Pecka Castle is a gem of the Podkrkonoší region. From the castle lookout, you can see the central massif of the Krkonoše Mountains with the peaks of Sněžka and Černá hora, or the highest point of the region, Zvičina.
Pecka Castle was founded in the early 13th century. In the late 16th century, the Gothic castle was rebuilt to a Renaissance residence. It flourished at the beginning of the 17th century when it was inhabited by Kryštof Harant of Polžice and Bezdružice (1564–1621), an educated Renaissance intellectual. He spent his last and the most fruitful period of his life there. Kryštof Harant went down in Czech history as a traveller, composer, writer and politician.
The tour of Pecka Castle includes a tour of the reconstructed Harant Palace where there are seven interior rooms, a torture chamber and a basement vault. The exposition on the first and second floor focuses on the history of the castle, the life and work of Kryštof Harant of Polžice and Bezdružice, and generally on the period of Renaissance and Early Baroque.
An interesting part is the tour of a stylish open-hearth kitchen with an operating Renaissance fireplace and the basement vault with the torture chamber. The best known instruments of torture are on display in the torture chamber, from the rack and windlass to the Spanish boot. The tour is livened up with an authentic demonstration of melodies from a hundred-year-old harmonicon. There is also an interesting well; it is illuminated and 56 metres deep.
References:Stobi was an ancient town of Paeonia located near Gradsko. It is considered by many to be the most famous archaeological site in North Macedonia. Stobi was built where the Erigon (Crna River) joins the Axios (Vardar), making it strategically important as a center for both trade and warfare.
Stobi developed from a Paeonian settlement established in the Archaic period. It is believed that in 217 BCE, Philip V annexed Paionia during his campaign against the Dardani who had entered Bylazora, the largest Paeonian town.
The city was first mentioned in writing by the historian Livy, in connection with a victory of Philip V of Macedon over the Dardani in 197 BC. In 168 BC, the Romans defeated Perseus and Macedonia was divided into four nominally independent republics. In 148 BC, the four areas of Macedonia were brought together in a unified Roman province. In the reign of Augustus the city grew in size and population.