The network of fortified ministerial residences also includes Vildštejn Castle. According to professional literature, Skalná is the largest fully preserved Romanesque ministerial castle in the Cheb area. It stands out on a granite bluff on the western side of the town above a deep cut in the Sázek stream. The building, which is separated from the town by a moat, consists of a larger outer castle with the so-called Lower Castle and an inner castle separated from the outer castle by a second moat. The castle was probably founded around 1200 as the family castle of the famous noble family of Nothaft. This family can boast a long and glorious history that is also closely connected with the Czechs. Family legend says that the founder of the family was the Frisian prince Radipold, who fought in the army of Charlemagne against the Czechs. It is an old Bavarian ministerial family, whose name means poor, needy in Middle High German. It is therefore possible that this later powerful family actually came from very humble circumstances.
Vildštej Castle
In the 1980s, the castle was in such a desolate state that it was already subject to demolition. It was saved from destruction by Zděněk Buchtele (1950-2021), who set about rescuing it. During the repairs, he made a truly strange discovery:
"On Saturday, June 20, 1987, two part-time workers, Milan Morkes and Karel Beseda (both from Cheb), and I were clearing the lowered space above the chapel. On our way back, we passed a chimney from whose cleaning hole a bone (!) was protruding. This was not that unusual, except that it was obviously human. We dug out the rubble and soot from inside the chimney and in the process we found a destroyed zinc box, a skull, long bones, a piece of fabric resembling a scarf, a relief of the head of Christ and some grass bundles resembling fishing flies." (Zdeněk Buchtele)
Today, Vidštejn Castle is in private hands and you can visit it.
More information HERE
There is also a geophysical museum in the village
Photo 1: Church of St. John the Baptist in SkalnáPhoto 2: Reverently laid bones found in the castle chimneyPhoto 3: Saviour of the castle Zdeněk Buchtele