On August 4, 2022, the original wooden viewing platform had to be closed due to its dilapidated condition. In September 2022, intensive discussions began on the design of a new viewing platform. Because we wanted to avoid further problems and the frequent maintenance that wood exposed to extreme weather requires, we decided to choose a modern durable steel structure. The construction of the viewing platform followed the implementation of drainage and paving of the tower.

Interesting facts about the construction:

• During the design phase, the interior of the Baba tower was perfectly surveyed using a 3D scanner.

• The construction was completed in record time. It took exactly 45 days from the handover of the construction site to the final inspection!

• All the materials for the construction of the viewing platform, including auxiliary structures (scaffolding), were carried up the stairs by hand by workers from the construction company.

• The new viewing platform was opened to the public exactly       

  666 days after the closure of the original wooden viewing platform.

Due to rainwater seeping into the tower floor and subsequently rising through the perimeter masonry and disturbing the rock beneath the tower during freezing, drainage of the tower and related paving of the floor with basalt brushwood was carried out in the spring of 2024.

Interesting facts about the construction:

• The material was transported to the tower by cable car from the courtyard in 100 kg batches, with a total of approximately 65 tons of material being transported to the tower in this way!

• The upper station of the cable car was at the top of the masonry, so scaffolding had to be erected on the tower.

• The new floor is almost one meter (three sandstone steps) higher than the original floor.

• Basalt cobblestones from the square in Česká Lípa were used to pave the tower. They had been stored for many years at Grabštejn Castle, from where they were transported to Trosky. The worn stones from the square look very authentic.

The castle walls require ongoing maintenance. Medieval stone walls were built in such a way that while the faces were thoroughly lined with mortar, the core of the wall was assembled or poured from heterogeneous materials - clay, stones, mortar. Due to moisture and weather conditions, the mortar joints in the facing masonry crumble, the stones become loose, and the facing can separate from the core, for example due to the growth of vegetation, making the wall unstable. These are all reasons why the wall masonry is continuously repointed or, in some cases, locally rebuilt. There are specific procedures for this, approved by experts in the field of monument preservation. It is always necessary to thoroughly clean the wall of vegetation, scrape out damaged joints, fill them with mortar, and smooth them. It is painstaking work, and it will take a few more years before all the wall masonry at Trosky is repaired in this way.

Interesting facts about the construction:

• The first repairs and securing of the wall masonry took place during the Aehrenthal era, followed by further repairs during the First Republic, and continued in the 1970s and 1990s. Some were high quality, others less so. Heritage conservation and the methods used to carry it out are also evolving.

• It is often difficult to erect scaffolding on the uneven terrain along the walls. This is always a challenge for the scaffolders. Not to mention the fact that they have to carry the individual parts of the scaffolding on foot from the first courtyard to the repair site.

• Once, wild bees that had built a nest in the wall made the grouting work really difficult for us. They scared the stonemasons, and the repairs took a few days longer because of their extermination.

This was a challenge. Most carpenters and tinsmiths are used to working at heights, but few of them regularly work on towers, and working on the roof of a tower standing on a high rock is a real exception for them. Due to its age, the roof was leaking, the trusses were starting to rot in places, and some beams needed to be replaced. It was also necessary to replace one strip of copper roofing and reseal the joints. Everything was successful, and the roof will serve for many years to come.

Interesting facts about the construction:

• The highest point is just over 100 m from the roof to the base of the rock.

• During the transport of beams to the tower by cable car, the motor winch broke down. The craftsmen therefore had to pull some of the beams up to the tower by hand.

• During the roof repairs, winged ants swarmed directly above the hot metal roof. This swarming occurs twice a year, always for about four days, but unfortunately, the ants do not give us advance notice when we are planning such work. Because of them, the craftsmen worked mainly early in the morning and in the evening before dusk, when there were significantly fewer ants.

As the saying goes, care of ruins is a constant battle with greenery. While goats graze on a large part of the castle hill, taming the greenery at the castle is a human task. In addition to caring for the trees on the grounds and in the immediate vicinity of the castle, we have to remove self-sown trees and shrubs from both the castle walls and the rocks, as their roots are damaging the masonry. We also reduce the ivy climbing on the walls – although it looks beautiful, it acts as an unwanted burden on the castle walls.

Interesting facts about greenery maintenance:

• Most of the "gardening" and arboriculture work at Trosky is carried out on ropes.

• There are also rare plant species on the rocks, such as various types of wormwood, fescue, and rock plants. All work is carried out in consultation with nature conservation experts and in accordance with the Trosky Natural Monument Care Plan.

• Grapevines grow behind the first wall. If you visit Trosky at the end of September or beginning of October, you can pick sweet grapes for a snack.