STYLE

Šance near Mosty u Jablunkova

a medieval fortress visited by an emperor

A ram with sheep and lambs, goats running about, this is the present crew of the medieval fortress

of Šance near Mosty u Jablunkova, ecological lawn mowers in the place where the history of our land

was made. It was the point-defence at Jablunkov Pass, an entrance through the natural gate in the

range of the Beskyd Mountains of Těšín, with the crew of the emperor’s military unit. These days,

anybody (that is, those not scared off by the sheep and goats) can walk through it.

The sheep and goats are not only the

living and ecologic “lawn mowers”, but

also a tourist attraction. You may walk

in a place with the most picturesque

views. You can see the district of Těšín

on one side and of Kysuce in Slovakia on

the other. Cities spread out below with

the noise and fuzz of all that urban life

is. The endless rush is replaced with the

monotonous sound of wildlife and the

important, sometimes warning baa of the

ram and high pitched bleats of the lambs.

Can you imagine any better way to get

your brain rebooted?

However, this place did not always feel

comforting. Quite the contrary, it much

too often smelt of gun powder, of soldiers’

sweat, of bloodshed and a fight for lives.

Mosty u Jablunkova has traditionally been

a place of great strategic importance. Who

would not carefully guard the border and

entrance to their country? The corridor

which merchant caravans walked in peace

became the passage for armies to march in

times of conflicts.

Defence Sconce Šance was built in this

ideal location, looking over all the region

in all directions to preclude the invasion of

the Turks. It was repeatedly renewed and

improved so as to resist newer and stronger

weapons and military strategies. The layout

resembled a star, as you can clearly see.

Even though the fortress was always a stateof-art construction, it was conquered by

Prussian armies a few times.

In 1765, Joseph II, son of the empress Maria

Theresa, visited this fortress in the east of

the present Czech Republic. When he saw

the poor condition of the construction, he

ordered its renewal. The young man, who

later became famous for his numerous

reforms, also “reformed” the fortress, adding

a post office and forest district office.

This visit also explains a legend: do you

know why the Gorols’ (Beskyd Highlander)

waistcoat buttons are decorated with an

Austrian eagle? It is the reminder of this visit

of the heir to the throne at Šance. Whenever

Joseph II went to a distant location of the

empire, he was of course accompanied by a

caravan of hairdressers, assistants, hostlers,

tailors and servants of various kinds. One

of the tailors left a case in a local cottage.

When the delegation left and the case was

opened, people discovered it was full of

buttons to fit and fix the emperor’s uniform.

Just in case he lost a button-- very clever,

wasn’t it? A case full of buttons which were

not wasted. To honour the precious visitor,

the Gorols decorated their best clothes with

the emperor’s buttons and keep doing so

even now.

Nowadays, the place is no longer soaked

with the sweat and blood of soldiers of

fortune, yet the land speaks of the great

stories of Jablunkov Pass where merchants

in peace and armies in war ages passed

through. A constant caravan of trucks and

lorries down in the valley connecting the

Czech and Slovak Republics contributes

more chapters. The chapters which develop

the book once started with horse-driven

carriages loaded with amber, salt, spices

and jewels, continue with truckloads of

anything that a human being might wish for.

Mapa pevnosti Šance, Mosty u Jablunkova

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