Klempenow Castle was built during the time of German settlement in Pomerania in the 13th century and formed part of a series of fortifications on the border with Mecklenburg. The original castle consisted of two towers and a three metre thick defensive wall. It has been substantially altered during the centuries.
During the 17th century it acquired more or less the present shape and look. When Pomerania was ruled by Sweden, the castle was given as a fief to Dodo zu Innhausen und Knyphausen by the Swedish king. From 1762, it belonged to the Swedish Crown. It has since housed several different residents; after World War II, it housed refugees expelled from former German lands and at one time as many as fourteen families lived in the castle. After 1990, a renovation of the castle was carried out.
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.