Český Krumlov
We woke early after our first night in Český Krumlov – truth be told, we’d hardly slept at all. The Hotel Ruze where we were staying is a converted Franciscan monastery, and while the rooms are quite reasonable, sadly it seems the beds haven’t been changed since the last monk left in 1773. They were absolutely as hard as rocks, and as an added bonus, mine included a coil-spring mattress that had a broken spring, which as a result left me with a sharp spike of metal stabbing me in the back for much of the night. Thankfully we had an emergency supply of Panadeine Forte with us, which was able to dull the pain enough that we could join the walking tour after breakfast.
Český Krumlov lies on the Vltava River (known in Germany as the Moldau), the same river that eventually flows into Prague some 130km to the north. While human habitation of the area goes back at least as far as the Older Stone Age, 70,000 – 50,000 BC, the current town’s origins can be traced back to the founding of the first Český Krumlov Castle by the Vitkovci family in 1250. The Vitkovci line became extinct in the early 14th century, during which time King Wenceslas II ceded it to the Rosenberg family. It is to the Rosenbergs that most of the town’s emblematic roses painted on many of the buildings can be attributed.
In the early years the original settlement of Český Krumlov (called Latrán) sprang up spontaneously around the base of the castle walls, but soon after a new settlement (known as the old town) was formed on the inside bend of the river. Surprisingly, these two settlements remained separate for more than a century, but both flourished under the rule of the Rosenbergs, reaching the peak of prosperity in the mid-16th century, when both settlements were united as one town for the first time. In the late 15th century, a gold discovery next to the town brought an influx of German settlers, and the ethnic balance of the town changed. Also around this time, the castle was enlarged considerably and rebuilt in the Renaissance style.
By the early 17th century, the castle had been sold to the Emperor Rudolf II of the Habsburgs, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Bohemia. After the failed Bohemian revolt of 1620, the castle was gifted to the influential Austrian House of Eggenberg, who lived most of the year in Vienna, and used the castle at Český Krumlov only for hunting purposes. The castle then changed hands again, coming into the ownership of House Schwarzenberg, a powerful German and Bohemian family, who owned the castle until 1947, when it passed into state ownership under the rule of the communists.
During the communist era, the castle and much of the town fell into disrepair. The Český Krumlov that we see today, with its ornately decorated walls and roofs, has largely been restored and redecorated after the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when the area started to become popular again with Western tourists. The Castle and historic town centre have been a declared UNESCO World Heritage site since 1992, and today it is one of the most popular tourist areas in the country, with the castle being the second most visited castle in all of the Czech Republic, behind Prague Castle.
Our guided walk this morning took us through much of the old town and across the river into the Latrán area, finishing within the inner courtyard of the castle complex. Unfortunately, most of the castle is closed at this time of the year, although it is still possible to climb the old tower (which we didn’t) and visit the museum/gift shop (ditto).
The old town itself is quite unique, with an amazing blend of little laneways and quirky shops. The streets are all cobblestones, which can be a bit tricky in wet weather, but luckily today was a gorgeously crisp, blue sky day, with last night’s light snowfalls just a distant memory.
There are a lot of jewellery shops in Český Krumlov, as there are extensive deposits of garnets and amber in the surrounding region, as well as a green glass-like gemstone known as Moldavite. 15-million years ago, a massive meteorite struck the Earth in an area north of the Danube at what is now known as the impact crater of Nördlinger Ries. The superheated material that was ejected into the atmosphere from this impact included a green silica glass which became known as Moldavite, and in Český Krumlov there are a number of jewellers who specialise in this gemstone, both in its cut, translucent-green form, and in its uncut form, which is dark green, almost black. The name Moldavite comes from the German name for the Vltava River (Moldau) where Český Krumlov lies.
Although the interior of the castle was closed, there was still a lot to explore outside, and we made our way first into the exterior courtyard of the castle, through what originally would have been the castle’s farm and orchard area.
The walk then passes across the castle’s old moat. Here there is some conjecture, as the moat is now home to three brown bears. Bears have been a feature of the castle since the 16th century and there is an old Czech saying that goes something like if the bears were to ever leave Český Krumlov, the castle would collapse. Originally the bears were kept outside of the walls, in an enclosure near the hunting lodge, however when this area was turned into a carpark during the communist era, they were transferred to the old moat. It was actually quite sad to see these magnificent creatures contained in a small rocky enclosure like this, although our guide assured us that underneath the entry ramp to the castle the bears’ lodgings were quite well appointed. She also explained that two of the current bears had been seized at the Czech border from Russian smugglers who had intended a far worse outcome for them. Nonetheless, it’s hard not to feel regret at the way these beautiful animals are treated.
Of course the bears are just a small part of a much larger culture synonymous with the castle – that of hunting. In Europe during the 16th to 18th centuries, to be of noble birth was to be a hunter, or put simply, if you didn’t hunt, you didn’t exist in high society. All throughout the grounds there are reminders that this castle for a long time existed as a playground for the rich and famous who came to hunt in the vast forests that surrounded Český Krumlov.
There are other symbols of power on display inside this inner courtyard, an area that held the castle guards’ lodgings. These include a number of large canons, and giant cannonballs hewn from the local stone. Our guided tour ended here, but I was keen to show Vanessa the views from on top of the hill, so we continued on our own.
At the end of the courtyard is a timber ramp that leads steeply up to the higher areas of the castle grounds. Along the way there is a small balcony that offers the first glimpse of the town below. After waiting for our turn to step out onto the balcony, we were surprised at the bright sunshine that was streaming across the rooftops of the houses as we looked out across the the river far below.
The path continued upwards to a large open area with a low outer wall that offered even better views across the old town. As it headed further up the hill, the walls became gradually higher, with small windows cut at regular intervals to allow even more vantage points from which to view the town.
Eventually we reached the walking bridge across to the gardens, but with winter well and truly set in there was little point in going any further, plus the grounds here were absolutely crawling with tour groups. Most of the river cruises concentrate on the big Christmas markets and avoid coming to Český Krumlov at this time of the year, so the tour groups in December are predominantly from China. In fact many of the guests staying at the hotel we are booked into belong to these tour groups, and the hotel has quite a lucrative side-hustle going hiring out mediaeval costumes to the mainly Gen-Z visitors. Therefore it was not surprising to see a number of Chinese lads and lasses wandering about the castle grounds in full court regalia.
Making our way back into town, we stopped at a shoe shop to purchase a pair of sturdy hiking boots for me, as my Temu specials had started leaking in places you don’t want your hiking boots to leak. So I opted instead to revisit my youth and get a tough pair of Bata boots – Bata being a worldwide shoe company that was founded in the Czech Republic. After that, we crossed the river and sat down for lunch at a hotel directly by the bridge. We had a delicious meal – Vanessa of course went with a Weiner Schnitzel, while I opted for a local delicacy, Svíčková (beef tenderloin in a creamy sauce, served with dumplings and cranberries). Rowdy even got a chance to join us in the sunshine for a photo-op.
After a brief return to the hotel to deposit some of our stuff (including Rowdy), we headed back to the end of the street and into the old town square, where we had a special visit planned down below the old Rathaus (and if you’ve been reading along with the blog, you’ll already know that Rathaus is German for Town Hall). In the converted cellars (dungeons?) below the town hall lies the Český Krumlov Museum of Torture. Here, in the dimly lit corridors and alcoves, there are various displays of torture items such as whips, iron masks, racks and public stocks that were used throughout the ages to inflict pain and misery on the miscreants and misunderstood of mediaeval Europe. Many of the particularly nasty devices were developed to deal with women accused of being witches, and there were also a number of devices developed by religious groups in an effort to persuade doubters that their imaginary friend was the only true imaginary friend. Surprisingly though, there were no examples of the beds from the Hotel Ruze, which was truly an oversight.
By this time it was nearly dark, so we headed back for dinner, after which we wandered back into the town square to see what was happening. With the news in Europe being dominated by the story of the shocking attack on the Christmas markets at Magdeburg in Germany the previous evening, it was a relief to see that here in Český Krumlov at least, people were still getting out and enjoying themselves in the town square, with live music and plenty of Glühwein and the delicious local specialty Medovina (a hot honey liqueur) being consumed. We hung around for a bit before wandering back to the little park opposite the hotel to enjoy the view once more, before heading off to bed, and another torturous night’s sleep.
