Experts + Insiders

Europe

Czech Republic

<h2>Karlštejn Castle: A gruesome history</h2>
Just southwest of Prague, dramatically soaring atop a rocky promontory, this 14th c. castle was built in a Gothic style by Charles IV, the Holy Roman emperor-elect and then-king of Bohemia. The castle once housed the Imperial Regalia, as well as the Bohemian/Czech crown jewels and holy relics.
Some of its history includes an episode of early biological warfare by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussite_Wars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hussites</a> in 1422 during a castle siege when the Hussites used catapults to throw dead bodies and 2,000 carriage-loads of animal dung over the ramparts in the hopes that infection would spread. (As you might imagine, it did indeed). There is also a well tower that channels underground water into the castle; a defensive weakness that was known only to the Emperor and his top official. The miners who dug this tunnel were purportedly killed (yikes!) when their construction efforts were completed.
<figure id="attachment_36882" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36882" style="width: 960px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-36882 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1200px-Burg_Karlstein_-_Karlštejn_-_panoramio-960px-compressed.png" alt="Karlštejn Castle" width="960" height="720" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1200px-Burg_Karlstein_-_Karlštejn_-_panoramio-960px-compressed.png 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1200px-Burg_Karlstein_-_Karlštejn_-_panoramio-960px-compressed-400x300.png 400w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1200px-Burg_Karlstein_-_Karlštejn_-_panoramio-960px-compressed-768x576.png 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/1200px-Burg_Karlstein_-_Karlštejn_-_panoramio-960px-compressed-800x600.png 800w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-36882" class="wp-caption-text">Karlštejn Castle</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Hluboká Castle</h2>
One of the country’s prettiest castles, with its slate-grey/white exterior and stately lines, Hluboká Castle has seen a lot of makeovers, from its initial 13th c. Gothic bones to its expansion and rebuilding in a Baroque style. Finally, in the 19th c., at the insistence of Adam Franz von Schwarzenberg (one of the key families known as ‘the princes of the Holy Roman Empire’), its looks were reconstructed to resemble the romantic style of England’s Windsor Castle.
There is also a lovely English-style park on the castle grounds. The last Schwarzenberg owner fled in 1939 to escape from the Nazis; as a result, the Czechoslovakian government seized the property at the end of the Second World War. The castle has been featured in a few movies, including Shanghai Knights and Underworld: Blood Wars.
<figure id="attachment_36883" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36883" style="width: 960px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-36883 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Hluboka-Castle-960px-compressed.png" alt="Hluboká Castle" width="960" height="447" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Hluboka-Castle-960px-compressed.png 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Hluboka-Castle-960px-compressed-480x224.png 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Hluboka-Castle-960px-compressed-768x358.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-36883" class="wp-caption-text">Hluboká Castle</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Český Krumlov Castle</h2>
Amidst the red-roofed town and well-preserved UNESCO World Heritage surroundings, this castle dates from 1240. With over 40 courtyards and gardens, it is unusually large for the surrounding town; one of the largest castles in the country, it’s dwarfed by none other than Prague Castle. On its grounds, you will find a remarkably well-preserved Baroque theatre, which is open to the public only twice a year for a Baroque opera performance. As with Hluboká Castle, the last owner was from the Schwarzenberg family; the property was seized by the Gestapo in 1940 and then confiscated by the Czechoslovakian government in 1945. Today, it’s owned by the state. You may have seen the castle in the films The Illusionist or Hostel.
<figure id="attachment_36884" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36884" style="width: 960px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-36884 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/czech-republic-2909179_1920-CESKY-KRUMLOV-960px-compressed.png" alt="Český Krumlov castle" width="960" height="640" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/czech-republic-2909179_1920-CESKY-KRUMLOV-960px-compressed.png 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/czech-republic-2909179_1920-CESKY-KRUMLOV-960px-compressed-450x300.png 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/czech-republic-2909179_1920-CESKY-KRUMLOV-960px-compressed-768x512.png 768w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/czech-republic-2909179_1920-CESKY-KRUMLOV-960px-compressed-900x600.png 900w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-36884" class="wp-caption-text">Český Krumlov Castle</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_36885" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36885" style="width: 231px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-36885 size-medium" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/castle-bouzov-192727_1920-350px-compressed-231x300.png" alt="Bouzov Castle" width="231" height="300" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/castle-bouzov-192727_1920-350px-compressed-231x300.png 231w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/castle-bouzov-192727_1920-350px-compressed.png 350w" sizes="(max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-36885" class="wp-caption-text">Bouzov Castle</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Bouzov Castle</h2>
This romantic-looking castle was built at the turn of the 14th c. as a safeguard over a popular trade route, and thus occupied a defensive role in the landscape. Various families changed ownership of the castle, including Jiří z Poděbrad, crowned the Czech king in 1458, and the ruling Habsburg family.
During the Thirty Years’ War, the castle was taken over by Hussites and used to imprison captured Swedes. It burned down in 1558; after much remodelling and building, its current Neogothic exterior (and swanky modern plumbing and central heating!) debuted between 1895 and 1910 (thanks to a Habsburg archduke). Once more, during the reign of the Nazis, the castle was confiscated and looted in the 1940s, ultimately returning to the Czech Republic.
Feeling inspired to witness the grandiose of Czech Republic&#8217;s castles for yourself? <a href="https://www.butterfield.com/start-planning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get in touch</a> with a member of our team to see how we can start planning your next trip here.

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