Valdek Castle (Czech Republic)
Maybe this one is stretching the definition of Urban Exploration
a bit, it must have been deserted for centuries. Actually I don't know
much about it's history, only that it was build somewhere in the 11th
century.
I found it when I was on practical training in the Czech Republic. It
is near the village of Komárov, in the middle of a military area. Because
of this it is officially off limits to everybody, unofficially local people
visit it quite often. Anyway, it means there is no ticket sale, no clear-cut
walking paths, no guided tours and especially no hoards of German or American
tourists (or Dutch ;-)). It is hidden from the road by trees, one must
know it is there to be able to find it.
It is a nice romantic ruin, overgrown by bushes and weeds but with enough
standing so one can get an idea of what it must have looked like some
hundreds of years ago. The thickness and height of the walls is still
quite impressive.
The main gate. A wooden bridge has been
build across the moat to make access a bit easier. The donjon (round tower)
has had some maintenance to keep it from deteriorating further.
Inside the castle. The small holes in the walls must be the places where
the roof and floor beams once were.
View from a window in the tower. There's scaffolding inside the donjon
so one can climb it.
Looking down on the ruin from the tower.
As you can see there's grass growing on top of it (lower right corner)
View from the tower in the direction of Komárov.
Setting sun in the beautiful surroundings of Komárov. (OK, it has
nothing to do with foregoing castle but it's a nice picture anyway :-)
).
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