Gold Coin 5000 CZK Kost Castle 2016 Proof

1/2 Oz Gold Coin - Kost Castle

The obverse of the coin features a composition of heraldic animals from the great state emblem in shields in the upper half of the coin field. In the centre is the Czech lion, to the left of it is the Moravian eagle and to the right of it is the Silesian eagle. Below the composition of heraldic animals is the portal of the door to the castle chapel. Inside the portal in the lower half of the coin field is the name of the state "CZECH REPUBLIC", the name of the cycle "CASTLES" and the denomination of the coin with the abbreviation of the monetary unit "5000 CZK". The mark of the Czech Mint, which consists of the letters "Č" and "M", is at the lower edge of the coin.

The reverse side of the coin depicts Kost Castle. At the upper edge of the coin are the initials of the author of the coin, the academic sculptor Zbyněk Fojtů, which are formed by the composition of the letters "F" and "Z", followed by the text "HRAD" "KOST" and the year of mintage "2016", which are separated by dots.

Kost is a Gothic castle located in the Bohemian Paradise, in the cadastral area of Podkost, part of the village of Libošovice, Jičín district, just a few dozen metres from the border of the Central Bohemia and Hradec Králové regions. It is a private property of the Czech noble family Kinský dal Borgo.

It was built sometime before 1349 by Benes of Vartemberk. As one of the few castles in our country, it is located not on a hill, but in a valley on a sandstone promontory (e.g. comparable to Okoř Castle). It is still very well preserved.

The castle has changed hands many times over time. It was founded around 1349 by Benes of Vartenberk, whose family owned the castle until 1414, and then it was acquired by Mikuláš Zajíc of Házmburk through a profitable marriage. In the first half of the 15th century, after the death of Jan of Házmburk, his lieutenant Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál acquired the castle, who sold the castle and the whole court to Jan of Šelmberk in 1497. Dalšími majiteli hradu byli: Páni ze Šelmberka (1497-1524), Biberštejnové (1524-1551), Lobkovicové (1551-1637), v 17. The castle was acquired for a certain period of time by the military leader Albrecht von Wallenstein, the Czernins of Chudenice (1637-1738), Václav Kazimír Netolický of Eisenberg (1738-1769), the Vratislavs of Netolický and after them the Flamini gave the Borgo-Netolicks (1769-1948), who were confiscated by the communist Czechoslovakia. Giovanni Kinsky dal Borgo, son of the last owner, restored the castle in 1992.

An interesting feature of the castle is the trapezoidal tower. The irregular tower plan, which is found in many Czech castles, was used by the builders for protection against salvos from the guns of the besiegers. On the wall, which is not perpendicular to the enemy, the sphere slides and does no damage.

The castle, its surroundings and its history were the subject of a detailed two-volume monograph, The Book of Kosta, by historian Josef Pekař, which chronicles the economic and historical history of the local estate.

Kost Castle stands on a rocky promontory at the junction of two mighty rocky valleys. One of them was dug by the Klenice river, north of the castle it is called Prokopské, while south of the castle it is called Plakánek. The other nameless valley, also watery, flows into the Klenice valley from the northwest. Three ponds were once built around the castle on all three sides: the White, Black and Swan ponds, the first two of which are still preserved today. By breaching the dykes of these ponds, it was possible to turn the castle's surroundings into a difficult terrain.

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