Castle and Chateau Night has special programs at 70 historical sites across the Czech Republic

The 12th edition of Castle and Chateau Night will take place on Saturday, July 31, with over 70 monuments from all over the Czech Republic participating. The monuments will offer night tours, theater, music, and dance performances or tours of normally inaccessible areas. The main program will take place at Pernštejn Castle.

In Prague, special events will be at the gardens under Prague Castle, Invalidovna, and Chvalský zámek. The Central Bohemia region has 10 sites including Český Šternberk Castle, Konopiště Chateau, Mělník Chateau, and Točník and Žebrák Castles.

A special program in the evening and at night will offer over 50 castles, chateaux and other monuments managed by the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) and 20 monuments operated privately or by other institutions. Events such as tours are primarily in the Czech language. Tickets are required for most events, and should be bought or reserved in advanced. A full program, with ticket info, is online.

Pernštejn Castle will commemorate the time of the enlightenment of nobility. Part of the program will take place in the newly restored garden, and other part in the castle courtyard, where there will be video mapping and a fire show.

In the gardens under Prague Castle visitors can see forms of combat performed by the performed European Martial Arts Association. People can also try archery and axe throwing under supervision. Invalidovna has tours by a historian who will talk about historical figures and daily life at the former military hospital. Chvalský zámek will have a fairytale program for families with children.

About 60 kilometers southeast of Prague, the Český Šternberk Castle will have costumed tours taking visitors back to 1601. The noblewoman Maria Eusebia Bořita ze Šternberka will describe what the situation was on the eve of her wedding.

The Mělník Chateau, owned by the Lobkowitz family. This year marks the 1100th anniversary of the death of Princess Ludmila, who established the first vineyard in Mělník. There will be costumed tours by candle light, ending with a tasting of the popular wine that is named after Ludmilla.

Also in Central Bohemia, the Konopiště Chateau will open some of is normally inaccessible spaces. Four tours, each with a different focus, will be available. There will be food and drink in the courtyard and events aimed at young participants.

One of the most beautiful historical sites in the Czech Republic, the Hluboká nad Vltavou Chateau in South Bohemia will focus on more recent history, with an exhibition of vintage automobiles similar to ones owned by the Schwarzenbergs in the First Republic. Costumed tours will have the mood of the 1930s.

At Lysice chateau in the Vysočina region people will be able to see some normally inaccessible sections. Guides will explain about the restoration work and the interior décor in great detail.

Litice Castle in the Pardubice Region will have tours by flashlight. The castle lights off, so people should be able to see the night sky without light pollution, is the clouds permit.

Castle and Chateau Night (Hradozámecká noc) is organized by the NPÚ, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. The NPÚ not only manages and preserves over 100 cultural monuments, it also is active in education and research.