Borgen Sloup i Tjeckien - ett fascinerande besöksmål

Writer: Helena Bergström

Located in the Bohemia / Bohemia region in the north of the Czech Republic, Sloup Castle is a 35 metre high cliff rising straight up from the ground. This is a very special place for a castle.

Table of contents

Borgen Sloup

Sloup Castle is no longer quite the castle it once was. The original castle was built in the 14th century, and since then its history has been characterised by fires, sieges and hermitages. Today it is an attraction that is open to tourists.

Slup Castle is about 4 kilometres from the town of Novy Bor, just over 4 miles from the larger city of Liberec and about 12 miles north of the capital Prague.

History from the 14th century

Sloup Castle was built in the early 14th century along a salt trade route between Meissen in present-day Germany and Česká Lípa in the present-day Czech Republic.

The castle was built on top of a 35 metre high sandstone cliff, and efforts were made to make the castle blend in with the shape of the mountain. They also built many clever solutions to make the castle difficult to capture. For example, there was an ingenious system of trenches that allowed the area around the castle to be flooded.

In the 15th century, the famous knight Mikeš Pancíř of Smojno was based here. He led war efforts against other areas, so it was not surprising that the castle was eventually besieged. In 1447 the castle was burnt down, and although it was rebuilt, it may not have been as comfortable as desired.

Sloup Castle changed hands several times, and then met its fate in 1639 when warring Swedes came marching in, burned the building and turned it into a ruin.

In the 1670s, a group of hermits moved into the castle ruins. They built new rooms and also built a chapel in the rock. Historical documents tell of several different men, including masons, opticians and gardeners.

Today the castle has been renovated into a romantic tourist attraction, which can be visited on your own or on a guided tour. Concerts are also organised here, and some people choose to get married here.

Visiting Sloup Castle

We travelled to Sloup Castle by car and only stopped to take some photos of this amazing place. When we saw that there were stairs and the possibility to get to the top, we couldn't resist. After the first staircase there is a ticket office, and if you come here during the opening hours of the attraction, you can pay a small fee to step around the entire area.

It is sometimes almost difficult to separate the mountain from the building in this fascinating attraction. Everything somehow blends together and you find yourself running from one room to another, and from one viewpoint to another. There are also plenty of narrow and dramatic stairs!

In some places you can see decorations made by the hermits who lived here in the 17th century. You can also see a replica of an original wooden statue of a hermit with a telescope.

In other places, you can especially admire the panoramic view of the Lusatian Mountains.

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Northern Bohemia / Bohemia offers stunning scenery, plenty of breweries and lots of glassworks and glass art in what is called "Crystal Valley". We can also recommend a visit to the pleasant city Liberec, or perhaps the smaller town Litomerice.

Have you visited Sloup Castle in the Czech Republic?

Have you visited Sloup Castle in the Czech Republic? Do you like this kind of sights?

Facts about Sloup Castle

Country: Czech Republic
Area: Bohemia / Bohemia
Region: Liberecky kraj (Liberec region)
Address: Ke Hradu 125, 471 52 Sloup v Čechách
Year of construction: 1324
Location: Located on a 35 metre high sandstone cliff
Read more: You can find more information at Castle website.

Services and practical information

Opening hours: June - August every day, 09-17. May and September every day except Mondays, 09-17. April and October only on weekends, 09-16 (2021). The castle can also be visited at other times, by pre-booking.
Prices: Adults 90 czk (approximately 36 sec) (2021). Reduced price (children 6-19, full-time students, seniors over 65 years old and people with disabilities 50 czk (approx. 20 sec) (2021). If the castle is visited outside regular opening hours, the prices are slightly higher.
Activities: Guided tours can be booked, taking about 45-60 minutes. Events are also sometimes organised, such as concerts.
Rules: Dogs can be taken on a leash and muzzled. An additional fee of 20 czk (about 8 sec) is charged (2021).
Toilet: There is a toilet in the car park, not in the castle.
Accessibility: Castle Sloup includes several stairs and is not accessible by wheelchair.

9 Comments

Add yours →

Lisa says:

Wow, there are so many things worth seeing in the Czech Republic that we haven't had time to see. Gets really inspired by your reports and nice pictures.

06 October 2021 - 11:50

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  We certainly agree, there is a lot to see and discover in the Czech Republic! Glad you like our reports and pictures! 🙂
  
  06 October 2021 - 18:59
  
BP says:

Cool and quirky! What a strange location for a castle, but so clever that it could be surrounded by water when needed.

06 October 2021 - 19:02

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Very cool and different place! 🙂
  
  11 October 2021 - 6:50
  
Lena+i+Wales+och+Spanien says:

This was interesting!
At first I wondered if I had been there, but I haven't been. I've only seen pictures, but couldn't remember the name of the place.

09 October 2021 - 10:21

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  We also thought this was a fascinating place! 🙂
  
  11 October 2021 - 6:51
  
Mikael Anjou says:

Nice to have an in-depth picture of the Czech Republic, but it seems strange to introduce English names for places there. It seems a bit like undigested information aimed at unspecified tourists - we who read your texts probably speak Swedish in most cases.
Give us the Czech names (and maybe a simple translation) instead. Thanks! 🙂

11 October 2021 - 6:40

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Thank you for your comment Mikael! We exactly understand your point, and discuss this a lot! Mostly I try to do exactly what you say, i.e. use the Czech names. Sometimes, however, there can be a point to the English ones, as they are heavily used in marketing and are what you see as a tourist. This is the case with "Crystal Valley", for example, which is the term the area uses to market itself. But maybe it was another name you were thinking of! Please clarify! We are grateful for feedback and are always trying to improve our reporting 🙂.
  
  11 October 2021 - 6:50
  
Lena - gott för själen says:

It looks like a fascinating place! So much cool stuff there!

Hug Lena

27 December 2021 - 20:45

Sloup Castle in the Czech Republic - a fascinating place to visit

Writer: Helena Bergström

Borgen Sloup

History from the 14th century

Visiting Sloup Castle

More to see and do in the neighbourhood

Have you visited Sloup Castle in the Czech Republic?

Facts about Sloup Castle

Services and practical information

You might also like:

Subscribe to our newsletter

9 Comments

Lisa says:

Helena says:

BP says:

Helena says:

Lena+i+Wales+och+Spanien says:

Helena says:

Mikael Anjou says:

Helena says:

Lena - gott för själen says:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

ABOUT FREEDOMtravel

CONTACT US

Social media and newsletters

SEARCH AND FIND ON FREEDOMTRAVEL

Categories

Archives