Kraví Hora Castle, Castle ruin in Kuroslepy, Czech Republic.
Kraví Hora Castle is a rock castle ruin on a wooded spur above the left bank of the Oslava, near its confluence with the Chvojnice, two kilometres southeast of Kuroslepy. Its trapezoidal layout was protected by a wall and moat on all sides but the south, with the entrance from the north. The five-metre stump of the cylindrical keep, 5.5 metres in diameter, survives.
Kraví Hora was first documented in 1367 as the property of Ješek of Náchod. His son sold it to the Šelmberk family, and during the Moravian Margrave Wars it sheltered a robber band raiding the Třebíč Benedictine monastery's estates. In 1409 Moravian estates besieged and captured it; by 1494 it was recorded as deserted.
The name Kraví Hora (Cow Mountain) comes from the hill itself, and the castle gave its name to the Náchod family branch that held it. According to Václav Hájek z Libočan, Moravians hid here from the Hungarians after the fall of Great Moravia and later used the predicate 'of Kraví Hora'.
Access is by marked hiking trails that run through the countryside from Kuroslepy. The paths are clearly marked, making the ruins easy to find and explore on foot.
The elevated position of the ruins provides views across the surrounding Moravian landscape and explains why this location was chosen for medieval defense. The strategic placement allowed people to monitor the surrounding territory.
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