Sion Castle

On a wooded promontory roughly eight kilometers southwest of Kutná Hora lie the remains of a fortress that left an indelible mark on the history of the Hussite Wars. These ruins, located approximately one kilometer east of the village of Chlístovice, were built between 1426 and 1427 by the famous Hussite captain Jan Roháč of Dubá. It was here that the famous four-month siege took place, which ended in 1437 with the capture of the castle by the royal army under the leadership of the Lord High Steward Hynce Ptáček of Pirkštejn and the capture of Roháč himself. After the surrender of the defenders, the fortress was burned down and passed into the ownership of the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, Sigismund of Luxembourg. Today, this site is also sought after for its advanced fortification features, which rank among the pinnacles of Hussite military architecture and stand at the very beginning of the development of modern European defensive systems.