One hundred and twenty-nine panels
By Master Theodoric, the largest such group in Europe still in its original place.
Interfase — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Interfase — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Interfase — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Interfase — CC BY-SA 4.0
The ordinary tour covers the residential and imperial halls, is available daily and usually needs no booking. The Chapel of the Holy Cross route is entirely separate: it climbs the Great Tower, admits severely limited numbers to protect the paintings and stones from humidity, and opens only seasonally. Anyone wanting the chapel must book that specific route rather than the ordinary ticket.
King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor in the fourteenth century, and the most important figure in Czech history. He made Prague the imperial capital, founded its university and built Charles Bridge, the New Town and Karlštejn Castle. Most of what is visited in Prague today dates from his reign or was built at his order.
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A chamber at the top of Karlštejn Castle's tower, built in the fourteenth century to hold the imperial crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire. It is among the most precious surviving medieval interiors in Europe. Emperor Charles IV meant it as an image of heaven on earth. The walls are inlaid with more than two thousand two hundred cut semi-precious stones set into the plaster — amethyst, jasper, carnelian — and the vault is covered in gilded glass imitating stars. On the walls hang one hundred and twenty-nine panel paintings by Master Theodoric representing the host of heaven in saints, prophets and angels, the largest such group anywhere in Europe still in its original setting. This is not part of the ordinary castle tour: entry is on a separate visiting route, severely limited in numbers for conservation reasons, open only seasonally, and booking ahead is near-obligatory and sells out early. Anyone who can secure a place sees something without parallel. Anyone who cannot will still find the castle itself worth the ordinary route.
By Master Theodoric, the largest such group in Europe still in its original place.
Built to hold the crown of the Holy Roman Empire.
The route sells out early; arriving without a booking means the ordinary tour only.
The Great Tower, Karlštejn Castle, about thirty kilometres south-west of Prague