Houska Castle, which was built in the early gothic style, is the best-preserved castle of the early 13th century in Bohemia and the rule of the Golden and Iron King Pemysl Otakar II. Houska Castle- located in the Czech Republic, bisected by the Vltava River is one such castle that has always lured lovers of secrets. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. An oil well in Qatar achieved a longer borehole length at 40,320 feet (but did not exceed the Kola reach in depth below sea level) in 2008. The location is about 30 miles north of Prague. Spirits and beasts from the underworld escaped to torment the locals. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The castle's chapel was dedicated to Archangel Michael. In Sompting, local lore of the 1940s described a very dangerous bottomless hole that swallowed a cart horse and all. Houska Castle in World War II Houska castle was built with no fortifications, no water, no kitchen, near no trade routes, and with no occupants at its time of completion. It revealed a seemingly endless abyss that villagers deemed an entrance to Hell. Madonna pond was said to be haunted by the coach and horse that fell in, never to be retrieved. The Dozmary Pool in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall was said to have an outlet to the sea which was 10.5miles (16.9 km) away. If you're looking for a one way trip to the underworld, there's no shortage of alleged "gateways to hell" hidden all over the world. Philbrook, S. and Burgess, F. (2017). https://aforteantinthearchives.wordpress.com/2020/09/27/the-lake-that-has-no-bottom/. Indeed, to this day, visitors claim to hear screams and scratching noises from beneath the chapel floor. He was placed in an asylum, but died two days later from an unknown cause. In his dreams, he had a terrifying vision, which he recorded in a letter to his friend, Edward Hindle. As with many sinkholes, it connects to and drains into the underground openings. [1] It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. As legend has it, Ottokar II of Bohemia ordered the castle built to seal the gateway with a fortress for good. Houska Castle sits quietly, surrounded by forest, mystery and a whole lot of legend. Before Houska Castle was built, archaeologists have also found evidence of a wooden structure existing there in the 9th century. Bottomless Lakes are the result of karst features, sinkholes that are perpetually filled with water because they extend below the water table. Skeptoid Media, 2 Jun 2009. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4156. Could we create a bottomless hole? Then we'll return to the fascinating case of Doris Bither, who was the real woman behind the character of Carla Moran in the 1982 horror film The Entity . Houska Castle, also known as Hrad Houska, is located about one hour's drive north of Prague, Czech Republic. Lake Dulyn in Snowdonia, North Wales was commonly regarded not that many decades ago as a dangerous bottomless hole where evil creatures would reach up from the abyss and engulf people. It is not far from Prague (cca 50 km) in the Central Bohemian region. More recently, mysterious holes are endowed with speculative suggestions that they are wormholes or entrances to another dimension. The lakes of the Great Glen in Scotland are notable: Loch Ness has dark, peat-stained water as well. The Houska Castle, located north of Prague, is an enigmatic location with little-known history and innumerable legends. A water fountain at Houska Castle was installed during renovations. When he was pulled from the chasm, his hair had turned white. Version B) The year is 1945 and the German war machine is crumbling. The most famous blue hole of New Jersey is in Winslow, one of many pools that appear in the sandy Pine Barrens coastal plains. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. The men saw the muddy bottom but simply assumed the monster was hiding under the mud. The goal was to study the lower crust. This Massive Castle Was Built In Order From Keeping Something From Getting Out The Most Haunted Place In The World The Czech Republic's Houska castle is said to be one of the strangest places on the planet. Here, more surface occult activity supposedly occurs as this place is where the devil meets with his minions and a headless ghost circles the pond after being summoned by hobgoblins. He reigned from 1253 to 1278 and ordered the castle to be made as an administration centre for his royal estates. Some say he had his books secured at Houska Castle and that the Nazis conducted rituals and experiments while they were there to see if they could harness the power of Hell for themselves. These legendary spots might hold healing waters or a dragon. There was a gruesome legend where a father killed his son and then also drowning himself. They immediately started to pull him out. In this feature, I explore these folklore themes utilized widely for local holes, pools and lakes to mark their cultural significance. He claimed to be the owner of a property seized by the U.S. government that was the location of a mysterious hole associated with very weird goings-on. In fact, the aim of the villagers living here behind the construction of this house was to cover the mysterious pit, which has infinite depth, also known as the 'door of hell'. The unfathomable Mummelsee, in the northern Black Forest, Baden Baden, Germany was called the Lake of Miracles by the Romans. According to the castle's official website, it was built in the 13th century as an administrative hub for the king, but Czech folklore maintains that the true purpose of its construction was to seal a gaping crack in the limestone. It is situated in a remote area surrounded by thick forests, swamps, and sandstone mountains. Earth mysteries, weird locations, anomalous phenomena. Many people wonder why Houska Castle was built in such a strange location and odd way. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle in the municipality of Blatce in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. GHI investigates the Czech Republic's Castle Houska, a structure supposedly built to keep something in. [9][10] Another source states locals believed that the Nazis had been using the "powers of Hell" for their experiments. Some say that many top Nazi officials, including Himmler, attended dark ceremonies at Houska Castle in which they attempted to harness the power of Hell. Top ways to experience Hrad Houska and nearby attractions Haunted castle Houska and Kokorin castle tour 3 Full-day Tours from $134.69 per adult Prague Ghosts and Legends of Old Town Walking Tour 618 Recommended Walking Tours from $18.32 per adult LIKELY TO SELL OUT* Prague Boats 1-hour Devil's Channel Cruise 552 Day Cruises from $17.69 per adult These claims date back to the castle's construction in the late 1200s, describing unearthly horrors emerging from the pit and wreaking havoc on the local population. While evidence is scant, some say that a Swedish mercenary and practitioner of black magic named Oronto inhabited Houska Castle in the 1600s. Himmler has been accredited as the initial founder of Esoteric Hitlerism, and its said that many high ranking Nazi officials, including Hitler himself, would attend secret ceremonies to try and harness supernatural power. Historians believe the painting is a hint to the creatures that lurk beneath the church. In Revelation 20, an angel throws Satan or the devil in the form of a serpent or dragon back into the pit and seals it. So why was this random fortress built? This folklore was also the basis for the Doctor Who graphic novel Herald of Madness (2019), which is set at Houska Castle and was first published in Doctor Who Magazine 535539. It is not far from Prague (cca 50 km) in the Central Bohemian region. Legend has it that prisoners who were facing the gallows were offered full pardons, but only if they agreed to be lowered into the bottomless hole and report on what they saw. Houska Castle is located in the eastern part of the Kokon Forest, 47 km north of Prague and about 15 km from Bezdz, another ancient iconic castle of Central Europe. The water conceals the ultimate depth. Ottokar II built this castle as an administration center. Sigils adorn the interior courtyard banisters. The chapel was dedicated to the Archangel Michael, who led God's armies against Lucifer's fallen angels. and Moor, A.I. No one had managed to sound the bottom because it was part of an extensive cave system that continued under the mountain. Houska Castle is one of the best-preserved castles in the region and is 29 miles north of Prague. Visitors have also reported seeing a line of ghostly people, all chained together each one with an injury or disability walking towards the castle. The black magic practitioner allegedly toiled nightly in his laboratory in an effort to create an elixir for eternal life. It was completely avoided by all residents in the area after dark. Exaggerated legends say that one who made it out was aged 30 years after only being in the hole for a short while. The first man to do so was young and healthy, and he happily accepted. While locals claimed to have seen winged creatures fly out of the gateway to Hell in the past, today's visitors say they've observed other entities. If you dont die from the sheer bottomlessness of it all, you will encounter whatever nasty thing exists in the dark, forsaken void. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Hidden by thick forestry, Houska Castle in Czechia is shrouded in nightmarish myth and occultist legend. Lake Baikal in Russia is the worlds deepest lake. It is believed that the castle was built to keep the evil in. Giant of Odessos: Skeleton unearthed in Varna, Bulgaria, Conneaut Giants: Extensive burying ground of giant race discovered in the early 1800s. Thus, people assume it has no bottom at all. Hohek's Castle was built between 1253 and 1278. Myths, tales, and mystery surround the 13th-century castle. It had no source of water or fortification. Czech poet Karel Hynek Macha visited Houska Castle in 1836, and spent a night there during his walking tour of the region. They tried to block it with stones, but the abyss allegedly gobbled up anything they dropped into it, refusing to be filled. This ancient stone structure has for centuries held certain notoriety in the region of northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic. Even today, some people remain imaginative enough to think that they found some secret military project, an ancient city or even evidence of a Hollow Earth. The Nazis were said to have conducted experiments[7] into the occult. In the midst of the Thirty Years War (1618 1648), the control of Houska Castle was taken over by the Swedish Army. There are countless holes in the ground. Many people who have ventured into the castle have reported hearing scratching and screams from beneath the ground they walk on, especially as you get closer to where the pit lies. (1960). Despite the discovery of the skeletons, it remains a mystery as to why, and when they were killed at the castle. If you search for bottomless hole on the internet, youll find this crazy story incorporating the usual tropes with modern supernatural ideas. The area in which the castle was built isnt all that strategic. It was described in 1888 as a bowl-shaped feature with a dark pool in the center said to be unfathomable. Located north of Prague, the castle sits on a forested hill, perched atop a limestone cliff, and is fabled to be built upon the gateway to Hell. Houska Castle looks just like any other ordinary medieval castle but upon closer inspection, one can notice a few strange features. Whatever is down there is unknown but undoubtedly unpleasant. [2], Folklore considers this castle to cover one of the gateways to Hell, built to prevent demons (trapped in lower levels) from reaching the rest of the world. Allegedly, SS leader Heinrich Himmler feared his extensive library of occultist manuscripts would be destroyed as the war increasingly threatened Berlin. While it was unheard of at the time to include depictions of pagan mythology in a church, even more staggering is the fact that the centaur is using its left hand to shoot an arrow as left-handedness was associated with service to Satan in the Middle Ages. (2009). Originally constructed in the 13th century during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia, the gothic castle is located about an hour north of Prague. The rumor was that the natives called the seemingly shallow pond the black swamp and considered it the home of evil spirits. Its presence suggests the explanation for the pools they are upwelling springs that emit cold water but never freeze. When the construction of the castle began, it is said that all the villages prisoners who had been sentenced for gallows were offered pardons if they agreed to be lowered by rope into the bottomless pit and then to tell them what they saw. In the 1940s, the Nazis overtook the castle during their occupation of Czechoslovakia, though their reasons for doing so are unclear, as the castle lacked defenses and was 30 miles from Prague. The Youdig marshland of Yeun Elez in Brittany, France is loaded with legends and lore as a bottomless bog. Not only will you have most certainly encountered groundwater somewhere along the way, but the geothermal gradient would make the temperature at this depth very hot and melt the line. In 1990, Rich Buhler, a radio host for Christianity Today, tracked the story back to the propaganda article that was based on a made-up story. He got to 80,000 feet and gave up. It is April 8, 2014. There is mention in places that a natural crevasse existed at the site and people disappeared (Fallen in or dragged in? Though the hole is often referred to as the gateway to Hell, its also referred to as the Houska Castle pit. Firstly, most of the windows are not in use. That is usually more fiction than reality. Houska Castle is generally known as the most haunted castle in all of Bohemia. Gases were once emitted from this vent during past eruptions. He began screaming in horror and begged to be pulled back up. Locals believed this was a gateway to Hell from which demonic beings emerged to feed on villagers and drag them back into the abyss, never to be seen again. Glass pains were installed during the castles construction, but walls were also built behind them, preventing them from being used. Houska Castle is said to be the gateway to Hell. Lake birds may not be common because of the high cliffs surrounding the water making the lake feel very enclosed and isolated. Best bet is to rent a car and drive through the countryside. Toggle navigation. William Corliss, a collector of anomalies wrote that the accounts of such pits smack of sensationalism and must be taken with several grains of salt. Again, we see the idea of a sucking current that could capture swimmers. Macha described a vision in which his soul descended into the pit, and was then transported to a type of hellish mechanized future Prague 2006. As a folklore motif, the unfathomable hole is ancient. Others claim to hear a chorus of screams coming from beneath the heavy floor. Lets check out the legends of bottomless holes. After learning about Houska Castle, read about Caerlaverock Castle and its 800 years of Scottish history. The physics of such a hole is quite weird. The walls of the chapel are covered with some of the . (1896). We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Built in the 13th century by Bohemian settlers, the layout and history of Houska Castle suggest something sinister lurks there and legend holds that it sits atop a gateway to Hell. The Golden Legend. It was built in the ninth century, before a crack in the limestone appeared which locals believed was a gateway to Hell and allowed inhuman entities to enter our world. The castle was built in 1253-1278 and was upgraded to a Renaissance style castle during the 1500's. The Houska Castle Bottomless Pit, the gate of the hell . Houska Castle is located in the eastern part of the Kokon Forest, 47 km north of Prague and about 15 km from Bezdz, another ancient iconic castle of Central Europe. Spence, L. (1917). 134 Houska Castle Stock Photos - Free & Royalty-Free Stock Photos from Dreamstime 134 Houska Castle Stock Photos, Images & Pictures Most relevant Best selling Latest uploads Within Results People Pricing License Media Properties More Safe Search Browse 134 professional houska castle stock photos, images & pictures available royalty-free. Renovations to modernize the castle after the Renaissance began in the 1580s, with various nobles and aristocrats inhabiting the fortress across the ages. Firstly, many of the castle windows are actually fake, that are made of glass panes behind which sturdy walls are hidden. Supposedly, the bodies were never recovered. Perhaps most notable of all, the king had the gateway to Hell sealed with stone plates and had a chapel built above it. Many different types of ghosts are seen around the castle, including a giant bulldog, a frog, a human, a woman in an old dress, and most spooky of all, a headless black horse. The seemingly bottomless hole swallows all the seawater that flows in, appearing to drain the ocean! [6] Animal-human hybrids were reported to have crawled out of it, and dark-winged, otherworldly creatures flew in its vicinity. The lake dried up in 1866 and again in 1869 and 1976 proving that it was not bottomless but subject to drought conditions. The most famous of all the legends is that the castle was built as a defense against a bottomless pit in the ground, known as the Gateway to Hell. The legends surrounding the site of Houska Castle are older than the castle itself. Clearly, bottomless is not a term to be taken literally. Treachery of the Long Knives The chapel in the castle was built over the bottomless well or so the locals claim and it is here that the gateway to hell is said to be located. (1957). Upon completion, he offered prisoners facing the gallows a full pardon if they entered the endless abyss and reported on what they saw. The bay of Djibouti Devils Island (East Africa) is supposedly the home of a sea monster or sheytan. The Bottomless Lakes has resident monsters described as giant turtles. Oddly, the original construction omitted stairs from the courtyard to the upper floors, and most of the structure's defenses were built facing inwards. Its likely that attempting to feel the bottom fails because of either the upwelling water or the soft mud floor.
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