Cesky Krumlov Castle

Český Krumlov, Czech Republic

Český Krumlov Castle dates back to 1240 when the first castle was built by the Witigonen family, the main branch of the powerful Rosenberg family.

By the 17th century the Rosenbergs had died out and the dominion of Krumau was given to Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg by Emperor Ferdinand II and Eggenberg was named Duke of Krumau. After the death of Hans Ulrich's son, Johann Anton I von Eggenberg, the castle was administrated for the period between 1649 and 1664 by his widow Anna Maria.

One of her two sons, Johann Christian I von Eggenberg, was responsible for the Baroque renovations and expansions to the castle including the castle theatre now called the Eggenberg Theatre. When the male line of the Eggenbergs died out in 1717 the castle and duchy passed into the possession of the Schwarzenbergs. In 1947, the Schwarzenberg property, including Český Krumlov, was transferred to the Czech provincial properties and in 1950 it became the property of the Czechoslovak State. The entire area was declared a national monument in 1989 and in 1992 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The castle houses the Český Krumlov Baroque Theatre, which is situated on the castle courtyard. It is one of the world's most completely preserved Baroque theatres with its original theatre building, auditorium, orchestra pit, stage, stage technology, machinery, coulisses (stage curtains), librettos, costumes etc.

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Address

Zámek 59, Český Krumlov, Czech Republic
See all sites in Český Krumlov

Details

Founded: 1240
Category: Castles and fortifications in Czech Republic

More Information

www.castle.ckrumlov.cz
en.wikipedia.org
www.zamek-ceskykrumlov.eu

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Historic Centre of Cesky Krumlov (0,3 km)
St. Vitus' Church (0,3 km)
Minorite Monastery (0,3 km)


Dominican Monastery (21,4 km)
Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (21,4 km)
St. Nicholas Cathedral (21,5 km)
Hluboká Castle (28 km)
Holasovice Village (17,7 km)
Freistadt Castle (36,3 km)
Prandegg Castle Ruins (51,3 km)
Wilhering Abbey (55,2 km)
Pürnstein Castle (41,1 km)

User Reviews

Pedro Celso (15 months ago)
Probably the most beautiful view I have ever seen. During the snow season this view makes you feel like you're living on fairy tale.
Kylie Fagan (16 months ago)
Beautiful castle and great views of the city! Have been twice and I find it very impressive.
Ivan Santiago Braga (17 months ago)
Very nice castle, with a great view of the town. Most attractions are closed over winter from what I could understand, so you can only enter the museum and the tower. The theater and other attractions are closed. You can enter the castle area for free.
ahmad farisy (17 months ago)
Tough fortress. Bold. Beautiful view from fortress to village. Feel middle ages era when walking on the village. Very nice
Awesome reviews and blogs (17 months ago)
The calmest town I've ever visited . Loved this place . You can get a great scene of the town from every single place in the town. State castle is huge and a nice photographic place to visit . Castle is on the river front and on high altitude, the view of the town is great
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Cochem Castle

The original Cochem Castle, perched prominently on a hill above the Moselle River, served to collect tolls from passing ships. Modern research dates its origins to around 1100. Before its destruction by the French in 1689, the castle had a long and fascinating history. It changed hands numerous times and, like most castles, also changed its form over the centuries.

In 1151 King Konrad III ended a dispute over who should inherit Cochem Castle by laying siege to it and taking possession of it himself. That same year it became an official Imperial Castle (Reichsburg) subject to imperial authority. In 1282 it was Habsburg King Rudolf’s turn, when he conquered the Reichsburg Cochem and took it over. But just 12 years later, in 1294, the newest owner, King Adolf of Nassau pawned the castle, the town of Cochem and the surrounding region in order to finance his coronation. Adolf’s successor, Albrecht I, was unable to redeem the pledge and was forced to grant the castle to the archbishop in nearby Trier and the Electorate of Trier, which then administered the Reichsburg continuously, except for a brief interruption when Trier’s Archbishop Balduin of Luxembourg had to pawn the castle to a countess. But he got it back a year later.

The Electorate of Trier and its nobility became wealthy and powerful in large part due to the income from Cochem Castle and the rights to shipping tolls on the Moselle. Not until 1419 did the castle and its tolls come under the administration of civil bailiffs (Amtsmänner). While under the control of the bishops and electors in Trier from the 14th to the 16th century, the castle was expanded several times.

In 1688 the French invaded the Rhine and Moselle regions of the Palatinate, which included Cochem and its castle. French troops conquered the Reichsburg and then laid waste not only to the castle but also to Cochem and most of the other surrounding towns in a scorched-earth campaign. Between that time and the Congress of Vienna, the Palatinate and Cochem went back and forth between France and Prussia. In 1815 the western Palatinate and Cochem finally became part of Prussia once and for all.

Louis Jacques Ravené (1823-1879) did not live to see the completion of his renovated castle, but it was completed by his son Louis Auguste Ravené (1866-1944). Louis Auguste was only two years old when construction work at the old ruins above Cochem began in 1868, but most of the new castle took shape from 1874 to 1877, based on designs by Berlin architects. After the death of his father in 1879, Louis Auguste supervised the final stages of construction, mostly involving work on the castle’s interior. The castle was finally completed in 1890. Louis Auguste, like his father, a lover of art, filled the castle with an extensive art collection, most of which was lost during the Second World War.

In 1942, during the Nazi years, Ravené was forced to sell the family castle to the Prussian Ministry of Justice, which turned it into a law school run by the Nazi government. Following the end of the war, the castle became the property of the new state of Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate). In 1978 the city of Cochem bought the castle for 664,000 marks.

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