Petrovice u Sušice - Kojšice - castle
The dominant feature of the settlement is the castle built in Kojšice by Ferdinad Abele in 1850. The new owner, Emanuel Forster, had the building rebuilt in the neo-romantic style in 1877-90. Today the castle is in a very bad condition.
Reputation:
About bread slippers
Once upon a time, a nice and strong castle (1) stood on Hrnčíř hill near Petrovice. It was protected on one side by deep ramparts, on the other by a steep rock that juts out above the Pstružna River. A rich knight who lived on Hrnčíř guarded the gold mined in the nearby rivers and streams. His wife died, but he had three spoiled daughters who were very proud and dressed in pure silk. They also wore golden shoes studded with diamonds. As the years progressed, they made more and more demands on their father. There was no end to their whimsy. He wanted to replace their mother's love and fulfilled all their wishes.
And so, at a time when rich suitors began to visit the beauties, they demanded another unusual gift from their father. They wanted the baker to bake them shoes from bread dough. It is said that no one has worn such before. The father was reluctant, tried to talk his daughters out of the unusual idea, but finally agreed.
As soon as the daughters put on their shoes made of bread, the sky darkened, lightning crossed it and the wind broke the trees around the castle. They sinned against the Lord God. When the commotion ended and the sky cleared, all that remained of the castle was a pile of stones. Under it, the lord of the castle found his death, and his daughters turned into ducks and quacked mournfully in the pond under the rock. So they were punished for their extravagance.
The golden treasure remained sealed in the rock. The key to the chest is stored in a castle in nearby Kojšice (2). Every year on Good Friday, the rock is opened, but no brave man has yet set out to find the treasure.
The legend was recorded by the chronicler of the village of Petrovice near Sušice, Josef Koudelka, and it is also told by Vilém Kudrlička in the Collection of legends and customs from Dolní Těšov and its surroundings.
1. Hrnčíř hill rises above Jiřičná at 622 m above sea level. In the Middle Ages, a castle stood on its wooded eastern promontory, topped by a rock. The fort was protected from the approach west side by double ditches. The inner surface of the castle is without above-ground traces of masonry. Archaeologists dated the existence of the castle to the period from the end of the 12th century to the middle of the 13th century. The castle was built by an unknown builder, most likely to protect the long-distance horse-drawn carriage route that led below it.
2. Kojšice - a small village near Jiřičná in which a fortress stood in the Middle Ages. In the 18th century, a castle was built here, which was rebuilt several times. Much dilapidated today.
Another legend tells of the fact that several men once wanted to dig up a hidden chest of money on Hrnčíř. As they were lifting it out of the hole, one of them cursed and the chest sank deeper. Only the key remained in his hand, which is said to be kept in the castle in Kojšice. Every year, the chest moves one step closer in the direction of Bavaria. It is said that in many years it will float on the stream below Hrnčíř, or the interested party can get it on Good Friday, when the treasures are opened.
Pramen: Rumors from the mysterious and magical places of Pošumaví, published by the Local Action Group of Pošumaví in cooperation with MAS St. John of Nepomuk and the Aktivios Civic Association as part of the three-volume publication Legends from mysterious and magical places within the cooperation project "Let's revive monuments and legends from mysterious and magical places together", supported by the Rural Development Program of the Czech Republic, measure IV.2.1.
