Karlštejn Castle is a large Gothic castle located about 30 km southwest of Prague above the village named Karlštejn.The castle was founded in 1348. It was built by Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV as a place for safekeeping of the royal treasures, especially Charles's collection of holy relics and the coronation jewels of the Roman Empire. The first stay of Charles IV in the castle is documented in 1355 when he came to supervise the building works as well as the decoration of interiors, especially the castle chapels. The construction of the castle was finished in 1365 when the Chapel of the Holy Cross situated in the Great tower was consecrated. At the outbreak of the Hussite wars the castle became the place for safekeeping of the Czech coronation jewels, which were kept here, with the exception of several short-time breaks, for nearly 200 years. The castle was reconstructed... → More 3 Views Add comment
Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle. Old Český Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was given this status along with the historic Prague castle district. Český Krumlov is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Český Krumlov Castle. Old Český Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was given this status along with the historic Prague castle district. The State Castle and Chateau of Český Krumlov ranks among the most important European sights. The Český Krumlov State Castle is a complex of forty buildings situated around five courtyards and seven-hectare grounds of the castle park. The complex grew up by degrees within each... → More 6 Views Add comment
Loket is a town of some 3,000 inhabitants in the Sokolov district in the Karlovy Vary region of the Czech Republic.Loket means "elbow" in English. The town is named this due to the town centre being surrounded on three sides by the Ohře River, and the shape the river takes is similar to that of an elbow. The stone Loket Castle is over 800 years old. It was probably founded as a border fortress. It dominates the town on a granite solid rock.Documents firts mention Loket in 1234. The building of the stone castle used to be dated to the reign of the Czech king Přemysl Otakar I (1197-1230) but with the finding of a Romanesque chapel which experts consider one of the oldest buildings of the Czech type, it is possible to date it to the 1170s or earlier. The Castle served kings, the Šlik family and the nobility from Plauen, the Loket aristocracy and in the 19th and 20th centuries also as a... → More 27 Views Add comment
Prague is the capital and the largest city of the Czech Republic. The city has an area of 496 square km (192 square miles). Prague is situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia. In this city live more than 1.2 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Prague's short history. Prague's story goes back to the distant days of the Celtic tribes, as early as 400BC. The Arab-Jewish merchant Ibrahim Jakub Ibn, who visited Prague in 965 or 966, was the first to leave a written record of the existence of a busy commercial center and settlement below Prague Castle, he described it as a town "built of stone and mortar". During the first half of the 11th century another castle called Vysehrad was founded on the opposite... → More 22 Views Add comment
