Karlstejn Castle Review

Karlstejn Castle is an Easy Day Trip from Prague

Karlstejn Castle is a popular day trip from Prague. This castle, while important to Prague's history, will not "wow" the visitor. On the other hand, this is an easy day trip to make for anyone who wants to get out of Prague for a few hours.

The train ride to Karlstejn Castle is brief and pleasant. In the off-season, you may not even have to share a car with other passengers. After disembarking from the train, you must walk across a bridge, to the village, and up a steep hill to reach the castle proper. This walk offers many great views of the castle, so keep your camera out and your eyes open. If you are tired or hungry, it's possible to take a rest in one of the restaurants or grab a snack from a street vendor selling traditional Czech pastries.

The climb to Karlstejn Castle is not an easy one, especially if the weather is rainy. Even the moderately unfit will be huffing and puffing their way to the top of the hill. Comfortable walking shoes with tread are a must and children may have to be carried.

If you're traveling to Karlstejn Castle on the off-season, you won't have the option to select from different tours. The obligatory Tour I takes visitors through the basic rooms of the castle, which are, for the most part, almost empty of furnishings and decoration. Typical to medieval castles, they are also cold and dark. Guides know the castle inside and out, however, and make these drab rooms come alive by pointing out architectural and functional details in each room, like wooden paneling that served as a type of insulation against chilly weather, the castle latrine, wall decorations, and more.

A particularly interesting aspect of Karlstejn's interior is the dining area, where the king's table features chairs at different heights. The chair that allows the diner to sit comfortably at the table was for the king. The other chair places the diner's head at or below table level, indicating their social status in comparison to their royal leader.

Tour I does not take visitors through the Royal Chapel, which is Karlstejn Castle's most impressive room. Visitors on this tour can, however, see a scale model of the castle (with a cutaway that exposes the model's Royal Chapel interior), as well as replicas of stone-inlaid walls and crown jewels that were once protected by Karlstejn Castle's fortification system. It's easy to get the impression that Tour I is just a teaser to the more exciting Tour II.

Those parts of the castle that are free to visitors include a main courtyard, a gift shop, and views from parapet walls. These are not really interesting, so if you're at the castle or in the village, you should probably just take the 50 minute tour. The tour costs approximately $12 USD. If you really want to take Tour II, which includes the Royal Chapel, you will have to schedule it in advance.

If the weather is nice, you may opt to take a hike in the forest on the slopes of the hill on which the castle stands. This is a protected natural area. Signs indicate some of the flora and fauna that exist in this protected area.

The village of Karlstejn offers the same Czech food fare that you'll find in Prague at lower prices. One-dollar beers also make drinking on the cheap possible. (Do this only after you have seen the castle.) Garnet and crystal gift shops line the main thoroughfare; the merchandise found here is also slightly cheaper than in Prague.

There is a gem of an antique shop, run by a knowledgeable couple, at the entrance of the main street. Here you'll find war memorabilia, paper ephemera, crystal, and more. None of it is very old, but each piece has a story, which the proprietor will be eager to share with anyone who has an interest in history. Read more about the antiques shop in Karlstejn