Gowska Castle

Gouska Castle is located north of Prague and is one of the most legendary castles in the Czech Republic. In the IX century, the wooden castle of Gouska was laid on this place, eventually rebuilt into a stone fortress. Externally, the castle looks like a defensive structure: massive, rectangular in shape, erected on an elevation…
So far, no document has been found that reasonably explains why it was built here. During the study, a version appeared that most likely the walls were guarded not from the enemy who came, but from something else hidden in a tightly fenced courtyard.

According to one of the legends, once upon a time a fault occurred in the rocky ledge on which the castle of Gouska stands, and fumes and stench breathed out of it, and various "evil spirits" appeared in the nearest district, frightening residents with their appearance. Soon the corpses of birds and animals began to come across, and sometimes people disappeared without a trace.

It could not go on like this for a long time, and one of the prisoners sentenced to death was offered to go down and inspect the formed well, in exchange for a full pardon.

The convict agreed. But when he was lowered into the "abyss", he suddenly began to scream wildly, pulling the rope with all his might. The poor fellow was immediately taken upstairs and stunned: his face was distorted in a terrible grimace, his hair turned gray, and his eyes were covered with cataracts. Foaming at the mouth, he shouted that it was better to go to the gallows than to meet the creatures of hell…

The rift turned out to be the entrance to the underworld. A few days later, the prisoner died in agony, after which it was decided to fill up the "devil's well" with stones. However, the stones disappeared into the bottomless "throat" without a trace and the work stretched for years. In the end, the entrance was blocked up, and a chapel was put on this place – like a locking seal.

There are still rumors, allegedly not far from the castle of Gouska, there is a stone in the forest from those times, on which hoof prints and chains are visible – this devil stopped here to rest when he dragged his victim to hell.