If there were no air in the hole, however, things would go MUCH faster. Is a castle in the present-day Czech Republic guarding us against unimaginable evil? They hoped the . The danger is personified in a monster called the Lusca, a shark-headed creature with an octopus body who was said to live in the deep blue holes. Archaeological evidence shows Celtic tribes inhabited the land far before the Middle Ages, and Slavic tribes migrated to the region in the sixth century. There was even a claim of metals changing form in the hole. And this castle was built in 1271, and the reason they built this castle in this location was to try to conceal a bottomless pit which many believed to be a gateway to hell or an entrance to the underworld. The castle was supposedly constructed in the middle 13th century to surround and cover the hole to hell that had spontaneously formed. 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. Firstly, many of the castle windows are actually fake, that are made of glass panes behind which sturdy walls are hidden. 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. Its not clear if the knuckers made the holes or just found them convenient to occupy. Dash, M. (2020). Soundings in 1896 found a bottom just 20 feet below, but the legend of the pool as supernaturally deep continued. This is suggestive of some evil entity or the lake itself as a living thing that takes sacrifices. 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. 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. It had no source of water or fortification. 3. Castle Tour It lies about 47 km (29 mi) north of Prague. 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. [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". Said to conceal a portal to hell. It is believed that this was ordered to be built by Otto Karll of Bohemia, who reigned as ruler from 1253-1278. Investigators who have tried to find a bottom have not been able to find one in the well. Houska Castle has been open to the public since 1999. He vanished into the darkness, before those on the surface began to hear his blood-curdling screams. 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. 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. Join. It is an early Gothic Castle that was built in 1253-1278 during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia. 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. 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. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle in the municipality of Blatce in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. A young and healthy man upon descending, his hair had turned white when he emerged with his face having aged decades in mere moments. . 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. 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. With World War II resulting in fierce fighting across the continent, the Nazis swept into the Czech Republic, and decided to enrich their knowledge of the occult by studying at Houska Castle. You can visit this location during the kosher tours with Kosher River Cruise to the gems of Central Europe! A knucker hole in Burgesss Field, Binstead, Sussex, England was once pumped dry. Philbrook, S. and Burgess, F. (2017). The Houska Castle Bottomless Pit, the gate of the hell. Houska Castle- located in the Czech Republic, bisected by the Vltava River is one such castle that has always lured lovers of secrets. Get notified of the best best booming posts weekly. The castle was built in 1253-1278 and was upgraded to a Renaissance style castle during the 1500's. He began screaming in horror and begged to be pulled back up. There are scores of examples of lakes in particular that, instead of a bottom, they have a monster. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. 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. The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest hole on earth at 40,230 feet. This particular fresco has left many scholars in awe, as it depicts a centaur from pagan mythology yet adorns the walls of a Christian chapel. The glacial cirque black lake bottoms out at about 190 feet (58 m). However, the locals were so scared of him two hunters broke into the castle and murdered him. 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. It can be difficult to measure a true bottom if a cavern extends into a deeper karst system. Those waiting eagerly above pulled the man up frantically, and when he came back into sight, he looked as if he had aged around 30 years, just from spending a few seconds in the darkness of the pit. In the 1930s, the Nazis conducted experiments in the castle of the occult variety. It is said to be an entrance to hell that swallows damned souls. Objects thrown into the hole arent recovered. Secondly, the castle doesnt appear to have been built to withstand battles. 300-million-year-old wheel found in a mine in Ukraine! It was reported that a beam of black (cant call it light) was seen emanating from the hole. Notable features include a predominantly gothic. 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. (13.06.2020) . Czech poet Karel Hynek Macha visited Houska Castle in 1836, and spent a night there during his walking tour of the region. A phantom White Lady is also said to haunt the building. To coincide with the varied nationalities that once held the castle voices and screams in different languages are often heard throughout the castle at night. The cool story became popular. 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. Some say it wasn't built to keep evil from entering but to prevent it from spilling out. According to the legend, local villagers claimed that demonic half-human and . Secondly, the castle has no fortifications, no water source, no kitchen, and, for years after it was constructed, no occupants. The French team of paranormal investigators, R.I.P recherches investigations paranormal, investigated the Castle in 2013 in their episode "The Hell Gate" (Episode 3, Season 2).[13]. http://visions.indstate.edu:8888/cdm/landingpage/collection/folklore. Indiana State University Folklore Archives. Montezuma well in McGuireville Arizona is a collapsed carbonate pool 368 feet wide and 55 feet deep. There were many superstitions associated with the lake bolstered by real airplane crashes. Its a dangerous feature. Local geologist Jack Powell had heard the radio show. Craters forming in Siberia, in particular, look very much like a bottomless hole. 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.. There was an infamous story, frequently retold, that someone once threw a dog carcass into it and later the dog was seen alive. He knew the claims were ridiculous and figured that the story might be based on an old gold mine shaft in a field northwest of Ellensburg. According to folklore, Houska Castle was constructed over a large hole in the ground which was known as The Gateway to Hell. Person, H.A. Houska Castle is one of the best-preserved castles in the region and is 29 miles north of Prague. 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. So why was this random fortress built? Archaeological evidence has shown that Celtic tribes inhabited the land Houska Castle stands on in antiquity. I kinda doubt it. It had a constructed stone wall around it. 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. (1960). Meurger, M. (1988). For more on that location, see a previous feature here. Continue with Recommended Cookies. (1957). The best example would be Devils Hole in Death Valley which claimed the lives of two boys in 1965 and inspired Charles Manson. The castle is very well-preserved for a castle from that period. Its likely that attempting to feel the bottom fails because of either the upwelling water or the soft mud floor. 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. Crossing the bog is dangerous as dry land can suddenly turn liquid. 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. linus pauling vitamin c, lysine protocol. [7], According to the Prague Tourism web site, the castle is reputed to have various types of ghosts, "a bullfrog/human creature, a headless horse, and an old woman" as well as the remains of "demonic beasts who escaped the pit". Houska Castle LOCATION: CZECH REPUBLIC Residing in the northern region of Bohemia, Houska Castle seems to be something out of a horror story. A fresco depicting the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Western Folklore, 19: 4, 278-280. The weight of the line (at least 40 pounds) would mask the feeling of a weighted end hitting bottom. As with some of the bottomless lakes waterless chasms are often karst-related sinkholes or caves. 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. This is ten-foot-wide opening rimmed with splatter from lava. One night a nearby castle is annihilated by a massive iron monster armed with a terrible cannon. The first man to do so happily agreed to be lowered down by a rope but cried out to be raised back up within seconds. In the midst of the Thirty Years War (1618 1648), the control of Houska Castle was taken over by the Swedish Army. Encountering karst openings may have definitely led to people believing they found a bottomless hole. The strangest of these paintings depicts a creature with the upper body of a human woman and the lower body of a horse. Perhaps most notable of all, the king had the gateway to Hell sealed with stone plates and had a chapel built above it. The men saw the muddy bottom but simply assumed the monster was hiding under the mud. [4] Later on, it passed to the hands of the aristocracy, frequently passing from the ownership of one to another. A local paranormal group approached Jack for more information. You can visit this location during the kosher tours with Kosher River Cruise to the gems of Central Europe! Caligulas stunning 2,000-year-old sapphire ring tells of a dramatic love story, Evidence of a 14,000-year-old settlement found in western Canada, Archaeologists locate earliest known North American settlement, 2,400-year-old baskets still filled with fruit found in the submerged Egyptian city, 9,000-year-old site near Jerusalem is the Big Bang of prehistory settlement, Oldest stone tools ever found were not made by human hands, study suggests, Mysterious skeleton revealed to be that of unusual lady anchoress of York Barbican. Adding to the evil in this old fortress, the Second World War saw the invading Nazis set up base in Houska Castles upon hearing the stories of it. 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. 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. Glacial lakes can be particularly steep-sided and deep. American Imago , 4: 1, 20-31. 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. Giant of Odessos: Skeleton unearthed in Varna, Bulgaria, Conneaut Giants: Extensive burying ground of giant race discovered in the early 1800s. 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. Divers eventually discovered it was about 30 feet deep but that didnt squelch the more impressive rumor. It depends on the storyteller.) Houska Castle in World War II MYSTERIESRUNSOLVED & MRU MEDIA, 2019-2022. There are countless holes in the ground. Myths, tales, and mystery surround the 13th-century castle. They are usually around 20 feet across and remain at the same level suggesting a large or distant recharge area. The unfathomable Mummelsee, in the northern Black Forest, Baden Baden, Germany was called the Lake of Miracles by the Romans. According to Bohemian chronicler Vclav Hjek, the first known structure near Houska Castle was a small wooden fort. [9][10] Another source states locals believed that the Nazis had been using the "powers of Hell" for their experiments. Its possible that a strong current might have existed underwater at times, creating a visible swirling effect. Your email address will not be published. The water conceals the ultimate depth. These legendary spots might hold healing waters or a dragon. 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. [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. In The Mabinogion, translated by Lady Charlotte Guest [1877] it was said that fish in the lake are deformed and odd and that birds do not visit it. 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. Others will try a weighted line. The chapel was dedicated to the Archangel Michael, who led God's armies against Lucifer's fallen angels. Knucker holes are springs. Two qualities of a lake indicated the almost certain presence of a legendary monster first, dark water, and secondly, it was deemed unfathomable. He had grown wrinkles and his hair had turned white. Its highly likely this was a glacial feature but without a detailed location, I cant tell. (1995). It wasn't near any water, wasn't strategically important, and didn't seem to have anyone living in it. Bottomless Lakes are the result of karst features, sinkholes that are perpetually filled with water because they extend below the water table. [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. June 4, 2021. Earth was dumped into it with no effect. Some notable features of the castle include a predominantly Gothic chapel, green chamber with late-Gothic paintings, and a . 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. While this is not technically impossible for a water pathway via a regional aquifer, it is NOT remotely plausible for objects of any size, like an animal or person. Its the freeway to hell at the center of the earth. And the second type is a tropical karst feature initially identified in the Bahamas. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_1',162,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-3-0'); If youre lucky enough to observe Houska Castle from the outside, youll notice some quite peculiar additions. The only thing we do know is that there were the bodies of three Nazi soldiers buried on the grounds. Michel Meurger wrote about the tradition of lake monsters in Europe and North America. 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. Many of the windows were fake, in that they were made of real windowpanes but had thick walls blocking them from inside. It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. Next page The most obvious is that people exaggerated the depth or outright lied about the claim.

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