Podhradí

The center of the historical Aš region

Podhradí is located on the left side of the Ašský stream, approximately 5 kilometers north of Aš, at an altitude of 562 meters. The village is located below a promontory on which the remains of the 13th-century Neuberg Castle stand. Podhradí was an independent village before World War II, then formed a single village together with the villages of Doubrava and Kopaniny. In 1975 it was annexed to Aš, and since 1990 it has been an independent village again.

Podhradí on an old postcard

The Marak hamlet, in which there are 12 houses, belongs to Podhradí. In the past, the estate with the Smrčina castle and the villages of Elfhausen and Kamenná also belonged to Podhradí, of which Elfhausen no longer exists independently and Kamenná today falls under the municipality of Krásná.The first mention of the village dates back to 1288, when Emperor Rudolf Habsburg handed over Neuberg Castle as a fief to the lords of Plavno after its owner, Albrecht of Neuberg, died. The Plavno people in turn transferred the fief to the Neubergs, relatives of the deceased Albrecht. During the reign of Charles IV. the castle was attacked and destroyed. It was later repaired, however. In 1392, Konrád of Zedwitz, who was the husband of Hedvika of Neuberg, inherited Podhradí. Podhradí became the center of the Zedtwitz government in the Aš region. They gradually bought up most of the Aš region.In 1610, after a major fire, Podhradí ceased to be the center of the Zedtwitz Aš estate. At that time, the family was divided into several parts, which moved to the newly created castles in Kopaniny, Smrčin, Doubrava, Aš and two castles in Podhradí. This situation remained more or less stable until 1945.