Pantheon in Cesky Raj - Great Hiking

The words Cesky Raj translates into English as Czech Paradise.

Here is information we found about the area where we were hiking.

The Vranov castle was founded in early 15th century by Hynek of Waldstein. It is situated on a narrow sandstone cliff on the right bank of the Jizera river and with its length of 400 metres it ranks among the largest rock castles in the Czech Republic. Further owners have built a more comfortable family seat down in the valley, and the old castle has been abandoned.

In 1802 the manor of Malá Skála was bought by Franz Zacharias Römisch, a merchant from Mikulášovice, who has changed the ruins into a romantic monument - Pantheon. Its surroundings have been decorated with various inscriptions, sarcophaguses and monuments, reminding of brave heroes and soldiers, outstanding artists, poets and writers or significant historical events. In the very heart of the inner castle there is the Hall of the Battle of Leipzig 1813. The dominant of Pantheon is a neogothic summer-house that was built instead of a former chapel in 1826.

This castle on a narrow and steep rock ridge is also called Skala and was built around the year 1425. The core of the castle is composed of a multi-storey palace surrounded on three sides by rock blocks. Legends and some Medieval depictions support the idea that there were windmills on the rocks. The deteriorating castle exchanged owners and in 1803 came into the hands of F. Z. Romisch, a failed, excited, slightly mad romantic. He turned Vranov into a Pantheon, covering the rock with a great number of memorial inscriptions and monuments, noting various heroic acts and personalities and busts of the three emperors, victors over Napoleon, were installed in the Hall of Heroes. On the sunny slopes of the Pantheon, he ultimately established a vineyard (the northernmost in Bohemia). The neo-Gothic chapel, a small path carved in the cliff, caves and various memorial plaques have been preserved

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