https://aforteantinthearchives.wordpress.com/2020/09/27/the-lake-that-has-no-bottom/. Marie Bonaparte noted the idea of unfathomable was applied to still waters, not the ocean or rivers. A phantom White Lady is also said to haunt the building. He was placed in an asylum, but died two days later from an unknown cause. The Nazis used Houska Castle as a magical artifact depository of sorts. There must be thousands of examples of features around the world that have been at one time called bottomless. Once he had found himself in this technological future, he found himself wandering aimlessly in horror and despair. Again, the lack of visibility in the lake is such that a person submerged 10 feet or more disappears from the view of the surface observer. As detailed below, the deepest hole ever made by humans was only half this depth. The rescuing hug the strange case of twins Brielle and Kyrie Jackson. Objects thrown into the hole arent recovered. He succeeded in measuring the depth himself at 102 feet. The infamous SS chief Heinrich Himmler, was so obsessed with pagan lore and occult teachings, that he made it his personal objective to collect as many books and manuscripts about witchcraft, the occult and the supernatural as he could. This wooden structure was mentioned by Vaclav Hajek in his Czech Chronicle which was published in 1541. The castle walls are adorned with numerous fresco paintings that depict St. Christopher, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and a half-animal, half-human hybrid hunting a villager. These include a half-bullfrog, half-human creature, a headless horse, and an old woman traversing the grounds. Houska Castle is an early Gothic castle in the municipality of Blatce in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Workers on a drilling project in an unnamed place in Siberia sunk a hole 14.4 kilometers (8.9mi) deep before breaking through to a cavity from which they heard and recorded screaming voices and measured searing heat. As the first gothic-style castle known to exist here, Hrad Houska was constructed between 1270-1280 during the reign of King Otakar II. Its possible that a strong current might have existed underwater at times, creating a visible swirling effect. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_1',162,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-inquisitivewonder_com-medrectangle-3-0'); If youre lucky enough to observe Houska Castle from the outside, youll notice some quite peculiar additions. The Youdig also was home to ghost lights that may be a result of an unknown reaction of swamp gases, though locals thought of them as spirits or fairies that lured people to their doom. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Centuries-old legends may be able to answer that question. Scholars have since discovered cracks in Hjek's histories, and any evidence of Oronto's existence is rather dubious. They hoped the . Photo: ladabar / flickr / CC-BY-NC 2.0. He died in the main hall, and his ghost is still said to roam Houska Castle in anger. The Eerie History Of Houska Castle, The Gothic Fortress Built To Seal A Gateway To Hell. The light cannot penetrate far into the gloom so the bottom cant be seen. The location is about 30 miles north of Prague. With World War II resulting in fierce fighting across the continent, the Nazis swept into the Czech Republic, and decided to enrich their knowledge of the occult by studying at Houska Castle. There is nothing about Mels Hole that is genuine. Perhaps most notable of all, the king had the gateway to Hell sealed with stone plates and had a chapel built above it. Waters said he used rolls of fishing line to measure it. Any fissures or small hole on the surface can look deceptively deep because a narrow space does not allow light to penetrate far, so it looks scary. The views from atop the castle roof are spectacular. There are many legends around this Flagstaff pit and it was once somewhat of a tourist attraction. When we cant readily discern the depth, the hole begets additional legendary characteristics, including that of being bottomless. Address: Hrad Houska 1, 471 62 Doksy, Czechia Phone: +420 728 351 101 Website Public transport to the castle is limited, so one of the best ways to reach the castle is to hire a car for the day. The castle was built in an area of forests, swamps and mountains with no external fortifications, no source of water except for a cistern to collect rainwater,[5][dubious discuss] no kitchen, far from any trade routes, and with no occupants at its time of completion. According to legend, the castle which stands today was built over the Houska pit, in order to conceal the gateway to Hell. Apparently, his hair had turned white and he had grown extremely wrinkled. Others will try a weighted line. It had no source of water or fortification. Located in a rift valley, the average depth is over 2000 feet with the maximum depth measured at 5,387 feet. Lake Baikal in Russia is the worlds deepest lake. The dark hole is universally scary. The deepest natural pits in the world include the Devils Sinkhole, Rocksprings, Texas at 400 and Deans Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas at 650. A Lifers PTY LTD venture. In 1639, a Swedish commander, black magician, and alchemist practiced there. If you search for bottomless hole on the internet, youll find this crazy story incorporating the usual tropes with modern supernatural ideas. Its likely that attempting to feel the bottom fails because of either the upwelling water or the soft mud floor. There are many names that describe this curious castle. Their research into the paranormal was at times both extreme and desperate, and with a reputation such as Houska Castles, it wasnt long before the Nazis decided to take it for themselves and put the local theories to the test. Houska Castle is located in the eastern part of the Kokon Forest, 47 km north of Prague and about 15 km from Bezdz, another ancient iconic castle of Central Europe. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. More recently, mysterious holes are endowed with speculative suggestions that they are wormholes or entrances to another dimension. Montezuma well in McGuireville Arizona is a collapsed carbonate pool 368 feet wide and 55 feet deep. Allegedly, SS leader Heinrich Himmler feared his extensive library of occultist manuscripts would be destroyed as the war increasingly threatened Berlin. Standard admission is 135. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Blue holes in a more geological context are karst features documented for over 100 years. The chapel is appropriately dedicated to Saint Michael, who protects against the forces of darkness. Houska Castle in World War II After learning about Houska Castle, read about Caerlaverock Castle and its 800 years of Scottish history. He recognized the rumor as a folklore motif common in New England. The Youdig marshland of Yeun Elez in Brittany, France is loaded with legends and lore as a bottomless bog. For several hours now, seven people have been driving together in one car to a place that is the dream of most paranormal investigators in the Czech Republic. Some people trying to explore the underwater caves have perished. The Dinglehole is a tiny pond in Millis, MA, that also holds the bottomless attribution. Dozmary Pool is important for migrating birds, native rare plants, and for its preservation of vegetation since the last ice age. Its presence suggests the explanation for the pools they are upwelling springs that emit cold water but never freeze. Vouliagmeni is a lake in Greece that was said to suck people in via a whirlpool, or they could be nabbed by the evil fairy folk living at the bottom. During construction the pit was used as a form of justice in that condemned were . Originally constructed in the 13th century during the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia, the gothic castle is located about an hour north of Prague. It lies about 47km (29mi) north of Prague. People said they picked up radio signals from the past originating from near the hole. [2], Folklore considers this castle to cover one of the gateways to Hell, built to prevent demons (trapped in lower levels) from reaching the rest of the world. Crossing the bog is dangerous as dry land can suddenly turn liquid. Renovations to modernize the castle after the Renaissance began in the 1580s, with various nobles and aristocrats inhabiting the fortress across the ages. The Houska Castle Bottomless Pit, the gate of the hell . Most castles have a some kind of valid purpose behind them and are built in the best interest of the people around them. 1 / 3 513 104 104 comments Add a Comment AutoModerator Please note these rules: Besides this, it is thought to be one of the most haunted sites on Earth. The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest hole on earth at 40,230 feet. Locals believed this was a gateway to Hell from which demonic beings emerged to feed on villagers and drag them back into the abyss, never to be seen again. Is a castle in the present-day Czech Republic guarding us against unimaginable evil? The castle was supposedly constructed in the middle 13th century to surround and cover the hole to hell that had spontaneously formed. Vaclav Hajek also mentioned a strange crack in the top of the limestone cliff, and a pit so deep, that it seemed to be endless. Its the freeway to hell at the center of the earth. Notable features include a predominantly gothic. The Houska Castle Bottomless Pit, the gate of the hell. The location of the castle is also peculiar. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Hidden by thick forestry, Houska Castle in Czechia is shrouded in nightmarish myth and occultist legend. The Demonic Abysse of Houska Castle 2016. Slavic tribes migrated to the area that is now Czechia as early as the sixth century C.E. Started in 1970, the drilling of this hole in the Kola peninsula of Russia, near the Norway border was shut down in 1992. The castle was built in 1253-1278 and was upgraded to a Renaissance style castle during the 1500's. (2009). The Nazis were famously fascinated with the occult. Heres where is Houska Castle located on Google Maps: Your email address will not be published. To coincide with the varied nationalities that once held the castle voices and screams in different languages are often heard throughout the castle at night. Though the hole is often referred to as the gateway to Hell, its also referred to as the Houska Castle pit. Now guests are welcome to come visit the castle in the scenic forest and check out all of its strange features, including fake windows that are actually just a painted faade. Tourists may visit the chapel with fading frescoes and murals "including pictures of demon-like figures and animal-like beings". Their geological origins are diverse. When he told them the paranormal tales were nonsense but the real hole was a typical mine shaft, they ignored him. The castle was built in an impenetrable forest that provided no hunting opportunities nor strategic position near a border or any trade routes. Animals were lost in it. He said locals knew of the hole and would throw garbage in it. He claimed to be the owner of a property seized by the U.S. government that was the location of a mysterious hole associated with very weird goings-on. Facts cant ruin a good story. It was not water-filled. In this feature, I explore these folklore themes utilized widely for local holes, pools and lakes to mark their cultural significance. Local geologist Jack Powell had heard the radio show. http://visions.indstate.edu:8888/cdm/landingpage/collection/folklore. Said to conceal a portal to hell. Listen to this episode from Unexplained Mysteries on Spotify. So why was this random fortress built? Glass pains were installed during the castles construction, but walls were also built behind them, preventing them from being used. The story of the hole at Houska castle sounds mighty similar to a more modern version the wholly constructed legend of Mels Hole of Ellensburg, Washington. This Massive Castle Was Built In Order From Keeping Something From Getting Out The Most Haunted Place In The World The Czech Republic's Houska castle is said to be one of the strangest places on the planet. The fact that this beast is using its left hand to shoot its arrow is even more unnerving, as left-handedness was associated with Satan in the Middle Ages. Kansas has the infamous Stull Cemetery, Greece has the Cape Matapan Caves, and Indiana had the Demon House (until Ghost Adventures' Zak Bagans tore it down), and . Its not clear if the knuckers made the holes or just found them convenient to occupy. Manage Settings [1] It is one of the best preserved castles of the period. Located north of Prague, the castle sits on a forested hill, perched atop a limestone cliff, and is fabled to be built upon the gateway to Hell. The Spruce Hole in New Hampshire is an ice age bog now recognized as unique by the National Park Service as a Natural Landmark. Hohek's Castle was built between 1253 and 1278. Falling into Mels Hole.Skeptoid Podcast. Volcanic crater lakes often have the folkloric feature of being bottomless. Bottomless? Houska Castle welcomes thousands of visitors every year to showcase . In the midst of the Thirty Years War (1618 1648), the control of Houska Castle was taken over by the Swedish Army. Ive tried using a well probe to test for depth and you start to lose that feeling of hitting bottom at about 300 feet. Mike Dash suggests that the widespread legend of bottomless holes and lakes was an indicator of the limits of geographical mobility a century or more ago. He was said to have amassed a collection of over 13,000 pieces of material, many of which were stored at Houska Castle. The legend of Bale Lake in Wales tells of the voice of the lake crying out Line cannot fathom me. Thus, people assume it has no bottom at all. Many of these ceremonies were thought to have taken place at Houska Castle. So why was this random fortress built? According to the legend, local villagers claimed that demonic half-human and . sacramento obituaries 2021; apartments on aldine mail route Lets check out the legends of bottomless holes. This gothic castle dates back to the late 1200s, though the tales surrounding the land it is built upon span back even longer. By 1700, Houska Castle fell into complete disrepair. According to local legend, below the stone floors . In the 1940s, the Nazis overtook the castle during their occupation of Czechoslovakia, though their reasons for doing so are unclear, as the castle lacked defenses and was 30 miles from Prague. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}502928N 143726E / 50.491N 14.624E / 50.491; 14.624. Houska Castle, an early gothic, was built between 1253 and 1278, and although Atlas Obscura claims (no sources provided) the fortress was built as an administrative center for the king's estates, the folk legends surrounding the castle make for a chilling tale. There were many superstitions associated with the lake bolstered by real airplane crashes. Naturally, locals would be concerned about the depth of an open hole or pool that they might fall into. After the war, the remains of three german soldiers were uncovered in the inner courtyard they had been shot. That is usually more fiction than reality. pic.twitter.com/HToGtolrGH. Houska Castle includes a Gothic chapel, a knight's drwaing room and a green chamber with late-Gothic paintings. Residents reportedly went missing in the forest surrounding the pit, and were thought to have been dragged to hell by the winged beasts. Ottokar II built this castle as an administration center. The Nazis were said to have conducted experiments[7] into the occult. The name comes from the old Saxon word nicor meaning water spirit or monster. He began screaming in horror and begged to be pulled back up. The Swedish Commander at the time, Oronto, was known to be a cruel man, who gave his men specific orders to plunder everything they could, as well as giving them free reigns to practice rape as sport. The castle's eerie history doesn't stop there, though. Although not one of the largest or the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic, with no huge parks nor the oldest chapels, Houska Castle has become a favourite destination for many adventurers and travellers alike. Wabash Valley Visions and Voices Digital Memory Project. He had been so disturbed by what he experienced in the darkness that he was sent to an insane asylum where he died two days later from unknown causes. Get notified of the best booming posts weekly. It was renovated in the 1580s, fell into disrepair by the 1700s, and was fully restored in 1823. Adding to the evil in this old fortress, the Second World War saw the invading Nazis set up base in Houska Castles upon hearing the stories of it. Many people who have ventured into the castle have reported hearing scratching and screams from beneath the ground they walk on, especially as you get closer to where the pit lies. It is situated in a remote area surrounded by thick forests, swamps, and sandstone mountains. Visitors still claim to hear screams and scratching noises from the chapel at night. Locals at the time reported strange lights and horrifying sounds coming from the castle. He reigned from 1253 to 1278 and ordered the castle to be made as an administration centre for his royal estates. Its only about 20 feet deep, the water is recirculated. When the hole gets blocked it may temporarily hold water until the plug comes loose and the hole drains. With an undeniably eerie appearance, it's what's allegedly beneath it that's far more sinister - a bottomless pit that leads directly to hell. They immediately started to pull him out. In the summer, the cold water under the warm surface can shock swimmers. Blue holes: Definition and genesis. Petr David, Vladimr Soukup, Lubomr ech, Learn how and when to remove this template message, | Haunted Castles Around the World |October 10, 2017, |This castle is believed to be the entrance to the underworld |TravelBook.de |Annette Schimanski |April 24, 2020, |Discover the dark history of Houska Castle |CzechTourism 2017, |The Most Haunted Places in Prague, Czech Republic |Prague Visitor Staff | September 24, 2019, |The Scariest Places in the World |Bob Curran, |Houska Castle Blatce, Czechia |Folklore says this medieval fortress was plopped atop a portal to hell to trap the demons below |29 January 2018, |This castle is believed to be the entrance to the underworld |Travel Book |Annette Schimanski |April 24, 2020, See the castle in Czech Republic, believed to be the gateway to hell with bottomless pit, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houska_Castle&oldid=1142138997, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing translation from Czech Wikipedia, Articles lacking reliable references from February 2023, Articles with disputed statements from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. There is no way you could measure such a deep hole in this way. A single survivor reports that the black clad men have lead prisoners back to Houska Castle where they are being used as slaves, helping the strange men assemble towers of steel. The Legend of the Unfathomable Waters. The unfathomable Mummelsee, in the northern Black Forest, Baden Baden, Germany was called the Lake of Miracles by the Romans. Visitors have also reported seeing a line of ghostly people, all chained together each one with an injury or disability walking towards the castle. COPYRIGHT UNSOLVED MYSTERIES & PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES, 2017-2018. As with many sinkholes, it connects to and drains into the underground openings. There were other clear hoax indicators for this story. If you're looking for a one way trip to the underworld, there's no shortage of alleged "gateways to hell" hidden all over the world. And this castle was built in 1271, and the reason they built this castle in this location was to try to conceal a bottomless pit which many believed to be a gateway to hell or an entrance to the underworld. Treachery of the Long Knives Houska Castle, known locally as the Gates to Hell in the Czech Republic it is thought to be one of the most haunted locations in the world. Many of the world's so-called gateways to hell amount to nothing more than a creepy setting with a really spooky urban legend attached, but then there's Houska Castle, a 762-year-old gothic castle that was built to seal shut what locals believe is the real-life entrance to the underworld. Some say the Wehrmacht occupied this castle precisely to investigate whether the gateway to Hell was real, as feverish occultism had consumed its higher ranks. It is not far from Prague (cca 50 km) in the Central Bohemian region. There is parking (for 50 CZK) at the base of the castle, and then a little hike uphill through the grounds. Wikimedia CommonsSkeletal remains of Nazis were purportedly found in the courtyard of Houska Castle. The Blue Hole has dark water and is said to be bottomless. Considering this claim that he measured a depth to 15 miles, we know Waters is bluffing. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. I kinda doubt it. New Study Shows Mushrooms Communicate With Each Other Using A Vocabulary Of 50 Words, The Tragic Story Of Harolyn Suzanne Nicholas, Dorothy Dandridge's Mentally Disabled Daughter, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. The Houska Castle is located in the forests north of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, which is bisected by the Vltava River. Despite the discovery of the skeletons, it remains a mystery as to why, and when they were killed at the castle. It was built in the early part of the 13 th century, believed to be on the order of Ottokar II of Bohemia. Houska Castle did trade hands between various nobles and aristocrats in later centuries, however. These legendary spots might hold healing waters or a dragon. The additional features attributed to Mels Hole were bizarre. The Central Bohemian town of Mlnk. Legends live on even into modern times. The bottomless pit or abyss is mentioned in Revelation 9 in the Bible. Loch Morar, southwest of Ness, reaches 1017 feet. Josef imonek purchased the castle in 1920. Get notified of the best best booming posts weekly. The characteristic of bottomless is associated with the idea that a lake does not give up its dead. This instilled villagers with so much mortal fear that two local hunters assassinated him. The chapel in the castle was built over the bottomless well or so the locals claim and it is here that the gateway to hell is said to be located. Locals avoided the area near Houska Castle even when it lay completely abandoned. He got to 80,000 feet and gave up. Houska Castle is generally known as the most haunted castle in all of Bohemia. These claims date back to the castle's construction in the late 1200s, describing unearthly horrors emerging from the pit and wreaking havoc on the local population. In addition to its curious location, Houska Castle was built without stairs leading from its two upper floors to the courtyard. Rocky Creek Medieval Decor Castle Houska was built not as a defense castle, nor a royal residence - but rather to cover up the exit from the "pit of hell" - an endless hole in the ground which is believed to be under the floor of the chapel room. This is likely not true as brown trout and char live in the lake. (1995). Could we create a bottomless hole? A man calling himself Mel Waters appeared on Art BellsCoast to Coast AMradio show in February of 1997. Several other tales are also associated with the pool including that it was the source of the winds on the moor. Person, H.A. The president of koda Auto would have to abandon it during World War II, however, when the Nazis invaded and took control of the fortress. The first man to do so was young and healthy, and he happily accepted. For a start, how would a bottomless hole hold water? The lake that has no bottom. The gateway to Hell is allegedly so deep that one can't see the bottom. Go, or I will swallow you up and no one tried since. Astonishing Legends podcast https://www.astonishinglegends.com/. It is fabled that the hole was so deep that no one could see the bottom of it. These screams may be coming from the prisoners of war that were held captive there, or the local villagers that were taken down into the Houska castle pit by the flying demonic entities. While Houska Castle might seem like an enchanting stronghold from the outside, the secrets and legends that are told from within its walls are even more formidable. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of openings and water bodies were said at one time or another to be bottomless. To the famous castle from the middle of the 13th century, with the name: Houska. Legend has it that the sole reason to build this castle was to close the gateway to hell! houska castle pit shocking incidents and folklore at czech republic the gate of hell , Houska Castle, which was built in the early gothic style, is the best-preserved castle of the early 13th century in Bohemia and the rule of the Golden and Iron King Pemysl Otakar II. A large gash in the limestone rock opened up a "bottomless pit" sometime in the 12th century. Houska Castle, The Czech Fortress Used By Mad Scientists And Nazis The Eerie History Of Houska Castle, The Gothic Fortress Built To Seal A 'Gateway To Hell' By Cara Johnson Published April 7, 2022 Constructed near Prague in the 13th century, Houska Castle has housed mad scientists, Nazis, and perhaps even "demons." Indiana State University Folklore Archives. Some caves or shafts are rumored to drop off into a huge cavern. The area in which the castle was built isnt all that strategic. The holes may also release a large volume of methane gas suddenly. Glacial lakes can be particularly steep-sided and deep. Michel Meurger wrote about the tradition of lake monsters in Europe and North America. Fearful of turning into these demonic entities themselves, villagers avoided the rocky entrance. According to the castle's official website, it was built in the 13th century as an administrative hub for the king, but Czech folklore maintains that the true purpose of its construction was to seal a gaping crack in the limestone. Two qualities of a lake indicated the almost certain presence of a legendary monster first, dark water, and secondly, it was deemed unfathomable. The famous well to hell hoax came with a soundtrack of voices of the damned. [9][10] Another source states locals believed that the Nazis had been using the "powers of Hell" for their experiments.