The village of Wenkau was located on the southern slope of the ridge and had about 44 houses with about 200 inhabitants, 635 to 750 m above sea level. The houses were scattered. The inhabitants worked in agriculture, but also in factories and in the forest. Mainly women did home work and made trimmings.
Worth mentioning is the romantic Höllenschlucht with the mill pond and the rubble hill of the old Wenkau castle ruin. From the nearby Katzenstein and from the Publet one could enjoy a magnificent view of the Eger valley, the Saaz region and the Duppau mountains. Wenkau had a noticeably milder climate compared to Köstelwald/Kotlina.
The village probably originated after 1520 as a "grist mill" of Kupferberg/Měděnec. Around 1543 a small castle was built at the upper end of the Bettlohbach valley, which was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. Around the former Wenkau castle was the subject of various legends, such as "The gray castle woman of Wenkau" or "The dead guest".
(Text: Anton Müller, senior teacher in Köstelwald)