A man's castle is his (and his four wives') home

Long before the end of the Communist regime, and the start of the Communist regime, and the invasion by the Nazis and the country's subsequent removal from the map, and independence from Austria and Hungary, and its centuries-long period under the control of the Habsburgs, Prague was the center of the Holy Roman Empire.

As such, Charles IV, King of Bohemia, commissioned the construction of a castle in the middle of the 14th century to protect his royal treasures. Today Karlštejn Castle remains among the most popular tourist destinations outside of Prague, thanks to its history and its convenient 30-minute train ride from the city.

The castle overlooks a village that has roughly 800 people
and nearly twice as many shops.

Karlštejn took nine years to build and has not undergone a major renovation for more than a century. It contains three buildings:

• the Imperial Palace, where the king and queen (and their courts) lived
• the Marian Tower, home of some treasures and place where Charles IV conducted his daily affiars
• the Great Tower, home of the Chapel of the Holy Cross and the regime's most important treasures

View from between two of the towers.

The castle is located on a hill and is reached by walking through the village, which is full of vendors selling glassware, chocolate and your basic gamut of souvenirs. The top of the hill provided lovely views of the foliage. Tours are available in English and Czech, but unfortunately, the only tour that brings tourists into the Chapel of the Holy Cross is (a) in Czech and (b) often sold out in advance.

Looking down from the main courtyard.

Nonetheless, our group (me, a friend from work, a friend who gave me my first teacher certification and her three friends) received a tour of the two other buildings. Picture taking was not allowed, so you won't find pictures of the various portraits (including those of all four of Charles' wives) or high ceilings or beds that would be too short for me. Translating wasn't allowed either, presumably to prevent people talking over each other; thankfully the tour guide's English was more than passable and the two Czechs in our group understand English fairly well. (It should also be noted that although our tour guide made the occasional grammar slip, she was better than the English tour guide who led my friend's group the previous week. That person just went ahead and spoke Czech anyway.)

All in all, it was a good glimpse into the Middle Ages. For more insight into thinking from that era, I suggest the Republican Presidential debates.

En route to the village and castle.

If you missed it the first time, a photo album containing photos from the excursion to the castle and other Prague spots can be seen by clicking here.