Archaeological Survey

Helfštýn Castle and its surroundings were devoted greater attention by local history researchers, historians, and later archaeologists at the turn of the 19th century. The earliest account of specific archaeological finds at the castle is probably found in Isidor Kahlig’s book Hrad Helfštýn na Moravě.

In 1911, the owner of the estate, Antoinette, Countess of Althann, decided to start restoration work at the castle, which included removal of terrain, levelling layers from the individual palace chambers, courtyards, and cellars. Kahlig expressly specifies some archaeological finds: “During the removal of masonry, handsome fragments of stone cornices and Gothic tracery were found, as well as bits of finely decorated stove tiles, several completely preserved pot-shaped earthenware vessels, intact brick paving stones, a fragment of a roofing tile, and a piece of an old cannon. The items are stored at the castle for the time being. The gatekeeper shall gladly show them for a gratuity.”

In 1977–1978, archaeologist Jiří Pavelčík conducted several digs in the area of the castle hill, focusing primarily on the existence and verification of prehistoric origins of the remnants of the rampart in the western foreground of the castle and on the extent of settlement in the late Bronze Age. On the castle grounds, historian Rostislav Janošík carried out digs at the second and fourth courtyards in 1978. He found part of stone paving at the place courtyard and foundations of a rectangular building, probably a farm building demolished during the Renaissance redevelopment in the 16th century.

After Zdeněk Gardavský was appointed the chief designer of the castle restoration in 1978, extensive, conceptual work on the renovation of the castle was carried out in addition to various repairs and necessary remodelling. Starting in 1980, volunteers from the Brontosaurus Movement nature conservation group participated in the majority of modifications and construction works.

The archaeological study of the castle in the 1990s is closely linked to archaeologist Jiří Kohoutek from the Zlín branch of the Institute of Archaeological Heritage in Brno, one of the most prominent figures in the field of castle surveys in south-eastern Moravia. An archaeological survey was performed under his leadership at Helfštýn between 1994 and 1996 at the Bakery, by the entrance to the Kennels, in front of the fourth castle gate and in the southern part of the eastern wing of the palace with a view to verify the existence of the castle chapel there.

In 2007–2008, Jan Mikulík and Zdeněk Schenk, archaeologists of the Comenius Museum in Přerov, performed an archaeological inspection survey inside the Poděbrady Bastion next to the fifth gate at the palace courtyard where remnants of a smoke kitchen with the foundations of three furnaces and a carvery tub were uncovered in 2001 during the removal of debris. The interior of this building, together with a part of the preserved structural components, has become the basis of the new exhibition Archaeology at Helfštýn Castle, opened in 2012.

Between 2017 and 2020, an archaeological survey was carried out at Helfštýn in relation to the project of the Comenius Museum in Přerov – “Preservation and Accessibility of the Palace at Helfštýn”. With respect to the extent and intensity of site excavation that affected almost all parts of the castle core, this became the most challenging archaeological task in the history of surveying this significant castle.

In 2018, prior to the start of excavation relating to the structural securing of the western part of the main fortification wall, Renaissance-era paving partially uncovered in 1978 during the survey at the palace courtyard was secured together with the foundations of a vanished building in the north-western corner of the palace courtyard.

The most interesting stage of the survey was carried out in 2019 in the individual palace chambers after the removal of concrete floors and gradual removal of backfills under them, thus revealing positive situations for archaeology. The chambers were indicated by the numbers 1 through 10 for ease of reference.

Chamber 2 was originally thought to include the foundations of the oldest castle chapel. The chamber was repeatedly surveyed, but the results did not unambiguously confirm the hypothesis of the chapel’s existence. A fortification wall with preserved plaster on the outside was found on the eastern part of the chamber. Buildings of various age and significance were later added to the wall during the High and Late Middle Ages.

In the summer of 2019, a 3.4 m × 5.4 m room was uncovered in Chamber 6, situated in the north-eastern part of the palace. Part of a uniquely preserved interior of an antechamber leading to the courtyard, added to the older northern palace in the second half of the 14th century, was buried there under ca. 1.4 metres of debris. As part of the radical Renaissance conversion, an older building was torn down in the 16th century and a new palace was built on the foundations, approximately of the size preserved to this day. Quite remarkable are the preserved fragments of the original surface finishes of various architectural elements, painted in black, white, and red. This unique find gives a graphic depiction of the final design of both the interiors and exteriors during the High and Late Gothic era. The floor in the preserved chamber was made of square, oxidation-fired floor tiles. The flooring was damaged by the construction of the palace enclosure wall on the southwestern side and by the construction of a transverse wall dividing Chambers 5 and 6 on the south-eastern side. Three layers of Gothic plastering were preserved on the walls in the archaeologically uncovered interior, the oldest of which contained relics of painted ornamentation in several parts, which originally must have been impressive. Fragments of heraldic decoration are also unique. They include an oblique coat of arms, divided into several fields of various colours. It is quite exceptional archaeological evidence of the high level of medieval culture among the castles in what is now the Olomouc Region.