Drabske Svetnicky

Drabske svetnicky - the outlaws' chambers - is a rock castle on the edge of the Muzsky plateau in the Bohemian Paradise, and what makes it different from other castles is that almost nothing was built: the fortification consists of rooms, passages, stairs, beam sockets and window openings cut directly into the tops of a group of sandstone towers, with timber structures once bridging between them, so the surviving evidence is negative space in the rock rather than masonry. It was fortified in the thirteenth century, held by the Hussites in the fifteenth, and abandoned around 1500. The route through it climbs wooden stairs and crosses footbridges between the blocks, and the platform on top looks north over the Jizera valley and the Bohemian Paradise rock cities. The wider Mala Skala and Prihrazy area holds more sandstone towers and further rock-cut structures.

What you actually see

• Rooms cut into rock tops - chambers, passages and beam sockets, no masonry.
• Wooden stairs and bridges - the modern route linking the sandstone blocks.
• A Hussite stronghold - held in the fifteenth century, abandoned about 1500.
• A view north - over the Jizera valley and the rock cities beyond.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The route involves steep stairs, narrow gaps and exposed platforms - not for anyone uneasy with heights. It closes in ice. Parking is limited and the approach is on foot. Nothing is roofed.

Nearby

Hruba Skala and the Bohemian Paradise rock cities are north-east.