The Lost Region under Ralsko. The Middle Ages between the uppermost Ploučnice and Zábrdka
Author:
Josef Žemlička
Year of publication:
2025
Publisher:
Nakladatelství Lidové noviny
ISBN:
978-80-7422-531-4
Those who visit the region between the peaks of Ralsko and Bezděz will search in vain for the villages that used to stand here. It's no wonder. Since the middle of the 20th century, the entire area has been part of a military district, and almost all of the settlements have disappeared. Yet the area still amazes with its modest beauty: sparkling forests, rock formations, incised valleys and lush meadows. Only humankind has disappeared. The past of Podralsko is also colourful. It stretches from the monastery in Hradiště to the castles that line the edges of this seemingly closed territory: Ralsko, Děvín and Stráž pod Ralskem. The influence of Bezděz reaches here from the south. King Přemysl Otakar II founded the town of Kuřívody and colonised its hinterland. The monastery in Hradiště was not left behind. The Vartenberks and Berka of Dubá were replaced by more predatory families from the 16th century onwards, but they are still written into local history.
