Krakovec – nice cottage
The building manager of the castle, founded in 1381, was the burgrave of Křivoklát, Jíra of Roztoky. As the head of the royal ironworks and a protégé of King Wenceslas IV, he built a comfortable residence in an advanced architectural style. The remains of the castle still prove that Jíra was a rich and powerful man. The castle he built was a spectacular and luxurious facility, on the same level of art value and comfort as royal castles.
Krakovec resembles a gothic chateau rather than a castle, and primarily met the requirements for representation and comfortable housing, which is still proven by the remains of original spatial and vault arrangement of the fixtures.
The inner castle consisted of two parts; the front part included the entrance gate and the ramparts surrounding the semi-circular tower (not higher than the palace buildings), connected to the ramparts that outlined the rear residential 3-wing part of the castle. The best equipment was that in the representative areas on the 1st floor, with a grand hall fitted with a fireplace, and an elaborate chapel with alcove-shaped choir in the southeastern corner of the palace. The defensive functions of the castle were reduced significantly, which is proven, among other things, by large windows on the ground floor of the palace part. The most intriguing area is the chapel with original spatial arrangement, with 5-side choir designed as a big alcove. The vault of the chapel is interesting for its “incomprehensible complexity” and rich shapes, completely new in the history of medieval vaults. This is the biggest value of the vault, unparalleled in the European context.
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