When you travel in a foreign country by bus, and the guide tells the group something about the places that you pass, it is very important to have time to connect what is at stake with the views outside the window. Or it may be like this: “Here is Mount Tabor in front of you, on which the fortified camp of the Hussites of Jan Zizka was located, and you listened to it on the left or on the right, and now you don't know where to look - maybe this is it, or maybe that's it. this hill, on the contrary. But with the Krumlov castle it was completely funny. They tell you that the castle stands on a cliff above the bend of the Vltava, you twist your head in all directions to see it. Meanwhile, the bus drives down the street downhill and goes down it lower and lower. That is, we go down into a deep valley, and since all the hills are somewhere in the distance, the question inevitably arises in my head: "Where is the castle here?"
Cesky Krumlov from a bird's eye view. On the left - the castle, between the parts of which, just behind the bridge over the Vltava, one can see the arches of the Cloak Bridge.
This is how the artist Ferdinand Runk saw the castle in 1824.
Finally the bus stopped in the parking lot (the castle is still nowhere to be seen) and we went somewhere. There are trees around, in the distance there is a hill overgrown with trees, and here its walls appeared behind them … And how can I better describe it … from the side opposite the river and its bend, where the old part of the town of Cesky Krumlov is located, this two wooded hills, on which tall walls with windows rise from behind the trees, and between them rises the most original bridge that I have ever seen - the Cloak Bridge. It is a four-level (the three upper levels are covered and with windows!) 40 m high and 30 m long, connecting one part of the castle to another. The bridge was built in 1764, that is, it is relatively new, and is decorated with Baroque sculptures depicting Saints Wenceslas, Felix Kantalichsky, Anthony of Padua and John of Nepomuk (although we were told this later). Moreover, you get pleasure from this bridge twice: first, when you look at it from the bottom up, then, when already from the bridge itself, you look down and at the city. It is rather difficult to say which is stronger. And under the bridge … today there is a path to the Old Town from the parking lot, and earlier it was a dry moat!
Here it is - the famous Cloak Bridge.
And this is the castle itself, or rather, one part of it.
And so we looked at this bridge from below and climbed along the serpentine path into the castle itself. Outwardly, these are two rectangles built on the very crest of the cliff, inside which there are several courtyards. But first, you get to an open area and look at the city from it. The beauty is incredible! Below - the river loops around the old town with red roofs and everything there is like from a fairy tale!
The castle buildings are impressive, aren't they?
It is interesting that in spite of all the alterations on its walls, this "cubicle" of the toilet has been preserved. Well, at the castle of the Gothic period there were much more of them and all the grace of the womb fell to its foot.
View of the city from the castle.
Interestingly, the first written mention of this castle dates back to 1253. Then the large Vitkovts family lived there, which had a coat of arms depicting a green rose. But already in 1302, the castle passed to the Rosenberg family, who chose it for their residence. In their coat of arms they already had a red five-petalled rose.
The figure of a knight with the Rosenberg coat of arms.
The power of the family was such that in 1394 and 1402, when the Rosenbergs were twice held here, in Cesky Krumlov, in the dungeon of the Czech and Roman-German king Wenceslas IV. Then Rosenberg skillfully took advantage of the unrest during the Hussite wars and was awarded new large estates, and Krumlov Castle was expanded so that it would continue to be a Catholic stronghold in the south of Bohemia. However, then the Gothic style of the castle was largely lost due to extensive renovations of the Renaissance during the reign of Wilhelm von Rosenberg in the second half of the 16th century. At this time, the castle began to turn into a palace. The wall paintings by Gabriela de Blond in the courtyards of the castle evoked the complete illusion of many architectural elements with sculptures from ancient history and mythology. In contrast, the theme of the decoration of Rosenberg's private rooms was largely biblical.
The inner wall of one of the courtyards. All this masonry is just painted.
Each person has a certain "fad" regarding his origin (it is not for nothing that in our Penza now the entire archive is crammed with grandmothers (!), And even very young people studying their genealogies), so the Rosenbergs' "fix idea" was that to prove his kinship with the Italian noble Orsini family. The translation of the Italian name Orsa means bear, and Wilhelm declared his ancestors to be Italian ancestors and therefore populated the castle moat with bears! This tradition lasts four centuries and has survived to this day. There is also the ghost of the White Lady in the castle (what kind of castle is without a ghost?), Which, depending on the black or white color of the dress, should have predicted the birth or death of family members, which is also proof of their nobility. She was first seen in 1577, which is documented.
And here all the walls are covered with illusion painting. It was so fashionable …
However, bears are bears, and where to get money for all this? The family's debt grew and grew, and as a result, the twelfth ruler of Rosenberg Castle in 1601 - 1602. fell into the grip of need and sold Cesky Krumlov to Emperor Rudolf II - a man of very interesting destiny. He was engaged in occultism, and the first Kunstkamera, and … he persecuted Protestants throughout the Czech Republic, and fought with the Turks, in one word he lived a rich and rich life and was so tired of his subjects that they forced him to renounce the Czech crown. Deprived of power, exhausted by illness (syphilis of the third degree) and mental insanity, Rudolph II died on January 20, 1612, leaving no legitimate offspring, since he was not married, and indeed, in general, he indulged in, as they say, unnatural vices with people of low rank. But for 600 ducats, it was he who acquired the famous Voynich manuscript.
The castle dungeon looks like this.
Nevertheless, he still had children, and his most famous son of six illegitimate offspring was the eldest Julius Caesar of Austria, who was taken over by Rudolph from Katerina Strada, the daughter of an imperial antiquary, who inherited his father's mental illness and died in captivity in Krumlov Castle, after how he killed his mistress with particular cruelty.
Model of the castle at the entrance to the museum.
In 1622, the castle fell to the Styrian family Eggenberg. Initially, these were only wealthy burghers from Graz in Austria. The principality of Krumlov was established with a ducal title, which the Emperor Ferdinand II bestowed on this family in 1628. The unauthorized dukes of Krumlov continued the traditions of the Rosenbergs, Eggenberg and used the coat of arms, which had five red roses.
The Schwarzenberg family, already known to us, became the new owners of the castle, which received it in 1719. Krumlov began to expand, the interiors were furnished with valuable furniture, paintings by Dutch painters and tapestries of the 17th century appeared on the walls. Even a special Masquerade hall was painted in the castle, reflecting the merry entertainments of that aristocratic era.
Hall of the Masquerade.
One of his paintings.
However, let's continue our tour of the castle.
Another beautiful view of the castle and the city.
Once inside, we successively get from one closed courtyard to another, and the first of them is opened by the Red Gate with the Schwarzenberg coat of arms, built in 1861. To the right of the arch is the Gothic building of the Salt Warehouse, and to the left is the New Pharmacy with a sgraffito façade, and then the stables. The manager's house is located near the stairs. The former brewery is also decorated with Renaissance paintings; next to it the building of the smithy has been preserved, further - the castle hospital. In the center of the first courtyard, you can see a stone fountain built in the 16th century.
These stone balls were fired at the castle in the 16th century.
A bridge across the Bear Moat leads to the second courtyard. The owners of the castle considered themselves relatives of the noble Italian family of Orsini and brought bears in it, the skins of which, by the way, lie on the floor in many rooms of the castle - it is convenient, isn't it?
The weapon of the Musketeers of the Thirty Years War, although one gun is clearly not of that time.
For lovers of weapons with wheel locks, here is his whole arsenal.
The area of this courtyard is called the Lower Grad. The facades of the buildings facing the second courtyard have a Renaissance look, the dominant feature of the entire ensemble is the 13th century building - Hradek or the Little Castle. Its Gothic tower became the symbol of Cesky Krumlov. There is an observation deck overlooking the city. The complex of the second courtyard includes the New House of the Manager, the Mint, and a cheese factory (its facade is painted with skillful sgraffito imitating masonry). The fountain, installed in 1602, also serves as the center of this courtyard.
Equipment of the rider of the Czech light armored cavalry of the 17th century. "Panzerniki" - that is how these horsemen were called.
From the second courtyard to the third, a path goes across a stone bridge along a narrow vaulted corridor. There is a balcony, which serves as a wonderful observation platform. Between the second and third courtyards is the Upper Grad - the main residence of the Vitkovich family, which surrounds the space of the third and fourth courtyards with a facade. The walls are painted with allegorical frescoes. The third courtyard is most like a stone well; in the middle is the chapel of St. George. The ensemble of the fourth courtyard is formed by buildings from the period of the XIV-XVIII centuries; but below, right in the rocky massif, there are deep Wenceslas cellars, where today there is an exhibition of some modern art.
I always look with pleasure at the "conveniences" of the past.
The fifth courtyard was for entertainment. There is a large park with an equestrian arena and a small palace, and the castle theater, built by the Eggenbergs in 1684. From the residential part of the castle to the fifth courtyard, there is a covered Cloak Bridge, which got its strange name from the fortification called “cloak”. The construction of the bridge significantly expanded the castle, turning the bridge into an observation deck and an extremely elegant element that united both parts of the castle.
And here's another one. This could well be used by our A. S. Pushkin.
On the territory of the castle there is an information center that organizes excursions for tourists, and there are two routes that are not connected with each other. However, since any excursion takes time, and our tourists often have little time, it is better to just walk around all the castle courtyards, and buy tickets to the museums located in it at the box office. The part of it, where I was able to visit, is interesting because there are a lot of all kinds of weapons, samples of Austrian uniforms are presented and much more. But it takes a lot of time to get around the premises of the entire castle. You can climb the tower of the castle - there is a separate fee for this - and, although the view is very beautiful from there, it is better for people who are tired or with a bad heart not to climb up there. The beauty of the Cloak Bridge will be enough for you!
And this is … one of the copies of the famous "Manes Code", the original of which is kept in the library of the University of Heidelberg. People glance and pass. Well … some kind of old book, so what? And the fact that they have before them the most valuable source of our knowledge about the Middle Ages, dated 1300 years.
But there is no point in staying in the castle any longer. We must go down to the city. Again go down the green hill, pass under the Cloak Bridge, then along the bridge over the Vltava and … just take a walk through the streets of this toy town. There is also a torture museum, a doll museum, a local history museum, and even a motorcycle museum. But even though the town is small, you just can't get around this in a day! Besides, you have to eat!
The Vltava river in front of the castle is not deep at all.
This is a water mill. Today this is the place to go for a very good meal!
In Krumlov, the question of where to reinforce our weakening forces is simply not worth it. There is almost in every house there is either a pub, or something like that, where they feed, however, it is best to sit not somewhere in the city, but in a restaurant above a water mill. The food there is just very tasty, and the meat in Krumlov style with stewed sauerkraut, Czech dumplings and … dark local beer is beyond praise. The price of lunch with "soup", this very meat (you need to take a portion of 200 g, 400 - to eat, in my opinion, it is simply impossible, although you can take the leftovers with you, a plastic container is given free of charge) and a large mug of beer for each of four will cost 77 euros, which is not more expensive than ours, but the quality is incomparable, of course. To the left or to the right (this is how you sit down) a pacifying stream of water will flow, and above your head … a huge castle with a Cloak Bridge will rise in its bulk. The spectacle, believe me, is absolutely unforgettable!
Interestingly, Cesky Krumlov produces … its own 70% chocolate. Naturally packed with city and castle views. It is clear that chocolate does not grow in Krumlov. So the Krumlovites buy it and, having processed it to the appropriate condition, pack it in such boxes. We also have a lot of all kinds of sights and simply beautiful places that simply ask for in such packages, but for some reason no one thought of such chocolate before the release. In any case, I myself have not seen such a thing! But with such "children's sweets", by the way, local patriotism begins, and love for our whole big Motherland.
