used here.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Kyjovský hrádek” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.