CASTLE JINDŘICHŮV HRADEC

Systematic archaeological research enabled the beginning of the local settlement to be explained. Its results led to the conclusion that a fortified Slavic settlement existed here already in the 10th century, which undoubtedly played its role in the Přemyslovec dynasty’s castle administration. Remains of a bulwark were found in front of the court facade of Adam II’s palace. Until the discovery of these facts, the date of the settlement’s establishment had been determined as the end of the 12th century. Further evidence proving the antiquity of this settlement are the findings in the Church of St. John the Baptist, where a large Romanesque church used to stand at the end of the 12th century. This moved the foundation of the oldest stone buildings in Jindřichův Hradec back to the time before the arrival of the Vítkovec family. Another fact testifying to the royal ownership of the castle is that king Přemysl Otakar II took the castle as a former royal manor from Oldřich I for a short time in 1277. A year later, Oldřich returned to Hradec. We can presume that the stone castle, which is one of the oldest royal castles with encircling buildings, was established by the king and taken over in the middle of its construction and finished by the Vítkovec family. The name of the first local Vítkovec, Jindřich, was later used to name the castle and the town.

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