Andělská Hora
View from a volcanic chimney
The ruins of a medieval castle on a phonolite crag (elevation 717 m). It was not until 1402 that the castle was first mentioned in a written account by Boreš from Osek. During its existence, the castle changed hands frequently – alternately, it belonged to the lords of Hazmburk, to the Vřesovice family, the Schlick family, to the lords of Plauen, the Czernin family and to the royal crown as well. In 1635, it was captured by the Swedish and then maintained merely out of necessity. After a fire in 1718, the castle was abandoned once and for all.
Andělská Hora was a popular picnic spot with the spa guests of Karlovy Vary during its greatest boom. In 1786, it was even visited by Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The craggy hill rises 100 m above the environs and, in clear weather, provides a fantastic view that stretches far beyond the boundary of the geopark – to the eastern region of the Krušné Hory Mts., to the volcanic Doupovské Hory Mts. and even as far as the Teplá Highlands.
From a geological perspective, it is a Tertiary chimney in the western surroundings of the Doupov Volcanic Complex, which broke through the granites of the Karlovy Vary Pluton. It was later exposed by denudation above the level of the surrounding planated surface. The body is skirted by talus and soliflucted rocky soil. The igneous rock is classified as sodalite-nepheline trachyte or as trachyandesite.
The former Pilgrimage and Cemetary Church of the Holiest Trinity from 1712, a valuable religious monument, is located in the town below the castle.
Its unique feature is an entirely regular triangular layout. Near the church stands a historic lime tree, where a spring once flowed, whose water is said to have miraculously cured numerous sick pilgrims.
A nature trail that passes through Andělská Hora leads us further on to Šemnická Cliff, which is linked to old legends.
