Taking a ship around the lake

We wanted to have a boat ride around the lake beneath the castle.  We knew that a pilot would drive the boat, and that the passenger would enjoy the view.  We also knew, therefore, that the boat would be little bigger than a row- or speed-boat.  So, after I spoke in German to a Polish staff member at the main gate to book the boat trip, the boat trip nearly didn't happen.  Instead, she booked us on a tour of the castle, which we'd already had.  I had smelled a rat when she'd told us we'd be collected from Reception instead of at the main gate.  Luckily, not too much time was wasted before I found out we'd been booked on the wrong tour.  The staff member had misunderstood me.  I had used the German word 'Boot' for 'boat', but the staff member only knew the word 'Schiff' (ship) and assumed we must have wanted the castle tour!!  Sorry, but the vessels you see in the picture below are definitely not ships.

It was pleasant to be on the lake surrounded by the beautiful trees of Lower Silesia - maples, oaks and various pines - packed tightly together in the forests that wrap round the water's edge, casting eternal shade upon the moist and mossy grounds beneath them.

Interesting to get the perspective of the castle from below...

The pilot started playing Polish commentary over his loud speaker.  We told him it was best to turn it off.  No, he didn't have English or German commentary.  If this area wants to open itself up better to the outside world, it will need English as a minimum, and German because of its place in Europe.

After the voyage on the lake, Renate and I circled the castle at ground level.

Near the road, this wall marks the outer boundary of the castle's grounds.

It's a good idea to keep cats in a castle.  They help to keep the mice away.  Today, there mustn't be any mice...

Rain...Lower Silesia gets a lot of heat and then rain and even thunder storms.  A lot like Sydney.

A tour of Castle Czocha

This morning we had a short tour of the Castle Czocha, where we are staying for a total of four nights. 

The picture above is the Knight's Hall

I stand near the castle's front entrance.  The Knight's Hall is along the corridor.

The Marble Hall, one of the oldest parts of the castle.  A legend about a crying child is connected with the fireplace in this Hall.  One owner was absent for some time, and returned to find his wife had a child that could not possibly be his.  The wife was drowned in the well of unfaithful wives and the child was walled up alive inside the fireplace of the Marble Hall.

The above is the main courtyard, one of whose features is the well of unfaithful wives.  It is so called because at least a couple of the castle's owners drowned their wives in the well whom they believed had been unfaithful.

This is the Treasury, which is low within the castle complex.  The Treasury was only recently discovered when a new floor was being fitted in the room above.

In the Treasury is a model of the castle.

    

This is the library.  Note the fairly innocent-looking bookcase within its glass doors.

It's actually one of many secret passageways within the castle.  Written records suggest there were around 40 hidden passageways built in the castle, of which only 14 have been discovered.

   

Beneath the Treasury are the steel and concrete reinforced doors.  When the Treasury was discovered, no treasure was found.

The vault

And, from the top of the tower, looking down towards the front entrance to the castle.  At the top of the picture is the main gate.

The lake as seen from the tower

The river Kwisa flows into the lake

The second-floor corridor

Part of the restaurant

There are two theories of the origins of the castle's name.  According to information we received, the name 'Czocha' may be due to the first owners being Czechs.  Or, it may be because the local linen industry process of roughly combing or tousling flax fibres to make linen thread is described as 'czochrac'.

Arrival at Zamek Czocha

Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Castle Czocha in the south-west of Poland.  The castle was built in the 13th century.  We were all very excited to be here, and, after carrying all our luggage to our rooms on the 4th floor (no lifts), we went exploring.  

Outside the main castle gate is this medieval figure.  Note AD 1241.

This is the stone bridge leading to the front entrance.  The previous wooden bridge was replaced after Henryck von Uechtritz's funeral in 1719.  A group of mourners crossed the bridge with the coffin, and the bridge collapsed into the dry moat below.  Several mourners died.

There are various paths around the castle you can follow.

In various places, you find slits in the stone walls where medieval defenders would have shot the enemy with their bows and arrows.

The river Kwisa flows through the modern reservoir lake below the castle.