The castle was founded by Czech king Pemysl Otakar I in the 13th century. Could we create a bottomless hole? Today, visitors have claimed to be able to hear the scratches of these entities from beneath the floorboards of the chapel, as they desperately try and claw their way back into the world. While evidence is scant, some say that a Swedish mercenary and practitioner of black magic named Oronto inhabited Houska Castle in the 1600s. Today, Houska Castle remains one of the most haunted places on Earth. Dozmary Pool is important for migrating birds, native rare plants, and for its preservation of vegetation since the last ice age. It revealed a seemingly endless abyss that villagers deemed an entrance to Hell. After the war, the remains of three german soldiers were uncovered in the inner courtyard they had been shot. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. In 1639, a Swedish commander, black magician, and alchemist practiced there. Facts cant ruin a good story. (1896). if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_9',163,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Archeological evidence shows that Celtic people had settled in the area hundreds of years prior to the castle being built, and Slavic tribes had migrated to the area as far back as the 6th century. More recently, mysterious holes are endowed with speculative suggestions that they are wormholes or entrances to another dimension. After the war, the imonek family regained ownership of Houska Castle, and they still own it to this day. They are usually around 20 feet across and remain at the same level suggesting a large or distant recharge area. According to one source, there were "multiple myths about their supposed occult involvements there". These screams may be coming from the prisoners of war that were held captive there, or the local villagers that were taken down into the Houska castle pit by the flying demonic entities. People said they picked up radio signals from the past originating from near the hole. Despite the discovery of the skeletons, it remains a mystery as to why, and when they were killed at the castle. Houska Castle was constructed somewhere between 1253 and 1278 during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia. These water bodies claim people (dead or alive), animals, treasure, transport vehicles, and many secrets. Indeed, to this day, visitors claim to hear screams and scratching noises from beneath the chapel floor. Haunted? Sinkholes, Bottomless Lakes, and the Pecos River. A fresco depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The Life and Travels of French Mesmerist Baron Jules Du Potet de Sennevoy, The Headless Earl of Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate York, The Science and Prophecies of Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac, Couple Claims CCTV In Their Home Shows The Ghost of A Deceased Tenant, 1490: When a Meteorite Killed 10,000 People in the Chinese City of Ching-yang, Ancient Tomb Discovered Under Notre Dame Cathedral. Now guests are welcome to come visit the castle in the scenic forest and check out all of its strange features, including fake windows that are actually just a painted faade. Many of the windows were fake, in that they were made of real windowpanes but had thick walls blocking them from inside. The location of the castle is also peculiar. Eager to know what was below the surface of the Houska pit, local authorities agreed to pardon prisoners if they agreed to be lowered by rope into the gateway to hell. In this feature, I explore these folklore themes utilized widely for local holes, pools and lakes to mark their cultural significance. The term bottomless has been applied to open dry holes, and water-filled depressions like lakes, ponds, pools, or bogs. Constructed between 1253 and 1278, the majestic Houska Castle is said to have been built specifically to cover a hole which led straight to Hell, said to have spontaneously formed in a limestone cliff and to be a bottomless pit full of tormented souls, which would vomit forth all manner of horrific creatures birthed from the underworld. Link Location Gps 50.4909607. It is April 8, 2014. The additional features attributed to Mels Hole were bizarre. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Earth mysteries, weird locations, anomalous phenomena. Now this carving of what looks like a plaited loaf of bread on a pedestal in the castle makes sense, but I don't know if it's original. Slavic tribes migrated to the area that is now Czechia as early as the sixth century C.E. Even though the lake is only at most 70 ft deep, this myth persists. According to folklore, Houska Castle was constructed over a large hole in the ground which was known asThe Gateway to Hell. Workers on a drilling project in an unnamed place in Siberia sunk a hole 14.4 kilometers (8.9mi) deep before breaking through to a cavity from which they heard and recorded screaming voices and measured searing heat. They are used as a handy disposal method, a perfect death trap, and sometimes, for the villains demise in a dramatic last scene. No wonder, all the prisoners agreed. As such popular stories go, some people naively assume its real. There were many superstitions associated with the lake bolstered by real airplane crashes. Sorbian prince Slavibor. First up, we'll be discussing the mysterious Houska Castle, a 13th-century Gothic structure in the Czech Republic which was supposedly built over an actual gateway to Hell. Most castles have a some kind of valid purpose behind them and are built in the best interest of the people around them. And the second type is a tropical karst feature initially identified in the Bahamas. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Mysterious, magical, cursed or hellish. This makes it clear that Houska Castle was not built as a protective sanctuary or a residence. Vouliagmeni is a lake in Greece that was said to suck people in via a whirlpool, or they could be nabbed by the evil fairy folk living at the bottom. No. With an undeniably eerie appearance, it's what's allegedly beneath it that's far more sinister - a bottomless pit that leads directly to hell. 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. In 1901, English Mechanic magazine reported on a seemingly bottomless hole at 171st St in New York City. The Eerie History Of Houska Castle, The Gothic Fortress Built To Seal A Gateway To Hell. The castle was built in an impenetrable forest that provided no hunting opportunities nor strategic position near a border or any trade routes. [9][10] Another source states locals believed that the Nazis had been using the "powers of Hell" for their experiments. If bottomless represented the unknown, its a very small leap of thought to assume there were monsters in this abyss. Naturally, locals would be concerned about the depth of an open hole or pool that they might fall into. Person, H.A. 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. The black magic practitioner allegedly toiled nightly in his laboratory in an effort to create an elixir for eternal life. The first of these craters were discovered in July 2014. The views from atop the castle roof are spectacular. Ottokar II of Bohemia not only sealed the gateway to Hell with stone plates but ordered a chapel built above it. Houska Castle, an early gothic, was built between 1253 and 1278, and although Atlas Obscura claims (no sources provided) the fortress was built as an administrative center for the king's estates, the folk legends surrounding the castle make for a chilling tale. 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. As the gothic structure today attracts thousands of visitors each year, its reputation has been tainted as one of the most haunted locations anywhere in the world. A single survivor reports that the black clad men have lead prisoners back to Houska Castle where they are being used as slaves, helping the strange men assemble towers of steel. Himmler was adamant that by harnessing the powers of the occult, the Nazis could achieve world domination. Locals were said to fear the endless abyss so much, they believed that they would be turned into the demonic creatures it spawned themselves. Knucker or knacker holes are bottomless ponds that do not freeze or dry up. Known to locals as the location to the Gates of Hell, all sorts of demons and mysterious entities have been spotted here. This is entirely unsubstantiated, and the bay is not bottomless but has a strong current that may have prevented accurate line measurements. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. But stagnant waters made us uneasy with their silence. He reigned from 1253 to 1278 and ordered the castle to be made as an administration centre for his royal estates. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. He was placed in an asylum, but died two days later from an unknown cause. The legend of the lakes includes the idea that the lakes are connected to each other and to Carlsbad Caverns (90 miles away) or the Gulf of Mexico (600 miles away) through subterranean passages. Legends and Romances of Brittany. Haleakala volcano in Hawaii has its own Bottomless Pit. Others will try a weighted line. If those methods fail, then, seemingly by default, the opening is declared bottomless. The light cannot penetrate far into the gloom so the bottom cant be seen. Toggle navigation. It was renovated in the 1580s, fell into disrepair by the 1700s, and was fully restored in 1823. The castle was originally constructed in the 13th century, between 1253 and 1278, under the reign of Ottokar II. For a start, how would a bottomless hole hold water? Firstly, many of the castle windows are actually fake, that are made of glass panes behind which sturdy walls are hidden. sacramento obituaries 2021; apartments on aldine mail route Skeletal remains of Nazis were purportedly found in the courtyard of Houska Castle. Several other tales are also associated with the pool including that it was the source of the winds on the moor. The most famous legend was that of the King of the lake and his mermaid nymphs that lived there. More creatively, some people thought that a water body without a discernible depth had on its floor an outlet or tunnel to another water body, sometimes hundreds of miles away. It is not far from Prague (cca 50 km) in the Central Bohemian region. They can be dangerous as the water is constantly cold and the sides may be steep making it hard to climb out. Treachery of the Long Knives Even if a lake had a measured floor, it was common to see mentioned a cave passage that existed somewhere within the perimeter that was where the true danger or mystery was. The only thing we do know is that there were the bodies of three Nazi soldiers buried on the grounds. Little of the above information has much credibility and may all be just tall tales. Legend has it that half-animal, half-human creatures used to crawl out from the pit at night, and those black-winged creatures used to attack locals and drag them down into the hole. Listen to this episode from Unexplained Mysteries on Spotify. Houska Castle was likely built on the orders of Ottokar II of Bohemia who wanted it to serve as an administrative building where other royal properties could be managed from. The prisoner's traumatizing descent allegedly saw him driven into an insane asylum, where died within days. Where is Houska Castle? It was described in 1888 as a bowl-shaped feature with a dark pool in the center said to be unfathomable. Fearful of turning into these demonic entities themselves, villagers avoided the rocky entrance. This is ten-foot-wide opening rimmed with splatter from lava. Houska Castle- located in the Czech Republic, bisected by the Vltava River is one such castle that has always lured lovers of secrets. Certainly. Dunning, B. The goal was to study the lower crust. In addition to its curious location, Houska Castle was built without stairs leading from its two upper floors to the courtyard. When the construction of Houska Castle began, the intrigue of the locals got the better of them. In 1897, it was purchased by Princess Hohenlohe and in 1924, the times of the First Republic, bought by the President of koda, Josef imonek. 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 . He was said to have amassed a collection of over 13,000 pieces of material, many of which were stored at Houska Castle. Houska castle is one of the best-preserved castles of the early Gothic era in Czechia, however partially rebuilt in the renaissance era. As with many sinkholes, it connects to and drains into the underground openings. 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 most famous blue hole of New Jersey is in Winslow, one of many pools that appear in the sandy Pine Barrens coastal plains. In his dreams, he had a terrifying vision, which he recorded in a letter to his friend, Edward Hindle. The unfathomable Mummelsee, in the northern Black Forest, Baden Baden, Germany was called the Lake of Miracles by the Romans. Its also pretty fun to imagine they are the gaping mouth of a subterranean creature or that the earth itself is a living thing that would eat us. The fact that this beast is using its left hand to shoot its arrow is even more unnerving, as left-handedness was associated with Satan in the Middle Ages. Sigils adorn the interior courtyard banisters. Wikimedia CommonsSkeletal remains of Nazis were purportedly found in the courtyard of Houska Castle. It lies about 47km (29mi) north of Prague. where the devil meets with his minions and a headless ghost circles the pond after being summoned by hobgoblins, where living things and buildings slip in and are forever lost, giant cracks miles deep or with lava pools, There was a legend here that parents disposed of their babies umbilical cords in this vent as a magical ritual to give the child positive qualities, a gruesome legend where a father killed his son and then also drowning himself, Hydrogen sulfide gas in the water is toxic and can cause dizziness and nausea, disorienting divers, Rich Buhler, a radio host for Christianity Today, tracked the story back to the propaganda article that was based on a made-up story, additional features attributed to Mels Hole were bizarre, When he told them the paranormal tales were nonsense but the real hole was a typical mine shaft, The physics of such a hole is quite weird, The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest hole on earth at 40,230 feet. In the summer, the cold water under the warm surface can shock swimmers. Waters said he used rolls of fishing line to measure it. If you dont die from the sheer bottomlessness of it all, you will encounter whatever nasty thing exists in the dark, forsaken void. Many of the world's so-called gateways to hell amount to nothing more than a creepy setting with a really spooky urban legend attached, but then there's Houska Castle, a 762-year-old gothic castle that was built to seal shut what locals believe is the real-life entrance to the underworld. 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. According to local legend, it was meant to trap demons. There was an infamous story, frequently retold, that someone once threw a dog carcass into it and later the dog was seen alive. I wish I had more info on this citation from Corliss. Of geological interest, the area here is limestone so we could speculate that a natural karst feature was the inspiration for the hole. Supposedly, the bodies were never recovered. Himmler allegedly feared his trove of blasphemous materials would be destroyed in the war, but was something even more sinister afoot? Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. One of the most prominent legends surrounding Houska Castle may provide the answer. Notable features include a predominantly gothic. [7], The pit in the lower levels of the castle is said to be a gateway to hell. Skeptoid Media, 2 Jun 2009. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4156. Clearly, bottomless is not a term to be taken literally. The strangest of these paintings depicts a creature with the upper body of a human woman and the lower body of a horse. Exaggerated legends say that one who made it out was aged 30 years after only being in the hole for a short while. Two huntsmen were keen to take the locals up on their offer, and managed to shoot him through a window. What happened to Daylenn Pua after climbing Hawaii's infamous Haiku Stairs? [6][11], The Travel Channel series "Legendary Locations" covered several sites in Season 2, Episode 4, including the castle "said to protect a portal to hell". Now before this castle was even built the people who lived . [8][unreliable source?] It is fabled that the hole was so deep that no one could see the bottom of it. Houska Castle in World War II Houska Castle, known locally as the Gates to Hell in the Czech Republic it is thought to be one of the most haunted locations in the world. ABN 90643368665. legends surrounding Houska Castle may provide the answer. Get notified of the best best booming posts weekly. Due to groundwater extraction, these spring-fed pools may eventually shrink or dry up. The castle is built upon a fabled bottomless pit from which winged creatures and half-man-half-beasts allegedly exited. New light on contested identity of medieval skeleton found at Prague Castle Date: August 22, 2019 Source: University of Bristol Summary: Used as a propaganda tool by the Nazis and Soviets during . The most well-known story stemming from the legends of Houska Castle is that of the convict. Locals thought the experiments were resulting in the strange noises and lights that could be frequently seen and heard around the Houska pit. They acquired their name when local herdsmen could not discern the bottom via ropes. Scholars have since discovered cracks in Hjek's histories, and any evidence of Oronto's existence is rather dubious. No one had managed to sound the bottom because it was part of an extensive cave system that continued under the mountain. Spirits and beasts from the underworld escaped to torment the locals. Houska Castle. We have a really hard time creating a super-deep hole because it needs to be reinforced and cooled. Its presence suggests the explanation for the pools they are upwelling springs that emit cold water but never freeze. Years later upon its renovation, skeletons of several Nazi Officers were discovered. The term is used primarily in Europe. The bottomless pit or abyss is mentioned in Revelation 9 in the Bible. It had a constructed stone wall around it. The location is about 30 miles north of Prague. Perhaps most notable of all, the king had the gateway to Hell sealed with stone plates and had a chapel built above it. It is believed that the castle was built to keep the evil in. According to the legends, the scratching of the winged creatures trying to claw their way to the surface can still be heard, phantoms have beenseen walking the empty halls of the castle and the Nazis specifically choseHouska Castle in order to harness the powers of hell for themselves. Villagers eventually tried to block the alleged "gateway to Hell" with stones, only to see the seemingly bottomless pit devour whatever they threw in refusing to be sealed. A famous bottomless pit that was said to have released demons and monsters was situated beneath Houska Castle in the Czech Republic. There are scores of examples of lakes in particular that, instead of a bottom, they have a monster. He said locals knew of the hole and would throw garbage in it. They immediately started to pull him out. Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico is over 1600 acres of land with eight lakes available to visitors. Investigators who have tried to find a bottom have not been able to find one in the well. This gothic castle dates back to the late 1200s, though the tales surrounding the land it is built upon span back even longer. Best bet is to rent a car and drive through the countryside. A movie/TV trope that creates sudden bottomless chasms as a handy dramatic device is that of earth fissures that suddenly open during a quake where living things and buildings slip in and are forever lost. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle, located 47 km north of Prague, the Czech Republic, close to the German border and surrounded by thick woodland crisscrossed with low peaks and rushing streams. The lake had formed from a cavern roof collapse after an earthquake some 2000 years ago. After numerous people suffered from these visitations, the locals began referring to the Houska pit as the hole to Hell. For more on that location, see a previous feature here. The lake has high peat content turning the water black and the pH to around 5, so its too low for fish. Rather than having defences on the outside to try and stop people getting in, all of its defences were built on the inside, as though they were built to try and keep something in. Houska Castle: The tale of the gateway to hell is not for the faint of heart! 108/5 1 . . . 70160. The holes may also release a large volume of methane gas suddenly. Marie Bonaparte noted the idea of unfathomable was applied to still waters, not the ocean or rivers. His hair had turned white his skin now wrinkled. Volcanic crater lakes often have the folkloric feature of being bottomless. Photo: ladabar / flickr / CC-BY-NC 2.0. Constructed between 1253 and 1278 during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia, the castles original purpose has become the subject of many dark and terrifying stories. Legends live on even into modern times. A creepy mask displayed on the lower level rooms of Houska Castle. 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. Houska Castle LOCATION: CZECH REPUBLIC Residing in the northern region of Bohemia, Houska Castle seems to be something out of a horror story. But it was also claimed to possibly be the location where the legendary King Arthur received the sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. When the hole gets blocked it may temporarily hold water until the plug comes loose and the hole drains. Soundings in 1896 found a bottom just 20 feet below, but the legend of the pool as supernaturally deep continued. Giant of Odessos: Skeleton unearthed in Varna, Bulgaria, Conneaut Giants: Extensive burying ground of giant race discovered in the early 1800s. The Central Bohemian town of Mlnk. Pete Collman and Travis Dow's Bohemican Podcast, covering Castle Houska. The locals ignored the finding. The location of the castle was chosen because of this. The weight of the line (at least 40 pounds) would mask the feeling of a weighted end hitting bottom. Houska Castle sits quietly, surrounded by forest, mystery and a whole lot of legend. PORTAL TO HELL | Exploring Houska Castle, Czech Republic 286,245 views Dec 16, 2018 7.6K Dislike AmysCrypt 222K subscribers Houska Castle is said to be built on top of a Portal To Hell. Hydrogen sulfide gas in the water is toxic and can cause dizziness and nausea, disorienting divers. The gateway to Hell is allegedly so deep that one can't see the bottom. In other ghostly tales, a headless black horse is said to gallop through the surrounding area. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Dog rescued after disappearing down a sinkhole, the bottomless pit has also become a media horror trope, The lake dried up in 1866 and again in 1869 and 1976, Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico, Knucker or knacker holes are bottomless ponds that do not freeze or dry up. The castle has been open to the public since 1999. http://visions.indstate.edu:8888/cdm/landingpage/collection/folklore. There are numerous mysteries associated with Houska Castle such as why was it built in a place with no strategic importance and without any source of water - away from all trade paths? The term blue hole has been used to describe seemingly bottomless features of two types. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. The Youdig marshland of Yeun Elez in Brittany, France is loaded with legends and lore as a bottomless bog. 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. Some caves or shafts are rumored to drop off into a huge cavern. In this special Halloween season bonus episode, Ryan brings us just outside the North of Prague in the Czech Republic, to a 13th century castle with an ominous and extremely dark history. They were said to have conducted unknown experiments there, perhaps trying to make the Spear of Destiny lead people to immortality or what not, nobody knows. It lacked defenses, most of which were built facing inward, and didn't even have stairs. As detailed below, the deepest hole ever made by humans was only half this depth. Lets check out the legends of bottomless holes. The castle is very well-preserved for a castle from that period. He had been so disturbed by what he experienced in the darkness that he was sent to an insane asylum where he died two days later from unknown causes. While Houska Castle now welcomes countless tourists from around the world, the limestone cliff on which it sits has drawn people in since antiquity. 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. The first man to do so was young and healthy, and he happily accepted. Many people wonder why Houska Castle was built in such a strange location and odd way. COPYRIGHT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES & PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES, 2017-2018. Having a bottom doesnt necessarily make it less dangerous or negate its evil reputation that is mythologized via various themes. Its in the middle of nowhere. It was reported that a beam of black (cant call it light) was seen emanating from the hole. Houska castle was built with no fortifications, no water, no kitchen, near no trade routes, and with no occupants at its time of completion. Excavations or exploration are strictly forbidden, under the pretense that bombs from World War II may still be hidden inside and might explode if tampered with. In what is now the Czech Republic there is a castle known as the Houska Castle. It was originally constructed in the 13th century, between 1253 and 1278, during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia. There are famous knuckerholes at Lyminster, Lancing, Shoreham, Worthing, and other areas of the South Downs that are flat. Lake Ronkonkoma is Long Islands biggest and deepest lake. [6] Animal-human hybrids were reported to have crawled out of it, and dark-winged, otherworldly creatures flew in its vicinity. The Prague Daily Monitor reports that many visitors are baffled by its counterintuitive architecture and unnerved by the fresco paintings in the chapel. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it doesnt exist as described. He allegedly toiled on experiments to find an elixir for eternal life in his laboratory until terrified villagers assassinated him for blasphemy. In the 1930s, the Nazis conducted experiments in the castle of the occult variety. Standard admission is 135. Locals avoided the area near Houska Castle even when it lay completely abandoned. It was as if the purpose of the castle wasn't to keep invaders out but rather to keep something trapped within. Myths and Legends of Our Own Land. Address: Hrad Houska 1, 471 62 Doksy, Czechia Phone: +420 728 351 101 Website Public transport to the castle is limited, so one of the best ways to reach the castle is to hire a car for the day. The Frightening Legend of Houska Castle by Prague Morning June 4, 2021 In the second half of the 13th century, a mysterious Gothic castle was built. They dropped the first man into the ditch and after a few seconds, he had disappeared into the darkness. The city is surrounded by water and before the 20th century, the northern portions were undeveloped. Skinner, C.M. By 1700, Houska Castle fell into complete disrepair. There are no trade routes nearby, and its engulfed by dense forests, swamps and sandstone mountains.