Paracelsus’s Stay

In 1536 Philip Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus of Hohenheim visited the local château at the invitation of hereditary marshal Jan of Lipá, to treat his gallstones. The following year he visited Bratislava; he probably never visited Bohemia. At Moravský Krumlov he stayed in the main château tower. Here he wrote the third volume of his most important work, Die grosse Wundarznei, the beginning of Astrologia magna, Labyrinthus and a treatise on stone disease. He spent almost two years here, commemorated by the château’s so-called Paracelsus Hall. F. A. T. Paracelsus (1493–1541) was born in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. He travelled widely and allegedly received the Philosopher’s Stone in Turkey from the adept Solomon Trismosin. He became professor of medicine at Basel University. He is regarded as a founder of modern medical science and one of the greatest alchemists of all time. He supposedly carried the Philosopher’s Stone in the round handle of his staff, with which he was most often portrayed. At the end of the 16th century, the Prague physician and mathematician Dr Bulder collected Paracelsus’s texts. They were also owned by Rudolf II, whose personal physician and alchemist Martin Ruland studied them closely. Among Paracelsus’s many pupils, Oswald Crollius was one of the most important.