Around the overgrown Helfštýn, tall trees will be cut down

Olomouc - Trees in the vicinity of Helfštýn Castle in the Přerov region are to be cut down in the spring. The Olomouc regional authority wants to fell about 1.4 hectares of forest because the castle cannot be seen from the "bottom" of the Moravian Gate. Indeed, trees overshadow the view from the future D47 highway and the main railway line. However, the castle administration takes a lukewarm stance on the plan.
    "I think that our greater priority is the excavation and archaeological survey of the Bottomless Well and the reconstruction of the black kitchen into a new exhibition," said the castle administrator Marcela Kleckerová today to ČTK. According to her, there should not be a clearing created beneath the castle. "I would recommend preserving at least solitary trees or groups of trees; the line of the walls does not need to be visible along its entire length," believes Kleckerová.
    Deputy Governor Pavel Horák stated that the felling is requested by the town of Lipník nad Bečvou, the Helfštýn Beautification Association, and the municipality of Týn nad Bečvou. "Often, these are invasive tree species; replacement planting would be done at the extraction site, including shrubs and smaller trees," explained Horák.
    Felling should begin in March, with estimated costs around half a million crowns. "However, it is possible that we will reach another agreement with the foresters regarding some compensation for the felled wood," added Horák.
    Helfštýn was founded in 1306 by the marauding knight Friduš of Linava. It was significantly expanded by the lords of Kravař and Sovinec. The castle was unsuccessfully besieged by the Hungarians in the 15th century and the Swedes in the 18th century. Its current annual attendance is around 100,000 people. It is also famous for a blacksmith symposium called Hefaiston. Period drawings and photographs from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries capture it on a bare hill.