Hrubá Skála is a village and municipality in Semily District

Semily District

Semily District is a district within the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital city is Semily.-Complete list of towns and villages:Bělá -Benecko -Benešov u Semil -Bozkov -...

 of the Liberec Region

Liberec Region

Liberec Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. Region borders with Saxony, and Poland...

 in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

. It is located about 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Turnov

Turnov

Turnov is a town on the Jizera river in the northern Czech Republic. It has about 14,500 inhabitants and lies in the southern part of Liberec Region. It is a traditional center for gemstone polishing, glass craftmanship and arts....

 within the Bohemian Paradise

Bohemian Paradise

Bohemian Paradise is a protected landscape area located in the North of the Czech Republic. There are numerous hiking and biking trails and several campsites...

 landscape area. The municipality also comprises the villages of Bohuslav, Borek, Doubravice, Hnanice, Krčkovice, Rokytnice and Želejov.

Hrubá Skála Castle situated on a steep sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 cliff was first mentioned in a 1353 deed, then a possession of the Waldstein

Waldstein family

The House of Waldstein is a Bohemian noble family. It acquired large properties in Bohemia and Moravia and produced many statesmen and civil servants. In 1628 the family was one of the first among the Bohemian nobility to be promoted to graf status, then to Reichsgraf two years later...

 (Wallenstein) dynasty. In 1821 Franz de Paula Adam von Waldstein

Franz de Paula Adam von Waldstein

Franz de Paula Adam Norbert Wenzel Ludwig Valentin von Waldstein was an Austrian soldier, explorer and naturalist....

 sold the estates to the Aehrenthal noble family, the later Austro-Hungarian foreign minister Count Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal was born here in 1854.