10000+ years ago: The Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)

Humans have visited Český ráj for tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of years. Our earliest ancestors clearly used the sandstone caves and overhanging rocks as shelters during hunting expeditions in the area, or on longer journeys to different hunting grounds. During this time ice ages came and went, the ice sheets advancing to within a few tens of kilometers of those sandstone rocks.

After the last ice age ended, central Europe began to warm and become more humid, and the Bohemian landscape changed. Open steppes, previously patrolled by herds of large animals, gave way to a landscape of dense deciduous forests, lakes and streams. For the hunter-gatherer population of central Europe, accustomed to following the herds across the steppes, new ways and locations to gather and source food were necessary.

At some point in the middle of the Mesolithic period, perhaps some 9000 years ago, groups of travelling hunter-gatherer families started to spend more time at a site near Turnov. They camped along the banks of a shallow lake which stretched from Pelešany (2 km to the south east of Turnov) towards Ktová (close to Trosky castle).

This lake has since dried up, but it was presumably a good fishing and hunting spot at the time. It was also in close proximity to the slopes of Kozákov volcanic hill, where high quality stone for processing into tools, as well as semi precious stones, were gathered by the Mesolithic people.

The hunters camped on the lake shore for a long period – although not necessarily continuously – using the site as a processing centre for the raw stone collected on Kozákov. The hard volcanic rock was processed at Pelešany into tools for hunting and processing gathered foodstuffs, and were presumably traded with other scattered groups of hunter-gatherers across the region.

7000 years ago: The Neolithic (New Stone Age)

As the centuries progressed, new sources of quality stone were discovered in the Jizerské mountains, 25 km to the north. The raw stone was brought south to be processed in convenient locations. One such location was the point where the river Jizera emerges from the narrow gorges cut in the sandstone plateau, into the wide and fertile river basin. Turnov occupies that spot today.

A number of new settlements were established during the first thousand years of the Stone Age. Once again, these settlements specialised as stone processing centres. Along the river, from Turnov to Svijany, a number of Neolithic sites have been identified. The creation of permanent settlements along the river was made possible by emergence of agriculture as a way of subsistence in the Neolithic period. Pastures with herded livestock and fields with crops started to line the banks of the Jizera.

As the Neolithic progressed, new methods of agriculture evolved and were transmitted along trading routes. The plough was invented, leading to more intensively farmed individual plots of land, close to the dwelling places. Settlement sizes became smaller, and individual family units became the norm.

The archaeological record for the last two thousand years of the Stone Age in the Český ráj is unfortunately rather sparse. No significant new settlements have been discovered along the upper sections of the Jizera in the second half of the Neolithic period and the area perhaps lost some of its importance as a stone processing centre. However, the first signs of inhabitation of the sandstone plateau did begin at this time, with sites in the Přihraské rocks such as Klamorna and Hrada being occupied, possibly as a temporary defence in times of unrest, or as ritual sites.

4000 years ago: The Bronze Age

The Stone Age and early Bronze Age settlers and farmers in Český ráj probably cohabited relatively peacefully for several thousand years. There was little competition for resources or land. There was more than enough space for everyone. Few people had anything worth fighting for. In fact, the area was so sparsely populated at the beginning of the Bronze Age, 4000 years ago, that there are almost no archaeological findings from this period.

However, less than seventy km to the southwest, in the more populated Labe and Vltava river valleys of central Bohemia, traders and migrants brought new technologies, skills and customs, including the ability to forge metal tools, weapons and ornaments from bronze. The change in culture these traders and migrants brought with them transformed the way of life of the hitherto mostly peaceful farmers. Over the next thousand years, the population grew in central Bohemia, communities evolved and chose leaders, whose prestige was marked with metal armour and weapons. A warrior class also evolved, capable of raiding and destroying neighbouring villages. New forms of settlement were required and the Bronze Age population started constructing fortified sites on hill tops to protect livestock and themselves.

It was not long before groups of Bronze Age migrants from more populated and competitive central European regions started to look for more peaceful territory to inhabit. The almost empty Jizera river basin must have seemed an ideal spot. The new settlers, from the so called ‘Urnfield’ culture, brought with them new customs, including cremating the dead and burying them in pots (urns) . They occupied many of the same riverside sites that were occupied 3000 years previously by the Neolithic stone artisans, in particular the section of the Jizera river from Turnov to Svijany, and along the Libuňka stream that runs below the Hrubá Skála rocks.

The Urnfield settlers also brought with them experience (and possibly expectation) of tribal conflict, and so a number of previously occupied sites within the rock cites and on the sandstone plateaus, were expanded and fortified. Some sites even became specialist manufacturing sites. Excavations at the Čertova ruka site in the Hrubá Skála rocks indicate there was a forge for making bronze goods. The three major sandstone areas in the region, Hrubá Skála, Příhrazské and Prachovské skály, all had hill forts constructed within their borders. How these fortified sites were used by the Urnfield population remains a mystery. They may have been occupied by the leader of a broader territory, including villages located on the lowland river basins below the rocks. They may also have been used as part of the complex set of rituals that the Bronze Age population became noted for, including human sacrifice. Seven skeletons were discovered at the important Hrada site in Příhrazské skály bearing signs of meeting a violent end and clear indications of cannibalism.

The Urnfield settlements were probably the most successful of cultures that inhabited the region throughout the whole of Český ráj prehistory (ie until the early Middle Ages). Some estimates suggest that the number of people living in Urnfield communities along this section of the Jizera and the surrounding sandstone plateaus, some 3000 years ago now, was at least as high as in the 12th century, at the start of the Medieval expansion period.

800 BC to 500 AD: The Iron Age, Romans and Migrations

The Bronze Age Urnfield population in Český ráj continued to exist without apparent significant influence from other cultural groups well into the Iron Age. In fact, after reaching its peak during the Urnfield period, the region appears to have been broadly ignored by other cultures for more than a thousand years . The region was certainly still inhabited, and new Iron Age goods slowly made there way into the farms and homesteads that remained scattered along the river valleys. However, the very limited archaeological evidence for the period suggests that settlements sizes grew smaller, and potentially of less interest to traders traversing the richer trade routes to the south and west.

Climate change may also have had an impact, as a gradual cooling of continental Europe was evident from around 800 BC onwards. New settlers presumably preferred the warmer, more fertile river valleys of the Labe-Elba, Vltava and Ohře to the cooler more marginal territory of the middle and upper Jizera. Even the last of the Urnfield settlers might have slowly migrated downstream to more productive lands.

The warlike Celtic Boii tribe, started to occupy Bohemia around the 4th century BC, and created significant settlements along the main river valleys. However, they appear to have ignored Český ráj for a long period. Members of the Boii tribe possibly got around to subjugating the remaining scattered settlements along the Jizera sometime in the 2nd century BC. The name ‘Isera’ is of Celtic origin, and means fast flowing river. Bohemia also derives from the tribe’s name.

It is not clear if the Boii Celts settled in any numbers in Český ráj, but the tribe’s tendency to seek new territories to invade suggests their presence in the region may not have been significant. One intriguing Celtic site is at Semín, which may have been planned as large settlement and never occupied. Certainly it seems that most of the Boii moved out of the area and continued their campaigns elsewhere. One large group joined the Helvetti tribe in an ill-fated attempt to invade Gaul, where they suffered a final defeat at the hands of Julius Caesar in 52BC. Another group of Boii moved into Silesia in southern Poland, others into Moravia and along the Danube valley, where they were eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire.

It was pretty much the same story over the next five hundred years, with waves of migrants crossing the Bohemian borders, staying for a while and then moving on. These migrations were triggered by mass movements of vast tribes to the East, including the Huns. Most of the groups who came through Bohemia in this period were of Germanic origin, including the Marcomanni, Thuringians and Langobards. These were powerful tribes, occupying and traversing vast stretches of territory, from northeast Germany to the Danube and beyond. They troubled the Roman Empire even at the height its power. None of these tribes, however rich and powerful, seem to have left a lasting impact on Český ráj. It was a region that remained in the shadows, at least until the final wave of migrants, the Slavs, appeared on the scene during the 6th century.

600 to 800 AD: The Slavs take control in Bohemia

The Slavs were the last significant group of migrants displaced by the massive westward move of the tribal nations from the eastern steppe lands, to arrive in Central Europe. However, of all the migrant tribes to descend upon Bohemia over the ages, they had arguably the largest impact. The Slavs’ origin remains a source of controversary, but it seems likely that the tribe, prior to its migration, occupied vast tracts of land from western Poland to Belarus. They filtered into Bohemia and other Central European regions gradually, over a period hundred or more years, occupying spaces left empty by the departing Germanic tribes, and expanding into sparsely populated regions, including the Jizera basin.

By the end of the 8th century, new (but still small) Slavic communities were thriving in sites in the upper Jizera region, in riverside locations close to Turnov , on escarpments overlooking the river and on the sandstone plateaus. Bronze Age forts, such as Hrada, on the Mužsky plateau were reoccupied and several new fortified sites established across the territory. The Slavs were clearly a tribe used to defending and protecting their people and possessions. Worshippers of spirits inhabiting forests, springs and rocks, the sandstone areas must have been very special places to the first Slavic people arriving in the region.

The early Slavik settlers were probably loosely affiliated tribal groupings, each with a local leader or ‘duke’, who occupied the strongest and best fortified site. These affiliations grew stronger the more settled the tribe became, particularly in the late 8th century in response to the growing threat of an empire which was building in the west. An empire led by the charismatic Charlemagne, King of the Franks.

The Bohemian tribal groups came together in 805 AD in an attempt to keep Charlemagne’s influence from the Bohemia. Their armies were defeated, the Bohemian dukes forced to pay tribute, and the association with the Germanic Frankish empire was cemented. If this association was initially enforced on the battlefield, in later periods it was to become a voluntary choice. A choice that largely determined the next thousand years of Bohemian history.

The 9th and 10th centuries: The Přemyslids; Bořivoj, Václav and Boleslav

By the late 9th century, the Bohemian dukes had recognized the need for coordinated leadership, and acknowledged the house of Přemysl as preeminent. Bořivoj, the first historically documented leader of the Přeyslid dynasty, accepted Christianity and founded the city of Prague. Bořivoj married Ludmila, who supported and expanded the early church in Bohemia. She was later canonized and became a Czech patron saint.

Bořivoj’s immediate descendants became his successors as the leading Bohemian duke and they reaffirmed Bohemia’s support for and vassalage to the Eastern Frankish (German) king. Bořivoj’s grandson, Václav, used the expansion of Christianity across the country to strengthen his grip on power, until he was murdered, probably with the knowledge of his brother Boleslav. Like his grandmother, Václav was canonized and became Bohemia’s second patron saint.

One consequence of Bohemia’s close affiliation with the Holy Roman Empire was the assimilation of social models from the west. The structure of Bohemian society took on a feudal hierarchical character. Dukes swore fealty to the leading lord and became his ‘vassals’. In exchange, they obtained hereditary rights to the lands they controlled and obligations of mutual protection. Nobles started to view their role as protectors of both their lands and the state, under the banners of the patron saints.

The control this gave the leading duke was significant. Ironically, it was Boleslav – implicated in the murder of his brother St Václav – who was able to take take this control to the next level. He did so by establishing a network of strong castles across Bohemia, to control and exact levies from the population in each region. Each castle had a church with the responsibility to spread Christianity in the surrounding area. The resulting stability led to an increase in prestige for the fledgling Bohemian state, an influx of immigrants from the empire and an overall expansion of the population.

The 11th and 12th centuries: – The Markvart family

At the beginning of the 11th century the upper Jizera region and Český ráj was controlled from the castle of Mlada Boleslav, established by the Duke of Bohemia, Boleslav II. Settlements remained small, and probably still pagan. Dense oak forests, dominated the landscape below the sandstone plateau dotted with occasional hill forts.

It was common for the leading Duke to reward loyal knights and retainers, with the rights to land controlled by the Duke. Vladislav II from the Přemyslid dynasty was elected Duke of Bohemia in 1140 and set about encouraging the settlement of empty and lightly populated areas of Bohemia. One way he did this was through the establishment of monasteries across the land. Amongst others, Vladislav II founded Cistercian monasteries in Plasy near Plzen and at Hradiště on the river Jizera. One of the witnesses to the Plasy foundation deed in 1144, was a certain Markvart. This is the first historical record of the family that came to dominate the upper Jizera valley and Český ráj for the next five hundred years.

In 1158, Vladislav II was rewarded for loyalty to the emperor with the grant of the title King of Bohemia. One year after his coronation, in 1159, the king gave to his chamberlain Markvart the newly established Cistercian monastery in Hradiště, in reward for his services, as well as the hereditary right to certain lands in the Jizera basin.

The origin of the Markvart family, and this first historical figure, appears unclear, but it is possible the family had Saxon origins. What is clear is that over the next 100 years, the descendants of chamberlain Markvart took total control over the upper Jizera river basin. Chamberlain Markvart’s son, Heřman, who was a marshal at court in 1177, continued to develop the Cistercian monastery in Hradiště and the surrounding area. The monks brought new agricultural techniques, many new (mostly Germanic) settlers arrived in the area, forests were cleared, villages were built and the Markvart family founded new settlements.

Heřman’s son, Markvart of Březno, was appointed lord of Děčín, and was the probable founder of the northern Bohemian town of Březno. Markvart of Březno had three sons; Havel, Jaroslav and Markvart the Younger. These three were prolific in expanding the territory held by the family. While much of the 13th century was a golden age for Bohemia under the successful rule of the Přemyslid kings Ottakar I, Vaclav I, and Ottakar II, for the Markvart family it was equally golden. Dynasties established by these three great grandchildren of chamberlain Markvart were set to dominate the landscape of Northern Bohemia and particularly Český ráj for centuries to come.

The 13th century: – A golden age for Bohemia (and the Markvarts)

By the beginning of the 13th century, Bohemia was becoming recognized as a major player in the German led Holy Roman Empire. Ottokar I was the first Přemyslid ruler to be granted the Bohemian kingdom as a hereditary right. His son, Vaclav I, was equally talented and became famous for successfully defending the Bohemian territories from attacks from the marauding Mongol armies, which devastated much of Hungary, Poland and Moravia from 1240 to 1242. Ottakar II was belligerent, expanding Bohemian control into the Alpine lands as well as northwards into Poland, crusading as far as the Baltics, which were at that time still pagan.

Markvart family members continued to hold significant positions at court and in Ottakar II’s armies. Havel, son of Markvart of Březno, was recognized widely for his contribution to repelling the Mongol armies, when he founded Lemberk castle close the Polish border in 1240. This was a key site in the defence of the realm and the Mongol armies retreated back into Poland, leaving Bohemia unscathed. His wife, Saint Zdislava, became perhaps even more famous. For her support of the poor and particularly refugees fleeing from the Mongol invasion, and the establishment of Dominican convents in Turnov and Jablonné she was canonized by John Paul II in 1995.

The Markvart family was not unafraid to use its prestige and standing to further their territorial holdings at this time. Havel and his brother Jaroslav together founded the town of Turnov around 1250 and then set about consolidating and defending the family’s hold on the surrounding countryside. They founded a series of castles for their offspring to create their own domain and legacy, along the edges of the sandstone plateau and the Jizera river valley. Havel’s son Zdislav founded the castle of Zviřetice on the Jizera river, while the four sons of Jaroslav each created their own seats: Zděnek became first lord of Valdštejn, Vok the lord of Rotštejn, and Havel the lord of Rohozce, and Beneš became lord of Dětenice, just to the southwest of Jičín.

However, it was Zděnek’s dynasty that was to prove the most enduring. The name Albrecht of Valdštejn looms large in the history of Český ráj, but that is for later in the story. It is clear that Zděnek of Valdštejn was prodigious in fathering sons to further the Valdštejn name. Branches of the Valdštejn dynasty spread far and wide across the country and beyond in the following centuries. The current royal family in Belgium appears in the line of direct descendants of Zdeněk of Valdštejn.

The third son of Markvart of Březno (also called Markvart, and possibly known at that time as Markvart the Younger) was not be outdone by his siblings. He also founded a castle. It was located in the village of Stráž, not far from his brother Havel’s seat in Lemberk. The castle’s name was also known as Vartenberk. Markvart the Younger’s son, named Beneš, took the title of Vartenberk and so was founded a dynasty that came to dominate the politics of the region for more than 150 years. Beneš of Vartenberk became the leading member of the Markvart family, and like his forbears was appointed High Chamberlain at the Prague court.

While the Markvart family were enjoying their new domains in Český ráj, the Bohemian Přemyslid dynasty was nearing its end. Ottokar II took his territorial ambitions too far and was killed at the battle of the Moravian Field in 1278 fighting the first Hapsburg Emperor, Rudolf. His young son Vaclav II was held captive by Rudolf, until a group of Bohemian nobles (including members of the Markvart family) successfully petitioned the Emperor for the return of Vaclav II in 1283. The Markvarts remained loyal to the Přemyslids until the very end. Vaclav II died in 1305, and his son Vaclav III was killed on his way to another campaign in Poland, in 1306. So ended the male line of the Přemyslids, and perhaps the hopes of the different branches of the Markvart family for further advancement. This was not the case, at least for one branch of the family.

The 14th century: – Castles for the Vartenberks

The coronation of Jan of Luxemburg as the new Bohemian ruler in 1310 marks the continuing rise of the Vartenberks, while other branches of the Markvart family seem to fade from view at this point. The sons and grandsons of Beneš of Vartenberk seem to have found their place quickly in the new court. Another Beneš (possibly grandson of the founder of the dynasty) rising to become chief Chamberlain and lord of the city of Prague during the Jan of Luxemburg reign, and another became chief Chamberlain during Luxemberg’s son, Charles IV’s reign. Two Vartenberks were also appointed a Governors of Moravia in the same period. These were the highest positions in the land. No one was in any doubt that the Vartemberks were a force to be reckoned with.

The Vartenberks were also not slow to use their increased influence to expand their territorial holdings around Český ráj. In the early 14th century, they obtained the lordship of the town of Jičín and the associated castle of Veliš (both royal foundations at the end of the previous century). Later in the 14th century the Vartenberks founded two of the most prominent and striking gothic castles in the whole region; Kost and Trosky, and started to acquire domains from other fading or impoverished branches of the Markvart family, including Rohozec, Valdštejn and Zbiroh. By the late 14th century, the Vartemberks (together with other branches of the Markvart family) controlled at least twenty castles and towns in north Bohemia (see the map above).

However, trouble was looming on the horizon for the Vartenberks towards the end of the 14th century. The plague arrived in Bohemia in 1380, and reappeared several times over the next 50 years, killing at least 15% of the population. The economy was shattered. Senior nobles started taking the law into their own hands. Markvart of Vartenberg was thrown into jail, apparently for robbing travellers passing through Turnov. His castles in Rohozec, Zbiroh and Hrubá Skála were confiscated by King Vaclav IV. The king had his own troubles. Internal feuds within the Luxemburg royal family, with the church and with the great lords of the realm left him weakened. This internal strife created fertile ground for the growth of the Protestant reform movement across the country, culminating in the Hussite revolution at the beginning of the new century.

The 15th century: – Hussites and religious conflict

The religious conflict that started with the execution of the Protestant reformer Jan Hus in 1415, had a dramatic impact on the fortunes of all the major noble families in the land, including the Vartemberks and the rest of the Markvart family, whose seats were still firmly located in Český ráj. Noble families had to choose between the reform party and the Catholic state. Different branches of the same family often ended on opposites sides of the conflict, and no family avoided the destruction that left the countryside ravaged for decades.

The most prominent Markvart family member at that time by far was Čeněk of Vartenberk, whose seat was in Jičín. His story is fascinating, entwined as it is with that of Jan Žižka, arguably Bohemia’s greatest ever general. Neither survived more than a few years into the conflict which started in 1419 and became known as the Hussite wars. Yet the impact their rivalry had on the country was to last decades.

At the outbreak of conflict, Vartenberk was the leading man in Bohemia, appointed regent on the death of Vaclav IV. Žižka then was a relatively unknown southern Bohemian minor noble and mercenary. Over the next five years their roles would reverse, leaving the Vartenberk family and territorial holdings substantially diminished, and Žižka’s legendary battle skills the envy of the Empire. For more on probably the most intriguing characters to be associated with Český ráj, at least until the advent of Albrecht of Valdštejn two hundred years later, click the link.

Although less prominent than Vartenberg, there was another Markvart family member who played a leading role in the Hussite conflict. His name was Hašek of Valdštejn, one of the many descendants of the prolific Zdeněk of Valdštejn, founder of the Valdštejn dynasty. Like his distant cousin Čeněk, Hašek managed to survive the conflict by switching allegiance between the Hussite and Catholic factions at least twice. In some ways, Hašek was actually the more successful. He started the war on the Catholic side, was captured by the Hussites at the battle of Vyšehrad in 1420, then switched to the Hussites. Hašek was clearly trusted, as he was appointed master of the mint at Kutna Hora in 1422 by the Hussite leader and candidate for the royal crown, Sigismund Korybut (a Lithuanian Prince, who was indeed later elected Bohemian king for a short period). Ironically, Korybut was actually imprisoned in 1426 in the castle of Valdštejn, which had been captured by Žižka in 1424 during his campaign against Čenek of Vartenberk. This period in history was a confused web of interconnections, suspicions, betrayals and revenge. The Markvart family and their castles and towns in Český ráj were clearly deeply tangled in this web.

Hašek of Valdštejn did not stay Hussite for long. In 1425 he rejoined the Catholic side, and became a key member of Sigismund Luxemburg’s army campaigning in Moravia. Somehow, Hašek survived the wars with his fortune (and possibly even his reputation) intact. After the conflict ended he was appointed governor of the former Vartenberk strongholds of Jičín and Veliš. This was a final ironic twist in the Markvart contribution to the Hussite wars.

The Hussite Wars ended leaving the radical Hussites defeated and the moderate Hussites, in uneasy alliance with the minority Catholics, in charge of the country. Finally, the Hussite Jiří of Poděbrady was chosen as Governor of Bohemia in 1452 and subsequently King of Bohemia it seemed that peace was returning to the realm. Perhaps 70% of the countryside was now Protestant, but this did not stop outbreaks of civil war over the following decades, supported by Catholic factions from outside the realm. Once such episode occurred in 1468, while the King was campaigning in Moravia. A Catholic army established by the Lusatian towns in northern Germany invaded Bohemia, and rampaged across the countryside. In the Jizera area, the Lusatian army was supported by the Catholic lords in the region. The towns of Turnov, Mnichov Hradiště and Český Dub were captured and plundered. Turnov was set ablaze, for the first but not the last time in its history. Jiří of Poděbrady was forced to return from Moravia to confront the invaders. In the process, he captured the Catholic owned Český ráj castles, Kost, Trosky, Hrubá Skála and Frýdštejn, further fragmenting the noble ownership of the region.

The 16th century: – A Renaissance for Český ráj

The wars, epidemics and religious conflicts of the 15th century had left the countryside devastated, and the local lords impoverished. Estates changed hands frequently. A resurgent Vartenberk family made a final attempt to recover lands along the upper Jizera valley in the early 16th century, taking control of Turnov and surrounding lands for period. In an attempt to improve the local economy new trades were established in the area including glass making and dyeing. New schools were founded and the region appeared to recovering when a devastating fire swept through Turnov in 1538 to set back the social and economic progress achieved.

Most of the lords of Estates in the region were by now Protestant, and the middle years of the century were unsettled due to conflict between the Estates and the increasingly authoritarian Catholic emperor Ferdinand of the Habsburg dynasty. However, the death of Ferdinand and coronation of Rudolf II in 1576 brought about a period of relative calm and prosperity for Bohemia and the Jizera region. More trades were established in the area, including a new brewery in Svijany. Those owners who had the funding started converting their austere gothic fortresses into Renaissance chateaux.

By the end of the 16th century three prominent noble families were vying for control of the upper Jizera valley and surrounding territories; the Vartenberks, the Šliks and the Smiřickýs. For all three families it was to prove a Bohemian swansong.

The 17th century: – Albrecht of Valdštejn and the Thirty Years War

The start of the 17th century saw a decisive turn in favour of the Catholic parties. The nomination of the decidedly Catholic Ferdinand of Habsburg to be the next King of Bohemia in 1617 and the destruction of Protestant churches around Prague was the trigger for a rebellion of the Protestant Bohemian Estates. In 1618, two of the King’s representatives in Prague were thrown out of the Prague castle window by the Protestant nobles. The ‘defenestration’ mirrored events which started the Hussite conflict two hundred years previously and this time it heralded the beginning of the tumultuous Thirty Years War. This was the last, and certainly one of the bloodiest, religious wars in Europe.

The Estates raised an army and on 8 November 1620 faced the Catholic forces just outside Prague, at Bilá Hora. The battle of White Mountain was to prove a catastrophic defeat for the Protestant faction. The leaders of the Protestant rebels were arrested and in 1621 twenty seven prominent nobles were executed in Prague’s Old Town Square. First to die was Ondřej Šlik. Other houses implicated in the rebellion included the Vartenberks and the Smiřický. Their properties across the country were confiscated and put under the control of Catholic supporters. The Vartenberk and Smiřický dynasties, once so dominant in Český ráj, were finally extinguished.

The main beneficiary of the demise of the Protestant noble houses was one Albrecht of Valdštejn. Descended from a minor branch of the Valdštejn dynasty, with links to the Smiřický family through his mother, Albrecht took advantage of his rising profile within the Catholic faction to acquire huge tracts of land across northern Bohemia. Through skillful business dealings he acquired more than fifty estates, selling off pieces that did not fit his overall plan. Between 1621 and 1630, Albrecht essentially reassembled all the estates previously founded or controlled over the previous five hundred years by his ancestors from the Markvart family. It was breathtaking in its scope. Albrecht of Valdštejn effectively became lord of the Jizera basin and the whole of Český raj, in less than a decade. He made his seat in the former royal town of Jičín and set about an ambitious programme of building and reconstruction across his vast domain. Plans were laid to refurbish and turn several of the Český ráj castles into Baroque chateau.

Albrecht was, in many ways, too successful, both in his business dealings and his political and military endeavours. He rise to prominence after being brought up in a minor Protestant noble family, and fighting foreign wars as a mercenary, to becoming the generalissimo in charge of the entire Catholic Imperial army, raising a vast personally financed army in the process, was bound to cause suspicion and create enemies. Despite military success against both the Danish and Swedish armies, which had entered the war in support of the Protestant cause, Valdštejn lost the trust of the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II, partly due to his secret peace negotiations with the Protestant faction. On 25 February 1634, with the tacit support of the emperor, Albrecht of Valdštejn was assassinated at the castle of Cheb. His vast holdings in north Bohemia were broken up. Some estates were retained by Albrecht’s nephew Maximillian (including Turnov, Mnichov Hradiště and the ancient family seat of Valdštejn) but most were sold off, including to former officers in Albrecht’s army, who deserted him once it became clear that Valdštejn had lost the trust of the emperor.

The impact of Albrecht of Valdštejn’s demise and particularly his failure to secure a peace deal with the Swedish king, was immediately felt in Český ráj. Swedish and Saxon forces invaded north Bohemia in June 1634. The town of Turnov and surrounding estates were once again burnt down. The devastating war raged on for another twelve years, leaving the population decimated, villages and farms destroyed. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia was finally signed leaving the Protestants with some territorial gains, but the Catholic Habsburg emperor in full control of Bohemia. The painful process of rebuilding under the new Catholic lords could begin, but it was not until the second half of the 18th century that region could claim to have recovered to the economic level achieved in the Renaissance.

The 18th century: – The Baroque period, and countryside change

Over the following century, the economy was rebuilt after the devastation of the Thirty Years War. This was achieved mainly due to the revitalisation of various trades in the upper Jizera valley, including stone-making and gem-cutting. Perhaps the residents drew upon some half forgotten legacy of their Neolithic ancestors.

New farmsteads were established, and the architecture of the region was slowly transformed. Timbered houses like the one at Dlaskův statek started to line the banks of Jizera. New fish ponds were created by damming streams. The local nobility embarked on a process of reconstructing towns in the region, including Jičín, Mnichovo Hradiště and Turnov, which started to acquire the Baroque character that remains visible today. The Český ráj landscape was changing for a final time at the hands of man.

The peasants were still not free, however, and were still tied to the local lord’s estate under the principles of serfdom. It was not until towards the end of the 18th century that serfdom was finally abolished by emperor Joseph II, heralding a period of dynamic growth for Bohemia and Český ráj that resulted in the enlightened romanticism of the 19th century.

The 19th century: – nationalism & romanticism

The 19th century was a dynamic and complex period for Bohemia, for the Habsburg Empire and the broader European environment. Successive wars against Napoleon, and then the Prussians left the Habsburg Empire weakened and threatened by the forces of nationalism.

The armies of Napoleon and subsequently Prussia all penetrated north Bohemia. There was little permanent damage in the Český ráj region, although Turnov was once again plundered by the marauding Prussians, and Jičín saw one of the major battles in the Austria-Prussian conflict (a battle which Austria lost). The consequence of the Prussian war was the serious reduction in power and influence of the Austrian/Hungarian Empire in Europe.

As the Austrian Empire waned, the Czech National Revival was gathered power, aiming to reinforce the importance of Czech language, culture and national identity. Possibly in response to the German dominated urban centres, the leaders of the Revival looked to the countryside for inspiration and the ‘true’ Bohemia. One obvious location that gained immediate attention was Český ráj. Poets, painters, writers and scientists starting visiting the region, invited by leading figures in the Revival such as the priest Antonín Marek, a long time resident in the region. Their interest triggered the beginning of tourism to region.

The Sedmihorky spa was founded just below the rocks of Hrubá Skála. It attracted cultural figures who came to take the waters and wander the newly created paths through the sandstone pillars. Sometime around 1870 the spa residents started to call the region they were exploring by a new name, the Bohemian Paradise. The name struck a chord, catching the public imagination and reflecting the national mood.

The 20th & 21st centuries: – Bohemia recognized

The early years of the 20th century were a golden age economically and culturally for Bohemia, but the conflicts between the Czech nationalist groups and the German factions within the Austrian Empire were growing. The First World War effectively ended the Austrian Hungarian Empire and allowed the Czechoslovak state to emerge under its first president Tomáš Masaryk. However, the tension with the German minorities would continue unabated for another 20 years, finally to erupt with the annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi forces in 1939.

Ironically, the first years of the 20th century in Český ráj saw a continued boom in tourism, with both Czech and German travellers regularly visiting the region. Climbers started to tackle the sandstone pillars, with first ascents achieved by Czech and German climbers working together.

The second world war was a dark period for Bohemia, and Český ráj. Jewish communities in the region fell silent, captured members of the local resistance disappeared. German soldiers occupying Turnov fought until the fall of Berlin was confirmed and Russian troops finally liberated the area in mid May 1945.

The re-established Czechoslovak government then enacted the 1945 Beneš decrees, which resulted in the expulsion of the German minority from the Czech lands. It also had the consequence of forcing many of the German oriented aristocratic families in Bohemia to relinquish their properties and estates. The was the final chapter in the historical ownership of properties in Český ráj by several ancient houses, most notably the Valdštejns (or Wallensteins, as they were then known as).

By 1948, the Communists had full control of Czechoslovakia, but this second dark period in the century did not bring all bad news for Český ráj. In 1955, the first Protected Land Area was established, and the Bohemian Paradise became the first of what today comprises 26 of the most attractive, most extraordinary natural landscapes in the country.

The fall of Communism in 1989 and the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union in 2004, have led to increased recognition and protection for areas of natural beauty in the country. In 2005, Český ráj became the first region in the Czech Republic to be listed as a UNESCO Geopark.

One of the practical consequences of this latest event, is that information boards now feature on many of the historical trails in Český ráj. They document much of the history, pre-history and geology of this extraordinary region. They testify to the 100 million years it took to build this landscape, and the 10000 years of mankind’s somewhat turbulent occupation of the lands of Český ráj. It is to be hoped that the next 10000 years will be more tranquil. Uvidíme.