The Secrets of Staré zámky

South of the village once stood a prehistoric hillfort and later a fortified Slavic residence. In the Middle Ages, Šember Castle was built here for the monks of Skalice. The place is called Šember, Na zámkách or Na starých zámkách. A secret passage supposedly leads from Zámky to Kostelec nad Černými lesy, hiding a great treasure of jewellery and precious stones. On Good Friday, a little man’s ghost appears with a sack full of ducats that he continually shakes. A black carriage drawn by two pairs of black horses is also sometimes seen, carrying two silent princesses in black velvet. A stone called Ženská, the Woman, also stood here. Woodland fairies once danced a boy to death at this spot, and a stone in human form stood there afterwards. J. V. Grohmann relates in his Czech Legends that the devil sits on the northern spur of the Šemberk ruins and plays the bagpipes.