© 2016 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Last fall, I made the trip to Karlstejn Castle (see Straight From a Fairy Tale, October 2015), the most visited castle in the Czech Republic. Built by Czech king and Roman Emperor Charles IV, it was established as a place to store the royal treasures, collections of holy relics and the crown jewel.
Located in the town of Karlstejn, it makes for a wonderful day trip and is an impressive piece of architecture.
My son loves history and I knew that he would love taking the train, walking through the quaint village and visiting the castle. Not much has changed since my last visit, except that it was much warmer and there were many more tourists.
The Basic Tour of the Private and Representative Halls of the Holy Roman Emperor is still the only one available for walk up guests. The Sacred/Holy Area including the Chapel of the Holy Cross tour must be booked in advance.
Since I had done the Basic Tour, I was a bit disappointed that I could not take the other, however, this time was a bit different. First, our tour guide spoke much better English than the tour guide on our previous trip, so, I was able to absorb more details of the castle’s history. The other thing that changed from before were the rules concerning photography…pictures are now allowed within the castle, on the tour. A welcome change, I was excited not to have to sneak photos when the tour guide was not looking!
Definitely, a must-do on a trip to the Czech Republic, I recommend leaving early from Prague in order to beat the crowds, especially during the busy summer months. Make sure you walk the grounds within the castle’s walls and visit the Clock and Bell Tower and the Well, all included with your tour admission.
Check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe for more pictures.
Karlstejn Castle
- https://www.hradkarlstejn.cz/en
- Address: Karlštejn 172, 267 18 Karlštejn
- Hours: Jan 9-Feb 29, closed, March, 0930-1600, April- June, 0930-1700, (Tue-Sun), July 1-August 31, 0900-1830 (Mon-Sun), September, 0930-1730 (Tue-Sun), October, 0930-1630 (Tue-Sun), Nov 1- Nov 13, 1000-1500 (Tue-Sun), Nov 14-Dec 23, 1000-1500 (Sat-Sun), Dec 24-25, closed, Dec 26-Jan 8, 1000-1500 (Mon, Tue-Sun)
- Admission: Adults 270 CZK, Students (ages 6-26) and Seniors (over 65), 180 CZK, Family Ticket (2 Adults + 4 Children max) 860 CZK
- Getting There: Departures are from the main station, Hlavní nádraží or Smíchov stations, usually about every 30 minutes in the direction of Beroun.