Paradies

Paradies is a small, barely visible ruin of a medieval fortification on Chotyně hill, right next to the village of Malhostice, part of the Rtyně nad Bílinou municipality in the Teplice district. Sitting at roughly 273 metres above sea level, the site has an unusually well-documented backstory despite its modest remains — it's the only castle ever founded on Bohemian soil by a Margrave of Meissen.

Who built Paradies, and when?

The only surviving written record of the site dates from 1402 and has been preserved in the Dresden archives. According to it, three knights — Beneš of Hořovice, Jindřich (Heinrich) Spiegl and Dobeš of Bran — received permission from Margrave William I of Meissen to build a fortification called "Paradis" on Chotyně hill. The name came from the Latin word "paradisus," meaning paradise, chosen to underline the site's exceptional position.

Why did the castle disappear from the record?

No later source mentions Paradies after the 1402 document, leaving historians to work with educated guesses. Construction may simply never have been finished. It's equally plausible the fortification was destroyed during the Hussite Wars around 1426, amid the fighting connected to the Battle of Ústí nad Labem. Czech historian August Sedláček proposed a third possibility — that Paradis was later renamed Stoličky, a fortified house (tvrz) abandoned by the 16th century whose exact location remains unknown to this day. None of the three theories can be confirmed with certainty.

What remains of the old stronghold?

What's left of the castle amounts to a few modest wall fragments and irregularities in the terrain. Traces of ditches survive on both the eastern and western sides of the hilltop core, and on the western plateau researchers suspect remnants of an outer bailey — or possibly an even older, prehistoric hillfort — though this would need further archaeological study to confirm. The outline of the former approach road is still visible from the north. A cross was erected in 2003 on the spot where the castle's core once stood, and consecrated the following year. The site has been listed as a protected cultural monument since 1964, under registry number 43153/5-2733.

How do you get there?

Chotyně hill sits directly beside Malhostice, a small settlement that administratively belongs to Rtyně nad Bílinou, about 1.5 km northeast of its centre, in the Teplice district. Given how sparse and hard-to-read the remains are, Paradies appeals mainly to regional history enthusiasts and to walkers who enjoy quiet hilltop rambles rather than a headline attraction — it's best combined with a longer walk around the Rtyně nad Bílinou area.

Frequently asked questions

What can visitors actually see at the Paradies ruins? Very little — a handful of wall fragments, traces of ditches on either side of the hill, and a cross erected in 2003 on the site of the former castle core. This is a destination for dedicated history buffs, not a dramatic ruin.

Why is so little known about the castle? Because only a single document survives, from 1402, granting permission to build it. No later source mentions Paradies again, which is why historians still debate whether it was ever finished, destroyed in the Hussite Wars, or simply renamed.

Is Paradies unique in any way? Yes, in one specific sense — it's the only fortification in Bohemia ever founded by a Margrave of Meissen, which makes it a small but genuine curiosity in the history of medieval border settlement and diplomacy.

How close is it to Malhostice and Rtyně nad Bílinou? The hill with the ruins borders Malhostice directly, a local part of the Rtyně nad Bílinou municipality roughly 1.5 km from its administrative centre in the Teplice district.