Knights of Štramberk Castle

KNIGHTS OF ŠTRAMBERK CASTLE (CIVIC ASSOCIATION)

Štramberská Trúba
Kopec 77
74266 Štramberk

Knights of Štramberk Castle is a civic association established in accordance with Act no. 83/1990 (the Act on Civic Associations). It is a non-profit, independent and non-political institution.

The civic association was registered on 24 September 2010 as number 22854932.

The aims of the association are as follows:

Supporting the development of Štramberk Castle;
Protecting, restoring and reconstructing tangible, intangible and intellectual cultural heritage;
Pursuing the shared goals and needs of association members;
Promoting new knowledge and increasing the level of knowledge among the association’s members;

To achieve the goals set out above, the association is involved in the following activities:

Performing various activities for the benefit of the public connected with heritage conservation, cultural heritage, information and human resources at Štramberk Castle:
Acquiring real estate and non-movable assets, managing these assets;
Providing consultancy and information to municipalities, the general public, and public associations;
Running seminars, training sessions, lectures, exhibitions, courses and conferences;
Organizing study visits and tours (the latter in cooperation with travel agencies);
Organizing non-political civic campaigns and petitions;
Preparing and issuing various publications (not for profit);
Participating in official proceedings with government authorities;
Cooperating with other associations sharing similar goals;
Working to share information and experience with other organizations, institutions and individuals in the Czech Republic and abroad;
Searching for sponsors, donors and potential partners in the Czech Republic and abroad.

For more information, or if you are interested in becoming a member of the Knights of Štramberk Castle, please contact us by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We look forward to hearing from you!

Knights of Štramberk Castle

History of the Orders of Knights

Orders of Knights (also known as chivalric orders) were established in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, mainly in connection with the Crusades to the Holy Land. These fellowships gradually became important military organizations in the small Christian states which were set up in the Eastern Mediterranean region during the Crusades.

The original purpose of these chivalric orders was to provide care to pilgrims who fell sick on their journeys to the Holy Land. However, their role gradually changed as increasing emphasis was placed on their armed units, which helped to spread Christianity (which is why so many orders have a cross as part of their symbol) and to hold back the influence of Islam. Members of these orders were subject to traditional monastic vows (poverty, chastity, obedience), but they also had to fight against non-Christians, who were known as pagans. Later, more of these orders were founded in Spain and north-eastern Europe.

Eventually, the military role of the chivalric orders – as a fighting force against the Arabs and a means of spreading Christianity – became weaker, and the knights began to concentrate on accumulating wealth and property. This led to conflicts between the orders and the Pope, and it also provoked clashes with monarchs; in many cases, the orders were dissolved and their assets were seized.

Some chivalric orders have survived to the present day. They are now entirely devoted to charitable work, although their internal structure and hierarchy still recalls their medieval origins. In the 19th and 20th centuries several new orders were established, imitating their medieval predecessors.

PDF DOCUMENTS TO DOWNLOAD:

Registration of the Knights of Štramberk Castle (civic association)

Statutes of the Knights of Štramberk Castle (civic association)