Karlstejn Castle

The Holy Roman Empire crown jewels and the imperial relics that Karlštejn was built specifically to house are no longer there. They were moved to Vienna in 1420 after Hungary seized Bohemia, and they are now displayed in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum. This fact is not prominently mentioned in Karlštejn’s tourism materials, which focus heavily on the “imperial treasures” angle. The chapel built to house those treasures, however, remains extraordinary, and that is the reason to visit.

The Castle

Emperor Charles IV commissioned Karlštejn between 1348 and 1365 to hold the crown jewels, imperial regalia, and relics of the Holy Roman Empire. The castle sits on a limestone ridge above the Berounka River valley 30 kilometres southwest of Prague, visible for miles through the beech forest.

Interior access is by guided tour only. Three tours cover different sections:

Tour I (basic): Imperial Palace, Church of Our Lady, Church of St Catherine. About 55 minutes. CZK 300 per adult. Usually available on the day but summer weekends get crowded; arrive early.

Tour II: Adds the Chapel of the Holy Cross in the Great Tower, where the original treasures were kept. This is the point of the castle: the chapel walls are lined with over 2,000 semi-precious stones and 128 painted panels by Master Theodoric from the 1360s, one of the great concentrations of medieval Bohemian painting. Visitor numbers are strictly limited; this tour books out weeks ahead. CZK 500 per adult; reserve online through the castle’s official site before your trip.

Tour III: Seasonal exterior route.

Getting There

Trains from Prague Hlavní nádraží or Smíchov to Karlštejn run roughly hourly; 45 to 55 minutes. From the village station, a 15-minute walk uphill through souvenir stalls reaches the castle entrance. By car, the D5 motorway takes 30 to 40 minutes.

Eating and Nearby

The village of Karlštejn below has several restaurants serving Czech standards. U Staré pekárny does svíčková and goulash in an old building. The Berounka River valley has good hiking trails; cycling between Beroun and Karlštejn is popular on weekends. Pivovar Karlštejn in the village does tastings.

For those with a car, Křivoklát Castle about 20 kilometres north sees fewer visitors and has genuine medieval atmosphere worth adding to the day.