Stoupec

Stoupec is the earthwork remains of a medieval fortified manor (tvrz) hidden in the forests of the Iron Mountains (Železné hory), southeast of the village of Hošťalovice in the Chrudim district of the Czech Republic. Nothing of the original stronghold survives above ground except a mound, ditch and rampart, yet the site still carries a history stretching back to the late 14th century.

How to get there?

Stoupec sits in woodland roughly 400 metres south of the road between Březinka and Slavkovice, close to Hošťalovice, in the heart of the Iron Mountains. A blue-marked hiking trail leads there from Březinka, but the final few hundred metres run off the marked path, deeper into the forest. The nearest town is Heřmanův Městec, a few kilometres away, and Chrudim serves as a common base for exploring the wider region.

What will you see?

What remains of the tvrz is a roughly circular earthen mound about 30 metres across, ringed by a distinct moat fed by a small stream flowing to the southeast. Scattered stones lie across the top of the mound — traces of former masonry structures, though no recognisable walls have survived. On the western side, denser clusters of stone suggest the location of smaller buildings or cellars, while a covered spring on the northern side once supplied the site with water.

The location was no accident: an intersection of five paths, used until as late as 1906, once met right at this spot, making Stoupec a natural checkpoint. Historians describe the stronghold as essentially a guard post — a medieval equivalent of a police outpost — meant to protect travellers passing through a stretch of the Iron Mountains known for banditry.

The first written record of Stoupec dates to 1389, when a certain Slaměnec z Urbanic is listed as owner. In 1394, King Wenceslaus IV granted the by-then-abandoned estate to Jan Chrást ze Stoupce, whose name gave the site its own. In 1419, Držek z Kratonos transferred the property to Jan z Čejkovic. By 1486, records already describe Stoupec as "pusté" — deserted — and the last mention, from 1559, refers to it as a "desolate fortress site" (tvrziště pusté). After that, all trace of the place disappears from the historical record.

Nineteenth-century historian August Sedláček, whose research on the site was published in 1865, confirmed both the existence and location of the tvrz and its ties to nearby Hošťalovice — the southern part of the village belonged in the 14th and 15th centuries to Zdeněk z Urbanic, while the farmstead at Stoupec together with several peasant holdings in Hošťalovice belonged to a certain Matěj Slaměnec.

A small settlement called Hody once stood nearby, most likely destroyed during the invasion of Matthias Corvinus's troops in 1469. About 400 to 500 metres from the mound, traces remain of small rectangular fishponds known locally as "V rybníčkách." The surrounding area today carries the name "Ve Stráčkách," likely derived from the older phrase "ve strážkách" — "at the watch posts" — a further hint at the site's defensive role.

Why visit?

Stoupec appeals to history enthusiasts and forest walkers drawn to lesser-known, quiet historical sites rather than crowded landmarks. There is no visitor infrastructure or information panels here — just a raw, protected archaeological site that lets visitors picture life on a medieval forest frontier, well off the region's main tourist routes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stoupec? Stoupec is the earthwork remains of a medieval fortified manor (tvrz) from the late 14th and 15th centuries, located in forests near Hošťalovice in the Iron Mountains.

What can visitors see there today? An earthen mound with a ditch and rampart, scattered stones from former buildings, a covered spring, and nearby traces of old fishponds.

When was it built and who owned it? The first record dates to 1389 (Slaměnec z Urbanic), and in 1394 King Wenceslaus IV granted the estate to Jan Chrást ze Stoupce, from whom the site took its name.

How do you get to Stoupec? Via the blue hiking trail from Březinka, with the final stretch — about 400 metres south of the Březinka–Slavkovice road — running off-trail through the forest.