These romantic castle ruins and their unmistakable silhouette are a dominant feature of Pálava, no matter in which direction you are travelling. Do you know that the ruins are haunted by an orphan called Orphanus?
The Orphan Castle was built on two ragged cliffs. There is a deep gorge with an entrance to a karst cave between them. Today you can find here the remains of a tower, window arches, masonry up to the first floor… and at night a ghost running from there to Turold.
It is the son of the Templar knight Chichos (Čičos). When his son was due to be born any day, Chichos was sent off to war. He refused, because he was waiting for the birth of his son. A commander arrived at the castle and the new mother asked him to be her son’s godfather. Because it fell to the godfather to choose a name, to everyone’s surprise the commander chose the name Orphanus. The commander had Chichos executed for disobeying the summons, as well as all inhabitants except for two – Cichos’ wife then died from heartbreak and only one inhabitant of the castle survived. The commander took poor Orphanus with him and when the boy returned to the castle many years later, he found an old man there. It was the man who was the only survivor of the tragedy long before. He told the orphaned boy what happened when the boy was born and what a sad fate his parents met. Orphanus went crazy and his ghost has been wandering across Pálava to this day.
Like a chameleon, the castle has adapted to the limestone rocks in its surroundings and it looks like a part of them. You can visit the castle on your own, no matter whether it is summer or winter. There is a trail leading to it from Klentnice and from Mikulov. And it is a really nice trip!
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