Czech castles show off new spaces and tour routes this spring

The tourist season for state-run castles, chateaux, and other monuments begins on April 1, and admission prices will be slightly higher. The fruits of some recent restoration projects will also be visible, and some venues will have new routes. There will also be a program of events called the Year of Noble Festivities. This will be the first time after two years that people will be able to visit monuments without respirators or other restrictions.

The increase in adult admission prices will be up to CZK 30, but prices for young people under the age of 24 are falling and admission for children under 6 remains free. The National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) said the increase was caused by lower revenues from visitors during two pandemic years and rising energy prices. The NPÚ is also offering free admission to its sights for Ukrainian refugees.

From the end of April, there will be a new sightseeing route at Uherčice Castle in the South Moravia region, where people will be able to see renovated private spaces and a banquet hall for the first time since the castle was opened to the public in the 1990s.

Two reinstalled routes will also open at Opočno Castle in the Hradec Králové region. The second floor will be open for the first time, and the route on the first floor has been reconfigured to give more detail about the Colloredo-Mansfeld family. The Náměšť nad Oslavou chateau in the Vysočina region has a newly extended tour route and an exhibition of tapestries

A shield at Konopiště Castle in Central Bohemia, which was stolen during World War II but recently recovered, is now on display. New evening tours will also show how the aristocracy spent their free time in the most interesting areas of Konopiště, including spaces not normally inaccessible to the public.

A portrait of Jan Michael Špork is now back at the Kuks Hospital in the Hradec Králové region. It was stolen 30 years ago during a night theft and was recovered by police at the end of 2021 when the owner, unaware it was stolen, tried to sell it.

At the beginning of the season, an exhibition on the education of young nobles in the 19th century will open at the Červená Poříčí chateau. The main forecourt building has undergone a three-year renovation. The grounds of Šternberk Castle were also restored, including paths in the park and an icehouse. By the end of 2022, renovations in Karlštejn will be completed.

The renovation of the theater hall at Jezeří Castle, where Beethoven's “Eroica” was performed in 1804, will also be completed by July. Handcrafted elements have been restored and missing stucco replaced.

In June, renovations will begin in the neo-Renaissance tower and the Gothic cellar of Sázava Monastery. People will be able to take tours before the renovations start and find out about what work will be done.

An exhibition on this year's theme of noble festivities will be at the castle in Český Krumlov, which will also offer an accompanying program for children, period dance courses, and thematic tours and workshops. Český Krumlov Castle will also be the main center of the traditional Castle and Chateau Night, which will take place on Aug. 27 across the country.

The entrance fees for monuments vary. The basic entrance fee for the most popular sites, such as Lednice, Hluboká or Český Krumlov, is CZK 240, and the tour of the most valuable spaces of Karlštejn costs CZK 550. Castle ruins have a basic entrance fee of CZK 80 to CZK 120.

NPÚ’s Goryczková said she expects the tourist season to start slowly. “We will be happy for more than 4 million visitors," she said. Last year, 3.1 million people visited the state monuments as of Oct.19, when the man season ended. Before the pandemic, there were over 5 million annual visitors.

A complete list of what is new at the monuments administered by the NPÚ can be found here.