Cervena Lhota Castle in the Czech Republic
Rating: 8,0/10 (400 votes)  Cervena Lhota Castle is located 20 kilometers from Jindrichuv Hradec in South Bohemia. The castle is a two-storey palace complex that occupies an entire island. The southwestern part of the complex is right in the water. Previously, the island on which the castle is located was connected to the coast by a rocky isthmus, and the entrance to the palace complex was on the opposite side from the current entrance. In the 16th century, this isthmus was removed, and platinum was built downstream of the stream, which raised the water level in the pond, in the center of which was the island. At that time, a drawbridge was used to enter the fortress, which would later be replaced by a stone bridge. The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1465. In 1542-1555, the new owners rebuilt the Gothic fortress into a beautiful Renaissance castle. In 1658-1678, after a series of reconstructions, the castle acquired the early Baroque style. In 1841-1863, reconstruction took place, which gave the castle a neo-Gothic style, the interiors were also changed. The southern coast of the pond is bordered by a forest that perfectly complements the atmosphere of the castle. On the north side there is a landscaped park, which houses the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, erected in the Renaissance. Today Cervena Lhota is one of the most popular National Reserves in the Czech Republic. The castle got its name from the red color of the walls. Translated from Czech, the word"chervena" is translated as"red". Initially, the castle walls were white and bore the name Lhota. In the 17th century, the castle was in the possession of the Kaaba family from Rybnjan, and for unknown reasons it was repainted in an unusual red color for that time. There are two legends about the origin of such an unusual wall color. One legend says that a beautiful princess once lived in the castle - the wife of the knight Gutram Kaaba. The princess was a Protestant and strongly opposed her husband's Catholic faith. And then one day the wife decided to throw out the family cross from the window, before which the husband was praying. But she did not have time to do this, because at that moment she was caught by an unknown force and pushed into the lake from the window. The girl's body was never found only a bloody trail indicated her death. The second legend is very similar to the first - it also tells about a girl who, having lost her faith in Christianity after the death of her mother, decided to throw the cross out of the window. At the same moment, evil spirits rushed into the room and took the girl. After that, a bloody crucifix formed under the window, which none of the subsequent inhabitants could erase, so the entire castle had to be painted red.   
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