LOCATIONS — 229/262 — Apollonia
A local legend says that Apollonia was the daughter of a wealthy landowner who fell in love with a poor boy. Her father was against it, so he arranged for her beloved to be conscripted into the army for seven years, where he lost his life. When Apollonia learned of this, she went mad with grief and left for parts unknown. Her mother later found her, sick and emaciated in a cave in a rock town, which the girl now called home. The girl refused to come home and died in her arms. This is not a ‘town’ in the true sense of the word, but a complex system of sandstone rock formations near the Trosky castle and the village of Troskowitz. Many paths wind through the rocks with caves underneath them that historically provided refuge for outcasts and exiles, as well as villagers seeking shelter from approaching armies. Due to severe erosion of the weathered sandstone, public access has been completely restricted and the site has become a protected nature reserve. Visitors can, however, visit other very similar rock towns that are peppered throughout the so called Bohemian Paradise.
TRIVIA
— The rock city of Apollonia, or Apolena in Czech, was formed by cracks in the soft sandstone following the eruption of the Trosky volcano around 17 million years ago. The castle's construction, too, is tied closely to the volcano's activity: A first eruption had formed two cinder cones, now making the hills below the rocks, and as the magma within them had just cooled and crystallised, another eruption pushed the mass out through the vents of the cones, creating the two basalt rocks the castle stands on. These rocks even bear the same names as the towers of the castle: Baba (Crone) and Panna (Maiden). The eruption also left the rocks of Apolena highly fissured, creating far-branching caves. One of the longest is Sklepy, which is, with its many fissures, home for 11 different bat species. One of these underground cracks is leading right into the direction of the castle – legend has it that it was used as a secret passage to exit Trosky undetected in times of need. The many caves, rifts and the large deposits of minerals and precious stones like quartz, agates and jaspers all over the Český Ráj, the Bohemian Paradise, have sparked many legends and fairytales, involving demons or stone-working gnomes, but also historical figures. One such tale is that of the Hussites allegedly using the towering Prachovna rock, around 6 km north of Apolena, as a hideout to observe the Hrubá Skála Castle before besieging it. The stairs leading up the mountain are said to have been hewn by the Hussites for that purpose, with the last step carved by Jan Žižka himself. Another legend, however, has the siege taking place at the nearby castle Kost (“bone”), and even prescribes the castle's name to Žižka, when he supposedly said: “This castle is solid as bone, and bones belong to the dogs.” Neither of these sieges bear any historical proof.
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