What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 11 November 2022.

Lichnická was built in 1911.

It seems we’re not done with the castle ruins just yet – Lichnice is another set, this time located in the Iron Mountains (Železné hory), 15 kilometres south of Chrudim (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/06/24/prague-3-day-177-chrudimska/).

It was founded by Smil ze Žitavy, a Czech nobleman, in 1250. The name of the hill, Světlice (meaning a brightly burning light), gave the castle its German name, Lichtenburg, which also became the name of the dynasty that Smil founded.

Only in the 16th century would the Czech name, Lihnice, come into use.

In 1350, Karel IV stated that the castle was crown property; in 1377, it became a dowry for widowed Czech queens (see also how Hradec Králové got its name: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2023/06/24/prague-3-day-176-hradecka/).

Things then followed a pretty familiar pattern: it was conquered by the Hussites in 1421, and besieged by the East Bohemian Orphans (followers of the late Jan Žižka) in 1428.

(do I have to mark this as a parody of a previous post? just checking)

A nearby oak tree, 750 years old, is dedicated to Žižka despite his never having been involved in any Lihnice-specific activity, and is called Žižkův dub (Žižka’s Oak).

The castle was acquired by the Trčka of Lípa family in 1490, who repaired it in late Gothic style.

In 1637, Ferdinand II set up a military garrison at the castle, which was besieged by the Swedes in 1646. Ferdinand III issued an order to demolish castles in 1649, and Lichnice fell into disrepair. By 1700, it was already classified as a ruin.

Here’s a painting of the castle from 1914, by Jindřích Prucha.

Repairs started in 1989, and an observation tower was opened in the north tower in 2017.

A pretty hardcore-looking festival called Rockfest Lichnice appears to have been a thing in the mid-00s, but the main thing I can find about it is an article from 2005 about how many of the the attendees didn’t bother using the portaloos.