Dvorec

Dvorec (also recorded as Tvrziště Dvorec, or locally as "Purk"/"Hrádek") is the earthwork remnant of a medieval wooden fortress on the northern edge of Mirošov, a small town in the Rokycany district of the Plzeň Region in western Bohemia. Nothing of the original structure survives above ground, yet the site has remained a local landmark and a quiet lookout point for centuries.

Where it sits and what remains today

The fortress site lies on the right bank of the Skořický stream, right at its confluence with the Příkosický stream, roughly 150 metres west of the Dvorský pond. The core of the former stronghold was protected by a rampart and a moat up to nineteen metres wide, and these earthworks are still clearly traceable on the ground even though the wooden buildings themselves vanished long ago. A small Neo-Gothic chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes was built on top of the mound near the end of the nineteenth century, and a memorial linden tree — known to locals as the "Linden on Purk" — grows beside it. The chapel has recently undergone a thorough restoration, a sign that the hill still matters to the community. The whole site has been protected as a cultural monument since 1964.

Who built it and why

The fortress was founded in the fourteenth century by Dobrohost of Ronšperk, first recorded in written sources in 1353. The estate then passed to his son Zbyněk, who married Kateřina of Sedlice and died before 1407. The last known holder of Dvorec was Zbyněk's son Zdeněk, mentioned in documents as late as 1421. The Ronšperk family belonged to the local gentry controlling this stretch of land along the Skořický stream, and the stronghold served both as their family seat and as a defensive point guarding the surrounding estate.

How the fortress met its end

Dvorec's story breaks off abruptly in the first half of the fifteenth century, when the stronghold was seized and burned — most likely during the turbulent Hussite Wars, which swept away many similar minor gentry seats across Bohemia in this period. Archaeologists have confirmed the violent end of the site, recovering arrowheads and burnt daub — the scorched remains of clay-and-wattle walls typical of wooden fortifications of the era — from the mound. The settlement was never rebuilt, and over time the site was reclaimed by vegetation, leaving only the outline of its old fortifications.

Its link to the town of Mirošov

According to local historical tradition, the original settlement that later grew into today's Mirošov once stood in the vicinity of the Dvorec mound itself; the town subsequently shifted to its present location, leaving the old fortress site as a quiet witness to the earliest chapter of the area's history. That makes Dvorec more than an archaeological curiosity — it functions as something like the founding point of the town's own story.

Planning a visit

Dvorec is a modest, low-key site — there are no reconstructed walls or museum displays, and the appeal lies instead in the calm atmosphere, the visible shape of the old earthworks, the chapel, and the view over the stream valley. It makes a good short stop for anyone exploring Mirošov and the surrounding Brdy region, pairing an easy walk with a glimpse of six centuries of local history.

Frequently asked questions

What was Dvorec? A fourteenth-century wooden fortress (tvrz), the seat of the Ronšperk family, destroyed in the first half of the fifteenth century, most likely during the Hussite Wars.

Where exactly is the fortress site located? On the northern edge of Mirošov, on the right bank of the Skořický stream at its confluence with the Příkosický stream, about 150 metres from the Dvorský pond.

What can visitors see there today? The outline of the old rampart and moat, a late-nineteenth-century Neo-Gothic chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes, and a memorial linden tree atop the mound.

Since when has the site been protected? It has been listed as a cultural monument since 1964.