Those who built the castles of the Czech Republic many centuries ago probably could not even imagine that hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world would someday walk on them.
In the Czech Republic, castles were built for practical reasons - to protect against troops of various enemy states who dreamed of seizing the wealth and land of this country.
In the following centuries, medieval fortresses were rebuilt several times. Castles of the Czech Republic gradually turned from military fortresses into luxurious residences of noble families (Lichenstein, Schwarzenberg and others), as well as monarchs. However, the powerful towers and their walls, growing from the rocks, still showed impregnability and greatness.
Castles of the Czech Republic for modern tourists - a source of artistic experience. At the same time, it is an opportunity to look at the lives of their inhabitants through the centuries. Almost all the Czech castles mentioned in this article are located near Prague.
Prague Castle
Going to the Czech capital, you should definitely visit this most famous castle in the country. This is the central attraction of the city. Prague Castle was the main residence of Czech kings (today - presidents). It grew out of a fortress erected in 880 on this site. Prague Castle has since experienced periods of oblivion and several destructive raids. However, time passed, and he was reborn again, personifying the inviolability of the power of the monarch.
Prague Castle today is an architectural museum that gathered particles from different eras of history outside its walls. The most ancient "exhibits" are parts of the wall of the church of the Virgin Mary erected here (date back to the 9th century), as well as the rotunda of St. Vita (dated 10th century), which is "hidden" in the basement of the Cathedral of St. Vita (14th century), her majestic Gothic descendant.
Karlstejn
Karlstejn is the second most visited castle in the Czech Republic after Prague Castle. Its square tower and gray-green roofs look at tourists from almost all guidebooks. Many people are attracted here by the spirit of the legendary era, which glorified the Czech kingdom throughout Europe. If you decide to see the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic, do not forget to visit Karlstejn.
The castle was built by Charles IV - the first king of the Czech Republic, who was able to become emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. This construction was a reliable military fortification for Karl, his magnificent country residence and at the same time a treasury, since works of art, jewelry, royal regalia were stored here.
Hluboka over the Vltava
Almost 300 thousand tourists who come annually to look at the Hluboká nad Vltavou castle (Czech Republic) will agree that it is one of the most romantic and beautiful in this country. Therefore, if you want your beloved to feel like a princess from a fairy tale, be sure to visit this place together (you can even arrange a wedding ceremony here). The Czech Republic, whose castles and fortresses amaze with its grandeur, is an ideal place for a romantic trip.
Hluboka was built in the 13th century, but acquired its neo-Gothic splendor later in the second half of the 19th century. This style at that time, in the romantic era, was extremely popular. Hluboká Castle (Czech Republic) is interesting both outside and inside. Inside, you will find collections of various works of art, as well as luxurious historical interiors.
Czech krumlov
A unique historical monument is Český Krumlov. It is not by chance that UNESCO included it in the list of World Heritage Sites. Cesky Krumlov is a whole ancient city. The castle itself rises on a rocky ledge in the center of it. The medieval street layout is still preserved here. You can see in this place buildings belonging to the most diverse architectural eras (from the 14th to the 19th century). About 300 thousand tourists come here every year in order to feel the aroma of the past.
Konopiste
The most famous of all the inhabitants of this castle is Archduke Ferdinand. It was with the murder of this man that the First World War began. However, tourists are attracted here not only by this fact. Konopiste, a Gothic castle, is located in a very picturesque place. It is located on a wooded shore of the lake.
In addition, here you can find the largest collection of historical weapons in Europe, as well as hunting trophies and armor, not counting works of art and collections of majolica.
Sikhrov
Sikhrov was never a military building. It was created at the end of the 17th century, when knightly times were long forgotten. Sikhrov became a manor castle, made in the French spirit, which was brought here by Rogan-Rochefort, its owners. They collected a very interesting collection of paintings here, but the main treasures of the castle were miniatures of the 16th century, a collection of antique furniture, a luxurious library, the Dvorak museum, carved wood interiors, and the ghost of the “black lady”.
Loket
Loket Castle (Czech Republic) is visited by those who want to look at real antiquity. It is one of the best in the country, which has preserved almost completely a medieval look: powerful towers, small windows, stone walls. Loket is especially distinguished from other castles-palaces, luxuriously finished with its serious and gloomy appearance. But this was to be expected from the building, which is a border fortress, built not at all for amusement on the impregnable bend of the Ohří River.
The Romanesque rotunda, dating back to the 12th century, is considered the oldest of the other buildings that make up Loket Castle (Czech Republic). A museum of Czech porcelain awaits you inside. Karlovy Vary Region is famous for its products. You will also find a book binding museum and a basement exposition of an ancient prison with instruments of torture exhibited here.
Orlik nad Vltava
Describing the most beautiful castles of the Czech Republic, it is impossible not to mention Orlik nad Vltava. The name "Orlik" is an echo of the memory of the eagles that once lived in the vicinity of this place. The building itself is located on a high rocky cape that crashes into the river. Orlik Castle (Czech Republic) resembles in itself a nest of a majestic mountain bird. Now that the waters of the Vltava River, the Orlitsky reservoir, have crept almost close to the walls, hiding the peaks surrounding it, we still do not cease to admire the charm of the white carved towers of this castle shining against the sky.
Travelers, in addition, are attracted here by a motley, but very interesting exposition, which combines historical relics of the Schwarzenbergs, an illustrious family. A collection of firearms dating back to the 17th and 20th centuries, a library, hunting trophies and an archaeological collection that displays exhibits from the time of Troy are also very interesting.
Melnik
This castle is loved by tourists not only for the picturesque area, but also for Mount Rzhip, a national shrine. Very interesting here is the architecture of the Renaissance, the Lobkowicz family collections and historical interiors. Melnik, in addition, is the center of winemaking in the Czech Republic. Here Charles IV, the emperor, brought the vine from Burgundy and set up the production of the famous drink with the help of the French. In the cellars of the castle today you can appreciate the Czech wine wealth.
Lednice
Lednice Castle in the Czech Republic, belonging to the possession of the Liechtenstein, is an excellent example of the so-called "new Gothic". It was created on the site of a medieval castle that was here earlier. Lednice is part of a complex, the area of which is 200 km 2, to which belongs a huge park and the baroque Valtice Palace.
The park, which is called the "Garden of Europe", is an authentic masterpiece of landscape architecture, made in the landscape style of England. Interesting finds await the one who decides to take a walk on it: pavilions, temples, arbors, ponds, a cave and artificial "ruins", a minaret, an aqueduct and others.
Cesky Sternberk
This impregnable Gothic building towers menacingly above the Sazava River. Sternberg Castle in the Czech Republic is one of the most visited and oldest in this country. It was founded on the site of an ancient fortification in the 13th century. The castle is the family nest of the Sternbergs - the richest and most famous noble family in the Czech Republic.
The halls are richly decorated. Impressive is the Knight's, the largest of the ceremonial halls, decorated with unique crystal chandeliers dating back to the 18th century. Each of them weighs 300 kg. There is furniture in this room that has served the owners since the 16th century. Carl Brentan, an Italian artist, painted here on the ceiling.
After the war, Sternberg Castle in the Czech Republic was nationalized, and it was only in 1992 that it was returned to Zdenek von Sternberg, the last owner who lives here permanently and sometimes conducts excursions.
These are the main castles of the Czech Republic. I would like to talk about another interesting place that can be found in this country. It is about the city of Kutna Hora.
Church of bones
In the Czech Republic is the unremarkable small town of Kutna Hora. Here, as in other small settlements, there is a church, town hall and some square.
He probably would have remained unknown if there had not been an epidemic of plague in the 14th century that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, and if some woodcarver hadn’t decided to “put in order” the remains of these victims after 5 centuries.
Decorated with bones and skulls … a church. Kutna Hora since that time has become a favorite destination for tourists from all over the world who are attracted to everything mysterious and gloomy.
History of the Ore
Otakar II, king of the Czech Republic, sent an abbot to Palestine around the second half of the 13th century. The abbot from a foreign trip brought a little land. He scattered it in the cemetery. The land, it must be said, was unusual. The priest took her to Calvary - the place where Jesus Christ was crucified, according to the New Testament.
Since then, the land in the city of Kutna Hora has been considered sacred. It was rumored that the body began to decompose only on the third day after the person was buried. Soon the glory of the Holy Land located in the center of Europe spread to other countries. Many famous people from different countries wanted to be buried in the city of Kutna Hora in the local cemetery.
In Bohemia, a plague spread in the 14th century. Thousands of relatives from all over the world drove the dead to the place where a piece of the Holy Land was.
Epidemics and medieval wars also contributed to the fact that the cemetery grew more and more. On it in 1400 a Gothic cathedral was erected. His tomb was a pantry for the bones that came from the graves.
The name of the person who came up with the first to streamline all these bone piles, unfortunately, is unknown. It is believed that he was one half-blind monk. It was he who dismantled the rubble of skulls and bones and built 6 pyramids from them.
After 400 years, the emperor ordered this cathedral to be closed. Then the Schwarzenberg family decided to buy the church along with the lands around it. Since there was nowhere to sell the remnants of the land, the Schwarzenbergs decided to hire an "interior designer" so that he would somehow transform this area. Frantiseka Rinta, a wood craftsman, approached the task quite creatively. Now we can see a unique creation of art.
