- Address: 256 01 Benešov, Česko
- Phone: +420 317 721 366
- Website: https://www.zamek-konopiste.cz/en
- E-mail: konopiste@npu.cz
- Date of construction: XIII century
- Opening hours: from April to October from Tuesday to Sunday, in November - on weekends
Konopiště - a castle in the Czech Republic near the town of Benesov , about 50 km south of Prague . This is a large complex, which also includes a rose garden and an extensive park. Konopiště Castle has a romantic history: it was here that the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand created a cozy family nest for himself and his wife Sofia Hotek, for the sake of marriage with whom he renounced his rights to the throne.
A bit of history
Built in the XIII century, Konopiště Castle played an important role in the history of the Czech Republic: during the wars for the Czech throne, it was long defended by the troops of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and then was taken by King Jiří. During the 30-year war it was almost destroyed by the Swedish army.
Architecture
The building was rebuilt several times; this is noticeable if you look at the photo of the Konopishte castle - it combines several architectural styles, and it looks very harmonious.
Originally it was built in the Gothic style and had the appearance of a rectangular fortress with 7 towers. Sternberg, who owned the castle from 1327 to 1648, twice rebuilt it: for the first time - in the style of the late Gothic, the second - in the style of the late Renaissance (the southern side of the castle survived to this day).
At the beginning of the XVIII century. Konopiště underwent another reconstruction, this time in the Baroque style: its towers became lower, he acquired a new entrance leading from the Eastern Tower, as well as a stone bridge and a wing.
The last radical restructuring was carried out already by the order of Konopištė, who purchased it in 1887; it was then that the castle was equipped with running water, sewerage, electric lighting. Then around the park was created.
Collections of the museum
The main attractions of Konopiste are collections, most of which are collected by Franz Ferdinand. Here you can see the meetings:
- hunting weapons of the XVI-XVIII centuries; It occupies the third place in Europe;
- combat weapons and armor;
- works of painting and sculpture;
- hunting trophies, consisting of 4,400 copies - all of them were obtained by hunting personally by the Archduke, but this is only a small part of his hunting trophies: it is believed that during his life he killed more than 25 thousand various animals.
Another interesting collection can be seen in the castle park - these are the statues of St. George the Victorious.
Tourist routes
There are 3 routes to Konopiště Castle that include:
- southern wing and inspection of hunting trophies;
- The northern wing, including the arsenal, the chapel and the library;
- personal rooms Franz Ferdinand.
The cost of each excursion is different, and when buying a ticket at once for 2 or 3 each of them will be cheaper. Individual excursions can be ordered; they will cost 200 euros, and if the group is more than 4 people - then 50 euros per person.
You can walk along the park - both on foot and on a special excursion transport , admire the paths and flower gardens, the rose garden. Peacocks are walking along the avenues of the park, begging for food from visitors. Live in the park and squirrels, and in the castle ditch a bear lives.
In the park there is also a moto transport museum, in which the most diverse models of motorcycles are presented. In addition, there is a shooting gallery.
Accommodation
During the holiday season, night excursions are also carried out around the castle, so those who wish can stay overnight in one of the hotels located in the park of Konopiště Castle: Hotel Nova Myslivna and Pension Konopiste.
Restaurants
There are several cafes and restaurants on the territory of the castle complex. For example, you can eat in the Stara Myslivna restaurant, in the beer restaurant "U Ferdinand", which is located next to the lake, or in the restaurant at the Nova Myslivna hotel.
How to visit the castle?
All those wishing to visit Konopiště Castle will be interested in how to get here from Prague faster and more conveniently. Perhaps, the best way is to reach by train to Benesov (the castle is located 2 km from this city).
You can get to the cities and by bus: the road from Florenc station will take 1 hour 7 minutes, from Roztyly - 1 hour 40 minutes. The car on the road D1 / E65 and Road number 3 can be reached in 40 minutes. Castles Karlstejn and Konopiště also visit as part of an excursion from Prague, which can be purchased from any metropolitan tour operator; so the question of what is best to visit - Karlštejn or Konopiště, is decided in favor of visiting both castles .