Konojedy a Levínsko
Mausoleum
Above the village of Horní Vysoké, which today is part of Levín, is a very interesting building. It is a mausoleum built on the plans of architect Ludwig Ritter von Zettel in 1881. He constructed the mausoleum for the family of the Liběšice industrialist Josef Schroll. This great textile industry entrepreneur bought the Liběšice estates in 1871 from the Lobkovicz family. Two years later he was elevated to the aristocracy and had a monumental tomb built in the greek-antique style on the hillside where he was ennobled. Josef Schroll also built a lodge with a restaurant in an area not far from the castle Hrádek (also called Helfenburk), and he reconstructed the tower there. Josef was the middle son of Benedikt Schroll, who was a prominent person among textile merchants in the 1830s. He died on 4. October 1891 and Liběšice belonged to his descendents until 1945. His daughters Johana and Eleonor likewise took over the large textile firm, which his father had controlled since 1865. The mausoleum is built on a groundplan of a Greek cross, at the top finished with a copula. One very interesting and also practical element of the building is the absence of windows in the tomb walls. The tomb walls are penetrated only by the spectacular south entrance and aeration slots. Signs of huge ramparts in the vicinity suggest that long ago there was a fortification here. Unfortunately we don't know much about its origins. Under the eastern slope of the fortification lies the village of Hradec with a number of folk architecture buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. The mausoleum is accessible on foot, on the green tourist trail from Horní Vysoké. The trail goes slightly uphill through a forest. There is also a side-trail on the right, which leads to a cliff viewpoint in the direction of Levín. You cannot miss the detour, it is marked with a large wooden cross. Currently the area around the mausoleum is felled, so it is well-visible from afar. The mausoleum used to belong to Lesy ČR (the Czech forestry commission), now the village of Liběšice owns it, but unfortunately the interior is not accessible.
Mausoleum–Levín
Mausoleum from the road
Mausoleum from the side
Mausoleum-observation point
