At the beginning of the 14th century, the noble family of Vartemberk ordered the building of a castle on the hill near Nová Paka. It was originally called Goldenberk or Kolmburk, today`s Kumburk.
Because of massive renovation work, we do not know much about the original look of the castle. At the northeastern side, there are remnants of probably a walled fortification that may have been developed along the whole core structure. The fortification to protect against cannon attack is one of the best examples of the efforts made in the mid 15th century to protect places in an active way. From 1621 Kumburk was in the possession of Albrecht of Valdštejn. After his death, the castle changed hands several times and then, after 1658, Kumburk was nearly destroyed. In spite of that, nowadays it belongs among our most interesting castles.
The shortest way is from the railway station in Syřenov, along the yellow trail (3km). Other alternatives are Nová Paka and Stará Paka (4km) or the popular red tourist trail from Ploužnice (7km).
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.