Gothic Era

The redevelopment done by the House of Pernštejn was preceded by more than 120 years (1312–1434), during which Helfštýn was owned by the House of Kravaře. Members of this dynasty, from Silesia, were among the prominent representatives of the Moravian Estates. They held offices of the land governors, judges, and high stewards, and made the most significant mark in history as ardent supporters of the Hussite movement. Their rule gave rise to the fortified outer bailey, protected by polygonal bastions, and a number of farmhouses and utility buildings. Some of them, for instance, the rebuilt smithery and bakery, can be admired to this day in the third courtyard. We assume that in contrast to its current shape, the palace was not L-shaped in the 14th and 15th centuries, but was comprised of two stand-alone buildings protected by fortification walls. The palace has two wings: the northern is older, dating back to the era when the castle was founded, while the eastern was built later by Lacek of Kravaře. Some researchers think that the House of Kravaře also established a stand-alone chapel in the eastern part of the palace courtyard. However, no survey has confirmed the existence of a chapel in that area. The archaeological survey of 2019 uncovered one of the rooms of the original eastern palace in an exceptionally preserved condition. Under the current floors, between the vaults of the exhibition and the walkable surface on which you are now standing, archaeologists discovered a room with a complete floor of fired-clay bricks and walls with three layers of plaster with remains of colour decorations. Quite remarkable are the preserved fragments of Gothic stone elements, painted in white, red and black. You can get a clearer picture of the appearance of the Gothic buildings from other panels, and a panel with information about the foundation of the castle in the next room elucidates how Vok of Kravaře obtained the castle.

The significant building activity of the House of Kravaře is also reflected in the local legends. One of them is tells a story about how they chiselled a well in the rock. It is said a devil helped. The well is therefore called the Devil’s Well, but also Bottomless Well due to its alleged depth of 152 metres.