Karlštejn Castle

Address:	Central Bohemia , Czech Republic
Wheelchair access:	Yes
Reviews:	(1)

Address:

Central Bohemia , Czech Republic

Wheelchair access:

Yes

Reviews:

(1)

Karlštejn Castle is one of the most famous castles in the Czech Republic

The Disney-like Gothic castle was founded in the 14th century by Charles IV - the King of Bohemia and Roman Emperor. It is located about 30 km South West of Prague above the village holding the same name. This castle was to serve as a place to store the Royal treasures, collections of holy relics and the crown jewels (i.e St. Wenceslas).

The treasure was to be found under the Chapel of St. Cross, the most beautiful part of the castle. It was decorated with gemstones, gold, stars of the Venice glassware, gold-coated chains and a unique portrait gallery of The Whole Army of Heaven, which dates more than five hundred years back.

The Karlštejn Castle also served as the King´s retreat and the King personally supervised the construction works and interior decorations. The castle stands on a hill surrounded by other hills, so unless you are really close, you cannot see it. And since it is impossible to see the castle from afar, it was never conquered in the past!

Nowadays

Czechs also love the castle because of the musical made in the 1970s (based on play by Czech writer Jaroslav Vrchlický) which tells the story of the king Charles IV and his alleged prohibiton of women staying at the castle only to learn his own wife as well as burgrave´s niece hid there...

We suggest to spend some time at the picturesque village, admire the works of local artists or if you fancy bit of hike you can visit the beautiful geological sites (Mexiko, Malá Amerika, Velká Amerika) located few kilometres away.