Freudenburg Castle was built between 1330 and 1337 by John, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg. As part of a castle protectorate between Trier and Luxembourg, it served to secure the road between the cities of Trier and Metz.
During the 15th century the castle fell into disrepair until it was bought by the St. Maximin's Abbey in 1589. They had the castle restored. In a dispute between the abbey and the Archbishop-Elector of Trier; Philipp Christoph von Sötern, the troops of the Archbishop took the castle in 1646 and destroyed it. It was never rebuilt.
Freudenburg Castle was built at the end of a rocky spur. It was separated from the village by a broad dry moat cut out of the rock. Originally a wooden bridge would have given access to the castle from the village. The castle plan follows the outline of the spur, giving it a triangular ground plan.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.