There are countless holes in the ground. Background. When the prisoner, who was a young man, was pulled back up to the surface he looked as if he had aged decades in the few seconds he was in the pit. Glass pains were installed during the castles construction, but walls were also built behind them, preventing them from being used. Himmler allegedly feared his trove of blasphemous materials would be destroyed in the war, but was something even more sinister afoot? The walls of the chapel are covered with some of the . The locals ignored the finding. Kettles or kettle holes are glacial features that seem out of place and are fodder for legends. Houska Castle - Ghost Hunters International - Paranormal Zone X - Google 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 deepest spot in the ocean is 35,814 feet belowsealevel, part of the Mariana Trench between Guam and the Philippines called the ChallengerDeep. 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. Houska Castle includes a Gothic chapel, a knight's drwaing room and a green chamber with late-Gothic paintings. Locals avoided the area near Houska Castle even when it lay completely abandoned. Houska Castle - The Gateway To hell - The Mystic and Occult in the In Sompting, local lore of the 1940s described a very dangerous bottomless hole that swallowed a cart horse and all. These water bodies claim people (dead or alive), animals, treasure, transport vehicles, and many secrets. Photo: ladabar / flickr / CC-BY-NC 2.0. Storytellers supposed that the loch bottom had hidden caverns that connected to the ocean to the northeast thus providing a passage for one of the worlds most famous lake monsters. (1960). Learn more about your ad choices. Myths and Legends of Our Own Land. Its possible that a strong current might have existed underwater at times, creating a visible swirling effect. They are usually around 20 feet across and remain at the same level suggesting a large or distant recharge area. For more on that location, see a previous feature here. Investigators who have tried to find a bottom have not been able to find one in the well. So why was this random fortress built? Some have water. Ive tried using a well probe to test for depth and you start to lose that feeling of hitting bottom at about 300 feet. The castle was built as a fortification to shield the world from the forces of a demonic nature, but more specifically, its the chapel within the castle that covers the supposed gateway to Hell. The Demonic Abysse of Houska Castle 2016 - Fortean Herald Press Visit Houska Castle (Hrad Houska) in Doksy | Live the World houska castle pit exploration - darmoweszablonycanva.pl Two qualities of a lake indicated the almost certain presence of a legendary monster first, dark water, and secondly, it was deemed unfathomable. Exaggerated legends say that one who made it out was aged 30 years after only being in the hole for a short while. Meurger, M. (1988). He was still screaming when they pulled him to the surface. Ottokar II of Bohemia not only sealed the gateway to Hell with stone plates but ordered a chapel built above it. Houska Castle is generally known as the most haunted castle in all of Bohemia. Despite Oronto's death, locals continued to avoid the area. Houska Castle - YouTube Oronto made Houska Castle his primary base for some time. The famous well to hell hoax came with a soundtrack of voices of the damned. Ottokar II built this castle as an administration center. Houska Castle. It is an early Gothic Castle that was built in 1253-1278 during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia. It might not be the largest or the most beautiful castle, and it does not have a large park, but it is a popular destination for many tourists and adventurers. Locals were said to fear the endless abyss so much, they believed that they would be turned into the demonic creatures it spawned themselves. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle in the municipality of Blatce in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Centuries-old legends may be able to answer that question. No. Castle Tour The rescuing hug the strange case of twins Brielle and Kyrie Jackson. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}502928N 143726E / 50.491N 14.624E / 50.491; 14.624. Like quicksand, the bottomless pit has also become a media horror trope. (1957). Link Location Gps 50.4909607. To fall into the pit is symbolic of the descent into hell and damnation. Houska Castle Czechia Nazi Occult Experiments Gateway To Hell In the summer, the cold water under the warm surface can shock swimmers. But the supernatural stories are used as a tourism ploy and mainly appeared after 1994. Mel's Hole, Devil's Holes, and Other Paranormal Pits in the Earth Houska was built by Pemysl Otakar II as a remarkable royal castle, but was soon sold to a noble family, which continued to own in until after WWI. No one had managed to sound the bottom because it was part of an extensive cave system that continued under the mountain. 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. 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. Petr David, Vladimr Soukup, Lubomr ech, Learn how and when to remove this template message, | Haunted Castles Around the World |October 10, 2017, |This castle is believed to be the entrance to the underworld |TravelBook.de |Annette Schimanski |April 24, 2020, |Discover the dark history of Houska Castle |CzechTourism 2017, |The Most Haunted Places in Prague, Czech Republic |Prague Visitor Staff | September 24, 2019, |The Scariest Places in the World |Bob Curran, |Houska Castle Blatce, Czechia |Folklore says this medieval fortress was plopped atop a portal to hell to trap the demons below |29 January 2018, |This castle is believed to be the entrance to the underworld |Travel Book |Annette Schimanski |April 24, 2020, See the castle in Czech Republic, believed to be the gateway to hell with bottomless pit, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houska_Castle&oldid=1142138997, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing translation from Czech Wikipedia, Articles lacking reliable references from February 2023, Articles with disputed statements from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Houska Castle, Czech Republic By Deb Daniel Jansonsin Ghosts and Hauntings, Haunted Locations Approximately 47km from Prague, sits a large and menacing structure called the Houska Castle. It was built atop a cliff in Prague's countryside, mysteriously isolated from all trade routes. Houska Castle - Dark Tales According to the legend, local villagers claimed that demonic half-human and . Crossing the bog is dangerous as dry land can suddenly turn liquid. A fresco depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Bottomless Lakes of the Pacific Northwest. The lakes of the Great Glen in Scotland are notable: Loch Ness has dark, peat-stained water as well. In this feature, I explore these folklore themes utilized widely for local holes, pools and lakes to mark their cultural significance. Houska Castle did trade hands between various nobles and aristocrats in later centuries, however. There are several examples of holes being associated with both the devil and the appearance of being bottomless. Hydrogen sulfide gas in the water is toxic and can cause dizziness and nausea, disorienting divers. This has raised doubts as to the castles intended purpose, but if it wasnt built to be a fort or residence, why was it built at all? In Sompting, local lore of the 1940s described a very dangerous bottomless hole that swallowed a cart horse and all. Built in the latter half of the 13th century, it is thought to have been constructed on the orders of Ottakar II, known as the Iron and Golden King. The goal was to study the lower crust. 3. Carbonates and Evaporites 10:225233. When the castle was built, the crack in the limestone was covered with thick stone plates and the castle's chapel was constructed on top of it in order to seal the hole to Hell. 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. A famous bottomless pit that was said to have released demons and monsters was situated beneath Houska Castle in the Czech Republic. The Golden Legend. He had grown wrinkles and his hair had turned white. A local paranormal group approached Jack for more information. People said they picked up radio signals from the past originating from near the hole. 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. What else you could to Machovo jezero/Doksy. The castle is perched on a rock and encircled by mountains, forests, and wetlands. Craters forming in Siberia, in particular, look very much like a bottomless hole. They hoped the . HALLOWEEN SERIES | Houska Castle: The Gateway to Hell Many of these ceremonies were thought to have taken place at Houska Castle. When the construction of Houska Castle began, the intrigue of the locals got the better of them. Their geological origins are diverse. Houska castle is one of the best-preserved castles of the early Gothic era in Czechia, however partially rebuilt in the renaissance era. Facts cant ruin a good story. We have a really hard time creating a super-deep hole because it needs to be reinforced and cooled. Although not one of the largest or the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic, with no huge parks nor the oldest chapels, Houska Castle has become a favourite destination for many adventurers and travellers alike. While Nazi Germany took countless castles and plundered the nations it invaded during the war, the appeal of Houska Castle remains debatable. Houska, or more specifically, it's chapel, was built over a bizarre hole in the ground that was not only said to be bottomless but was also said to be a literal portal to Hell. The strange and haunted old Nazi secret camp, Houska Castle While he was based there, its said that he was well aware of the stories of the paranormal phenomena that had been reported at the castle. He recognized the rumor as a folklore motif common in New England. 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. He got to 80,000 feet and gave up. Knucker holes are springs. And the second type is a tropical karst feature initially identified in the Bahamas. The light cannot penetrate far into the gloom so the bottom cant be seen. Houska Castle looks just like any other ordinary medieval castle but upon closer inspection, one can notice a few strange features. The legends surrounding the site of Houska Castle are older than the castle itself. 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. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest hole on earth at 40,230 feet. 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. Thus, by constructing the Gothic building's defensive walls facing inward, they were able to keep the demons trapped in the lower level's thickest walls closest to the hole of the castle. from Prague to Houska..you will get the route..basically leave Prague on D8 up to Nova Ves, turn off to Melnik and continue on 273, 259 to Houska.70 kilometres, an hour and a bit. Despite the discovery of the skeletons, it remains a mystery as to why, and when they were killed at the castle. Besides this, it is thought to be one of the most haunted sites on Earth. Houska Castle - Adventure Seeds Pt. 1 | Fractalbat Legend has it that when construction began in the castle, all of the prisoners that were sentenced to death were offered a pardon if they consented to be lowered by rope into the hole, and report back on what they saw. 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. This is ten-foot-wide opening rimmed with splatter from lava. 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. Houska Castle was built during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia between 1253 and 1278 as an administrative hub from which the king could manage royal estates. As of 2020, it was owned by his descendants. A water fountain at Houska Castle was installed during renovations. Houska Castle, Czech Republic - The National Paranormal Society Thus, people assume it has no bottom at all. Several other tales are also associated with the pool including that it was the source of the winds on the moor. It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. Certainly. Version B) The year is 1945 and the German war machine is crumbling. Was Houska Castle really built over a cave of sorts? - Quora Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If there were no air in the hole, however, things would go MUCH faster. It was completely avoided by all residents in the area after dark. (2009). Houska Castle Was Built to Cover a Gateway to Hell - abandonedspaces.com There was an infamous story, frequently retold, that someone once threw a dog carcass into it and later the dog was seen alive. If you dont die from the sheer bottomlessness of it all, you will encounter whatever nasty thing exists in the dark, forsaken void. Josef imonek purchased the castle in 1920. The story of the hole at Houska castle sounds mighty similar to a more modern version the wholly constructed legend of Mels Hole of Ellensburg, Washington. The Nazis were famously fascinated with the occult. Upon completion, he offered prisoners facing the gallows a full pardon if they entered the endless abyss and reported on what they saw. In the 18th century, it stopped serving as a noble residence and fell into a state of disrepair before being renovated in 1823. XCAT World series Powerboat Racing. In the early 1900s, the bottom was not accessible for measurement so it was commonly said to be bottomless. The lake that has no bottom. This is entirely unsubstantiated, and the bay is not bottomless but has a strong current that may have prevented accurate line measurements. Though the building has a long history, the land on which it stands and the legends suggesting it covers a portal to hell are even older. In the 1930s, the Nazis conducted experiments in the castle of the occult variety. It was described in 1888 as a bowl-shaped feature with a dark pool in the center said to be unfathomable. houska castle pit exploration Wikimedia CommonsSkeletal remains of Nazis were purportedly found in the courtyard of Houska Castle. The Nazis used Houska Castle as a magical artifact depository of sorts. The Frightening Legend of Houska Castle - Prague Morning 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. Indiana State University Folklore Archives. Secondly, the castle doesnt appear to have been built to withstand battles. It revealed a seemingly endless abyss that villagers deemed an entrance to Hell. It is believed that this was ordered to be built by Otto Karll of Bohemia, who reigned as ruler from 1253-1278. Lets check out the legends of bottomless holes. The chapel was dedicated to the Archangel Michael, who led God's armies against Lucifer's fallen angels. The story was first published in Finland by a Pentecostal Christian journal. It had no source of water or fortification. It was as if the purpose of the castle wasn't to keep invaders out but rather to keep something trapped within. Sigils adorn the interior courtyard banisters. The Houska Castle, located north of Prague, is an enigmatic location with little-known history and innumerable legends. 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 supposed hole at the castle is supposedly beneath the floor of the chapel. There are many legends around this Flagstaff pit and it was once somewhat of a tourist attraction. Lake Baikal in Russia is the worlds deepest lake. As with some of the bottomless lakes waterless chasms are often karst-related sinkholes or caves. 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. The castle is built upon a fabled bottomless pit from which winged creatures and half-man-half-beasts allegedly exited. Kansas has the infamous Stull Cemetery, Greece has the Cape Matapan Caves, and Indiana had the Demon House (until Ghost Adventures' Zak Bagans tore it down), and . While Houska Castle now welcomes countless tourists from around the world, the limestone cliff on which it sits has drawn people in since antiquity. Houska Castle: Gateway To Hell. [9][10] Another source states locals believed that the Nazis had been using the "powers of Hell" for their experiments. This gothic castle dates back to the late 1200s, though the tales surrounding the land it is built upon span back even longer. Some say it wasn't built to keep evil from entering but to prevent it from spilling out. The castle has been open to the public since 1999. The cool story became popular. The Blue Hole has dark water and is said to be bottomless. What is at the bottom of Houska Castle pit? - wisdom-tip.com Its in the middle of nowhere. When he was pulled from the chasm, his hair had turned white. Secondly, the castle has no fortifications, no water source, no kitchen, and, for years after it was constructed, no occupants. Gases were once emitted from this vent during past eruptions. Heres where is Houska Castle located on Google Maps: Your email address will not be published. [3], Houska Castle was built in the second half of the 13th century probably on the orders of Bohemian ruler Ottokar II of Bohemia during his reign (125378) to serve as an administration center from which the extensive royal estates could be managed.