After World War II, the castle was returned to its rightful owners, the descendants of koda's president Josef imonek. Episode 302 LIVE: Houska Castle and the Doris Bither Entity Haunting The views from atop the castle roof are spectacular. Crossing the bog is dangerous as dry land can suddenly turn liquid. With an undeniably eerie appearance, it's what's allegedly beneath it that's far more sinister - a bottomless pit that leads directly to hell. No one had managed to sound the bottom because it was part of an extensive cave system that continued under the mountain. Houska Castle looks just like any other ordinary medieval castle but upon closer inspection, one can notice a few strange features. The characteristic of bottomless is associated with the idea that a lake does not give up its dead. First up, we'll be discussing the mysterious Houska Castle, a 13th-century Gothic structure in the Czech Republic which was supposedly built over an actual gateway to Hell. When we cant readily discern the depth, the hole begets additional legendary characteristics, including that of being bottomless. Version B) The year is 1945 and the German war machine is crumbling. The first of the prisoners who agreed to the terms in order to escape a more severe punishment, was lowered down into the endless pit. In order to try and unlock the power from beneath the foundations, its said that he practiced numerous rituals, which included animal sacrifice. The Houska Castle is located in the forests north of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, which is bisected by the Vltava River. This Massive Castle Was Built In Order From Keeping Something From 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 weight of the line (at least 40 pounds) would mask the feeling of a weighted end hitting bottom. Historians believe the painting is a hint to the creatures that lurk beneath the church. It is fabled that the hole was so deep that no one could see the bottom of it. 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. [1] It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. Is The Houska Castle A Portal To Hell? - Paranormal Junkie Address: Hrad Houska 1, 471 62 Doksy, Czechia Phone: +420 728 351 101 Website Public transport to the castle is limited, so one of the best ways to reach the castle is to hire a car for the day. Houska Castle Pt. 1 - Unexplained Mysteries | Podcast on Spotify Hindi News Photo Gallery Bizarre News The Houska Castle Czech Republic mysterious Bottomless Pit is Gateway to Hell ' ', . It is April 8, 2014. Marie Bonaparte noted the idea of unfathomable was applied to still waters, not the ocean or rivers. Hrad Houska - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) The Legend of the Unfathomable Waters. In the 1930s, the Nazis conducted experiments in the castle of the occult variety. Houska Castle: The tale of "the gateway to hell" is not for the faint The Swedish Commander was also known to be carrying out inhumane experiments on prisoners of war. The chapel was dedicated to the Archangel Michael who led God's armies against Lucifer's fallen angels, leading some to believe the gateway truly existed or still does. In the midst of the Thirty Years War (1618 1648), the control of Houska Castle was taken over by the Swedish Army. As with some of the bottomless lakes waterless chasms are often karst-related sinkholes or caves. The name comes from the old Saxon word nicor meaning water spirit or monster. When he told them the paranormal tales were nonsense but the real hole was a typical mine shaft, they ignored him. Legends and Romances of Brittany. Toggle navigation. Locals avoided the area near Houska Castle even when it lay completely abandoned. In 1990, Rich Buhler, a radio host for Christianity Today, tracked the story back to the propaganda article that was based on a made-up story. Workers on a drilling project in an unnamed place in Siberia sunk a hole 14.4 kilometers (8.9mi) deep before breaking through to a cavity from which they heard and recorded screaming voices and measured searing heat. Houska Castle, an early gothic, was built between 1253 and 1278, and although Atlas Obscura claims (no sources provided) the fortress was built as an administrative center for the king's estates, the folk legends surrounding the castle make for a chilling tale. [1] It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. According to folklore, Houska Castle was constructed over a large hole in the ground which was known as The Gateway to Hell. Houska Castle - Wikipedia American Imago , 4: 1, 20-31. Josef imonek purchased the castle in 1920. The most well-known story stemming from the legends of Houska Castle is that of the convict. Get notified of the best booming posts weekly. Tales are told of swimmers pulled to their doom by whirlpools or some other underwater force. (2009). 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. 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. Encountering karst openings may have definitely led to people believing they found a bottomless hole. Houska Castle wasn't near any water, wasn't strategically important, and didn't seem to have anyone living in it. The location of the castle was chosen because of this. Hrad Houska Nature Hiking Adventure An old Gothic style castle that is perfectly hidden in the deep forest and riddled with mystery, come if you dare! You can visit this location during the kosher tours with Kosher River Cruise to the gems of Central Europe! Glass pains were installed during the castles construction, but walls were also built behind them, preventing them from being used. Vouliagmeni is a lake in Greece that was said to suck people in via a whirlpool, or they could be nabbed by the evil fairy folk living at the bottom. The Nazis were famously fascinated with the occult. More recently, mysterious holes are endowed with speculative suggestions that they are wormholes or entrances to another dimension. Wabash Valley Visions and Voices Digital Memory Project. One night a nearby castle is annihilated by a massive iron monster armed with a terrible cannon. Locals thought the experiments were resulting in the strange noises and lights that could be frequently seen and heard around the Houska pit. The castle today is littered with unsettling decorations. The rescuing hug the strange case of twins Brielle and Kyrie Jackson. Most Haunted Live visited the castle on March 26, 2010. houska castle pit exploration apartments in port st lucie, fl The Nazis were said to have conducted experiments[7] into the occult. According to Castles Today, some believe they needed to secure the 13,000-manuscript library of SS leader Heinrich Himmler, who was obsessed with the occult and believed that its power would help the Nazis rule the world. But stagnant waters made us uneasy with their silence. There are several examples of holes being associated with both the devil and the appearance of being bottomless. The Eerie History Of Houska Castle, The Gothic Fortress Built To Seal A As the gothic structure today attracts thousands of visitors each year, its reputation has been tainted as one of the most haunted locations anywhere in the world. 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. It also appears to have no function of outside fortification. Caerlaverock Castle and its 800 years of Scottish history. There were other clear hoax indicators for this story. Knucker holes are springs. The current explanation is that they are formed from the collapse of previously frozen ground. He reigned from 1253 to 1278 and ordered the castle to be made as an administration centre for his royal estates. New Study Shows Mushrooms Communicate With Each Other Using A Vocabulary Of 50 Words, The Tragic Story Of Harolyn Suzanne Nicholas, Dorothy Dandridge's Mentally Disabled Daughter, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Wikimedia CommonsSkeletal remains of Nazis were purportedly found in the courtyard of Houska Castle. By 1700, Houska Castle fell into complete disrepair. The Blue Hole has dark water and is said to be bottomless. 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. I kinda doubt it. This Massive Castle Was Built In Order From Keeping Something From Getting Out The Most Haunted Place In The World The Czech Republic's Houska castle is said to be one of the strangest places on the planet. Having a bottom doesnt necessarily make it less dangerous or negate its evil reputation that is mythologized via various themes. Constructed between 1253 and 1278 during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia, the castle's original purpose has become the subject of many dark and terrifying stories. 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. Haunted? 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. People said they picked up radio signals from the past originating from near the hole. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. These include a half-bullfrog, half-human creature, a headless horse, and an old woman traversing the grounds. The rumor was that the natives called the seemingly shallow pond the black swamp and considered it the home of evil spirits. In 1989, religious network Trinity Broadcasting (TBN) reported the story framed as Scientists Discover Hell. This list now takes us to a remote part of the Czech Republic's countryside and to an actual port to Hell. Spirits and beasts from the underworld escaped to torment the locals. Possibly. Though the hole is often referred to as the gateway to Hell, its also referred to as the Houska Castle pit. PORTAL TO HELL | Exploring Houska Castle, Czech Republic - YouTube The castle was built in an impenetrable forest that provided no hunting opportunities nor strategic position near a border or any trade routes. In the 1940s, the Nazis overtook the castle during their occupation of Czechoslovakia, though their reasons for doing so are unclear, as the castle lacked defenses and was 30 miles from Prague. Treachery of the Long Knives [8][unreliable source?] The Houska Castle Bottomless Pit, the gate of the hell . Mel's Hole, Devil's Holes, and Other Paranormal Pits in the Earth [4] Later on, it passed to the hands of the aristocracy, frequently passing from the ownership of one to another. In addition to its curious location, Houska Castle was built without stairs leading from its two upper floors to the courtyard. It lies about 47km (29mi) north of Prague. Czech poet Karel Hynek Macha visited Houska Castle in 1836, and spent a night there during his walking tour of the region. The most famous legend was that of the King of the lake and his mermaid nymphs that lived there. The black magic practitioner allegedly toiled nightly in his laboratory in an effort to create an elixir for eternal life. 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. Houska Castle, located in Czech Republic, is a castle that was built Carolina Bays, Mima Mounds, Submarine Canyons and Other Topographical Phenomena: A Catalog of Geological Anomalies. But the supernatural stories are used as a tourism ploy and mainly appeared after 1994. The Swedish Commander at the time, Oronto, was known to be a cruel man, who gave his men specific orders to plunder everything they could, as well as giving them free reigns to practice rape as sport. Fearful of turning into these demonic entities themselves, villagers avoided the rocky entrance. Kettles or kettle holes are glacial features that seem out of place and are fodder for legends. Its not clear if the knuckers made the holes or just found them convenient to occupy. In what is now the Czech Republic there is a castle known as the Houska Castle. Its impossible to discuss bottomless pits without invoking the idea of gates to hell. Houska Castle. In fact, the aim of the villagers living here behind the construction of this house was to cover the mysterious pit, which has infinite depth, also known as the 'door of hell'. Divers enjoy exploring the blue holes but, as with any cave system, underwater caving can be treacherous. Houska Castle - The Gateway To Hell - Infinity Explorers Nazi experiments took place within its walls during World War II. Any fish placed in it might have simply leaped out. Water kept flowing in. While Houska Castle now welcomes countless tourists from around the world, the limestone cliff on which it sits has drawn people in since antiquity. He allegedly toiled on experiments to find an elixir for eternal life in his laboratory until terrified villagers assassinated him for blasphemy. It supposedly would reject fish by throwing them out again. Visit Houska Castle (Hrad Houska) in Doksy | Live the World A depth of 745 feet is seriously impressive. 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. The castle's chapel was dedicated to Archangel Michael. Houska Castle: Gateway To Hell. [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. No modern discussion of weird bottomless holes would be complete without at least mentioning it. In his vision, a girl came to him, and continued to show him a series of moving pictures in a small casket, before finding himself walking along some high sandstone cliffs in complete darkness, that were riddled with holes that projected an eerie yellow light. It was originally constructed in the 13th century, between 1253 and 1278, during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia. A man calling himself Mel Waters appeared on Art BellsCoast to Coast AMradio show in February of 1997. The Nazis used Houska Castle as a magical artifact depository of sorts. The castle is built upon a fabled bottomless pit from which winged creatures and half-man-half-beasts allegedly exited . Some notable features of the castle include a predominantly Gothic chapel, green chamber with late-Gothic paintings, and a . Once he had found himself in this technological future, he found himself wandering aimlessly in horror and despair. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Situated on a clifftop and surrounded by dark legends and unsettling accounts, the Houska castle is one of the most feared castles in the world. As the first gothic-style castle known to exist here, Hrad Houska was constructed between 1270-1280 during the reign of King Otakar II. Known to locals as the location to the Gates of Hell, all sorts of demons and mysterious entities have been spotted here. She noted a correspondent told her of Welsh legends where the lakes had their own personalities and resented being measured. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Lake Monster Traditions: A Cross-Cultural Analysis. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Said to conceal a portal to hell. The Central Bohemian town of Mlnk. 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. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Houska Castle Was Built to Cover a Gateway to Hell - abandonedspaces.com It was built in the early part of the 13 th century, believed to be on the order of Ottokar II of Bohemia. To the famous castle from the middle of the 13th century, with the name: Houska. He vanished into the darkness, before those on the surface began to hear his blood-curdling screams. The strangest of these paintings depicts a creature with the upper body of a human woman and the lower body of a horse. Their research into the paranormal was at times both extreme and desperate, and with a reputation such as Houska Castles, it wasnt long before the Nazis decided to take it for themselves and put the local theories to the test. Corliss, W. (1988). Despised by his actions, the locals that had remained in the area decided to offer a reward of 100 gold to those who could kill him. Exaggerated legends say that one who made it out was aged 30 years after only being in the hole for a short while. It was said he toiled night and day to discover an elixir for eternal life. The victims would just vanish to never return again. 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. If bottomless represented the unknown, its a very small leap of thought to assume there were monsters in this abyss. The bottomlessness of the various pits, lakes and bogs worldwide is not physically accurate but the concept of the unknown abyss is an essential feature of a mythological and enchanted landscape. I wish I had more info on this citation from Corliss. It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. 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. Ghostly figures have also been seen wandering the castle grounds. There must be thousands of examples of features around the world that have been at one time called bottomless. When he was pulled from the chasm, his hair had turned white. Michel Meurger wrote about the tradition of lake monsters in Europe and North America. Case No. 7 | Houska Castle (2014) - paranormaltym.cz If there were no air in the hole, however, things would go MUCH faster. Next page Mining created the Chuquicamata Copper Mine, in Chile at 2,790, the Kimberley Mine in South Africa at 700 and the Berkeley Pit, in Butte, Montana at 1700. Years later upon its renovation, skeletons of several Nazi Officers were discovered. Learn more about your ad choices. The castle walls are adorned with numerous fresco paintings that depict St. Christopher, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and a half-animal, half-human hybrid hunting a villager. Gas release may also account for the tales of the swamp boiling and bubbling. Best bet is to rent a car and drive through the countryside. Others will try a weighted line. Also, Mel Waters was a made-up name. Houska Castle on Wikipedia. According to the legends, the scratching of the winged creatures trying to claw their way to the surface can still be heard, phantoms have beenseen walking the empty halls of the castle and the Nazis specifically choseHouska Castle in order to harness the powers of hell for themselves. Rivers also were moving and occasionally revealed their bottoms. A famous bottomless pit that was said to have released demons and monsters was situated beneath Houska Castle in the Czech Republic.