Sightseeing outside of Prague, private tours

This early Gothic castle, founded around 1240, is among the monuments, which have been named after and belonged, since their foundation up to the present, to members of a single lineage. Cesky Sternberk was conquered by the soldiers of Jiri of Podebrady in 1467. The ruined castle was later returned to the aristocracy of Sternberk and they extended it in a ostentatious reconstruction securing the castle with powerful fortifications. The last significant adaptations took place in the second half of 17th century, when the original broken silhouette nearly disappeared. During the tour you will walk through Baroque rooms with period furnishings of considerable artistic value, complemented with more recent furniture from the 19th century. There is a beautiful Baroque stucco decoration in some of the halls (for example in the Knight Hall, see picture). Other rooms are dedicated to important representatives of the Sternberk family. Among the collections, one that stands out is a large collection of graphic sheets from the 17th century. Also, historical weapons and hunting

The oldest predecessor to the present-day chateau was an early Gothic castle built around 1250. In the Middle Ages the castle was alternately an aristocratic property and a site of royal administration. In 1562 King Ferdinand I sold Hluboká together with inheritance rights to the Lords of Hradec who changed the castle into a Renaissance stately home. A century later the Hluboká estate was bought off by Jan Adolf I of Schwarzenberg, a noted European diplomat and the founder of the family branch which had stayed in South Bohemia for almost three hundred years. At the beginning of the 18th century Prince Adam Frantisek, Jan Adolf's grandson, had the chateau rebuilt in Baroque style by P. I. Bayer and his successor E. Martinelli. The portraits on the walls of the Morning Drawing Room, small dining room, smoking and reception rooms depict the most important members of the Schwarzenberg lineage. On the walls of the great dining room are exhibited a valuable collection of tapestries, woven in Brussels in the first half of the 17th century.

The castle, exceptional even among the Czech castles, not only for its historical significance but also due to its robustness and architecture. It was established by the Czech and Roman King Karel IV in 1348, who gave it the role of the treasury for the coronation insignia and the most valuable relics of the Holy Roman Empire. The basic construction of the Karlštejn castle took more than seven years, and the internal adjustments of the Chapel of the St. Cross were prolonged until 1365. The castle fortification ought to have resisted any attacks in its time, which was confirmed in 1422 when Karlštejn was besieged by Prague citizens. By decree of the Caesar Rudolf II the damaged castle buildings were repaired at the close of the 16th century but in spite of this a gradual deterioration of Karlštejn began just then. In 1619 the coronation jewels together with the archives were taken away to Prague, in 1620 a garrison surrendered the castle to the army of Ferdinand II without a fight and, in 1648, the castle was conquered by the Swedes. The castle's deterioration continued through the 18th century, but the Hapsburg rulers were aware of the historical significance of Karlštejn as well. Therefor the Caesar František II and his son Ferdinand had the most seriously damaged parts repaired. After 1853 the supervision of this work was taken over by a newly established Central Monuments Protection Commission residing in Vienna. Karlštejn gained its present appearance under the purist adjustment works in 1887 - 1899 carried out to the designs of professor Friedrich Schmidt by the architect Josef Mocker

A predecessor to the present manor was a castle of the lords of Benesov in the 14th century, refashioned under the Sternberks in the late Gothic style, and, at the start of the 17th century, in the late Renaissance style. In the first half of the 18th century the extensive Baroque modifications of the manor structure took place under the Vrtba House authority, namely on the manor's southern section. In 1887 a successor to the Austro-Hungarian throne, František Ferdinand d'Este, became owner of Konopiste, and in 1889 - 1894 he had extensively restoration performed on the manor, this work having been connected with transformations into Gothic forms. The building plans were drafted by the Czech architect, J. Mocker, who participated with J. Schmotanz in designing adjustments to the interior, afterwards enriched with quality furnishings by the archduke Ferdinand Konopiste keeps extraordinarily rich collections of artistic as well as arts and crafts articles covering the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and also modern periods, all of them being of the widest variety. A dimension of these collections puts Konopiste among the most interesting manors of Central Europe. The archduke had the famous d'Este Armory moved to Konopiste from his modern inheritance; this armory belongs among the most interesting in Europe. The collection of the church antiquities, relating to the cult of St. George, the patron of knights, is also unique. The representative halls on the first floor belong, as do the interiors, among the best. The Reception Hall and Pillared Hall, for example, both contain extraordinarily valuable Italian cabinets from the 17th century, the Big Dining Room with a ceiling painting by F. J. Lux from the middle of the 18th century, and the manor chapel with beautifully decorated vaults. Of the residential rooms it is possible to point out, for instance, the Vrtba and Tirpitz Halls, Rose Room and Vilém Bedroom. The manor passages are decorated with sundry hunting trophies.

The Krivoklat castle is one of the oldest and most significant castles built by the Czech dukes and kings, the beginnings of which date back to the 12th century. Under the rule of Pøemysl Otakar II and Václav II the foundation to this spacious and stately regal castle was laid. It was substantially rebuilt by Václav IV and later whole heartedly finished by Vladislav Jagelonský. Krivoklat was seriously damaged by fire several times. It became a feared prison and its significance decreased rapidly. In the 19th century the Fürstenberks had the castle restored in Romantic style. The former favorite hunting seat for several Czech rulers at the time has remarkable castle interiors with many well preserved elements of Medieval decoration. The monumental Great Tower holds hunting weapons and other specimens relating to the history of hunting. The beautiful castle chapel and the spacious late Gothic hall contains an exposition of the sculptural art belong to the interesting premises. There is also a precious collection of Gothic panel paintings and works of sculpture in the castle, and it is also possible to see the collections provided by the Fürstenberks in the 19th century and at the start of the 20th century, including pictures and an extensive library. There is a former prison and torture chamber in Krivoklat, worthy of mention as well as a rather unique and impressive black kitchen in the tower, called Huderka, with an observation terrace.

The rich constructional development of the present Romantic building began as early as the Middle Ages in connection with the noted House of Liechtenstein, which utilized Lednice for representation purposes since the 18th century. The manor had therefore altered its appearance according to the governing styles of architecture. The present appearance of Lednice is a result of the Neo-Gothic reconstruction of 1846 - 1858, designed by Georg Wingelmüller. The ostentatious Baroque riding school edifices, designed by the architect Johann B. Fischer of Erlach have been preserved since the end of the 17th century. There is a glass house, built in 1843 - 1845, according to the project by P. H. Desvignes, leaning to the manor on the eastern side.

The castle originated as a newly erected building since 1553 for Florian Griespek from Griespach, however its completion was interrupted by the death of the builder in 1588. The outer facades have been almost completely preserved as well as some of the interiors. Among the preserved Renaissance spaces the most interesting is the Knight Hall with a stone hearth and ceiling painting. The accessory to the castle is rich and one of high quality. Most of it comes from the castle of Roudnice, the main residence of the influential family of Lobkowitz who since 1623 owned also Nelahozeves and from whose kin is also the present owner of the castle Martin Lobkowitz. The collections of the castle contain first of all an exceptionally rich picture gallery with works of famous European masters and with one of the largest collections of Spanish portraits from the 16th and 17th centuries outside of Spain. Apart from the furniture (including exquisite pieces from 16th to 18th century) it is also possible to see, in the castle rooms, Medieval reliquaries and other clerical objects, a collection of ceramics, artistic objects made of silver and other metals, silver dishes and old musical instruments.

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