“The Rosenbergs, the Eggenbergs, the Schwarzenbergs, and Egon Schiele all left something in Český Krumlov. The Baroque theatre they left behind still has its original stage machinery. The town below the castle prompted Schiele to paint and to get expelled.”
About Cesky Krumlov
A thirteenth-century castle expanded by the Rosenbergs (1302–1611) in Gothic and Renaissance styles, inherited by the Schwarzenbergs in 1719 who added the Baroque theatre. Egon Schiele painted the town in 1911. UNESCO World Heritage Site 1992.
Český Krumlov Castle and Chateau is the second-largest castle complex in the Czech Republic after Prague, set on a rocky promontory above a tight meander of the Vltava River in South Bohemia. The complex spans multiple centuries of construction, contains a Baroque theatre with its original stage machinery, and looks down on a medieval and Renaissance town whose coherence earned it UNESCO World Heritage designation in 1992. The castle has been painted by Egon Schiele, photographed by millions, and occupied by, in sequence, the Rosenbergs, the Eggenbergs, the Schwarzenbergs, and the Czechoslovak state.
Český Krumlov Castle and Chateau is the second-largest castle complex in the Czech Republic after Prague, set on a rocky promontory above a tight meander of the Vltava River in South Bohemia.
who took over, 1719
The castle's origins are thirteenth century, but the buildings that define it today were shaped primarily by the Rosenberg dynasty (1302–1611) and the Schwarzenberg family who took over in 1719. The Rosenbergs rebuilt in Gothic and Renaissance styles; the Schwarzenbergs added the Baroque theatre in the eighteenth century, which became one of the best-preserved court theatres in Europe when court entertainment shifted elsewhere and the machinery was never updated. Egon Schiele lived in Krumlov in 1911 and painted the old town obsessively before being expelled by residents who found his lifestyle and his nude models disturbing. His time there produced some of his most celebrated town-scape paintings.
The castle tour routes include the Baroque theatre , where a guide demonstrates the original stage machinery, the counterweight systems that changed scenery in seconds during eighteenth-century performances. The castle gardens above the town contain a Baroque cascade fountain and a revolving open-air theatre. The view from the castle ramparts down to the river meander and the red rooftops of the town below is the image Český Krumlov is known for.
Český Krumlov is 180 kilometers south of Prague, accessible by direct bus (3 hours) from Prague's Na Knížecí bus stop or by train via České Budějovice. The castle is a short walk uphill from the town center.
Český Krumlov is 180 kilometers south of Prague, accessible by direct bus (3 hours) from Prague's Na Knížecí bus stop or by train via České Budějovice.
The Experience
A Baroque theatre tour with working eighteenth-century stage machinery, castle rampart views over the Vltava meander and red rooftops, and cascade fountain gardens, all above a coherent historic town.
Why It Matters
Český Krumlov preserves the most complete surviving court Baroque theatre in Central Europe and sits above a town whose building stock from six centuries of single-family ownership has survived more intact than almost any comparable site.
Why Visit
The Baroque theatre demonstration, stage machinery operated as it was in the eighteenth century, is the most unusual museum experience in Czech Republic. The castle-town visual relationship is as good as the photographs suggest.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Book the Baroque theatre tour in advance, it is the best thing in the castle and runs at specific times.
- 2
Stay overnight rather than day-tripping from Prague, the town at evening and morning has a completely different character.
- 3
Visit the Egon Schiele Art Centrum in the town for context on his time here.
