This tour to the haunted castle Houska is in fact a tour to two castles. Yes, Houska is one of them. The other one is Kokořín. Both these castles are situated in the protected natural area Kokořínsko and they are a few kilometres apart. The latter one looks older and it is a fine piece of the gothic architecture. The former is in fact older but it does not look like. But for you, as a tourist, Houska is probably much more interesting.
The area is maybe 45 minutes of ride from Prague, if you know shortcuts. There is no public transport that could take you there. You need a car or you can walk a long distance to get there. We will take you there by our car.
Kokořín castle
Kokořín castle is the first one we will visit. Built in the 14th century, it was captured in 1426 and partially destroyed. Since the 16th century it was abandoned and it became a shelted of many bandits or renegades. In the beginning of 20th century the castle was repaired and restored by its new owner. Family of this man still owns the castle. We will be able to walk around the place and climb a tower which gives us great views to the countryside.
Houska castle
The other castle, Houska, is much more interesting. The original castle was built in the 9th century in the middle of nowhere. But maybe, there was even older building built a long time before that. Some sources claim a connection with the Celtic people. You can find their symbol in the castle. And moreover, the name of the castle, Houska, may have one explanation, but the other is Goska. A Celtic word for a gate. And here comes the main part of the story.
Houska castle is generally known to contain “a gate to hell”. According to historic sources, the earth opened there in the 9th century and evil creatures crawled out. Centuries after, in the 13th century, Christian forces battled these creatures and destroyed them. The gate, a hole, could not be filled with anything, so the chapel was built to cover it. It still contains gothic frescos from the 13th century that describe these events. Around the chapel, the castle was built to protect what was under the chapel. Yes, the castle built its defence not against something from outside, but from inside.
Houska then became a quite powerful castle. Whatever was lurking under the castle, it did not show up since then. In 1640s the castle was taken by Swedish soldiers. Their leader, a colonel Oronto, was known to be a dark wizard or something like that. His soldiers were a nightmare for local people. Oronto could not be easily killed but when two local hunters casted a silver bullet, Oronto was finally taken care of. After the 30 Years war the castle was completely rebuilt so it could not serve as a fortress to hostile forces.
During the Second world war, the castle was occupied by German forces. Allegedly, it was used by the Thule society for unknown purposes. As the was was nearing to its end, Nazis used the castle as a storage of Jewish and Free Masonic occult books. And with them the castle was liberated in 1945.
Our tour to Houska castle
Today the castle is owned by a Czech family who bought it in 1924. We will have a tour in the castle with other visitors and a castle guide. In a moment we will be having tour inside, you will already know a probable explanation of everything. We believe there is such explanation and now we know things that people in the 13th century could not know.
Do you want to go on Haunted castle Houska tour with us? Reserve your spot today.