Three Jewels in the very heart of the Czech Republic

Mysterious Kutná Hora

The medieval town Kutná Hora, a graceful and mysterious woman, lies to the east. Its secrets include cathedrals, monasteries, patrician houses, a mysterious recess, vaulted cellars, gems of Gothic and Baroque architecture, urbanism and sculpture. In the Middle Ages, silver was mined, coins were minted, trade blossomed and even the Czech king had his residence here.

A person can stand in awe beneath the vault of one of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Europe dedicated to St. Barbara, you may walk through the courtyard and chambers of the Italian Court (Vlašský dvůr), the former palace of King Wenceslas IV., you can descend with bated breath to the ossuary of Cistercian abbey, with a mixture of admiration and distress you can watch altars, coats of arms, chandeliers, pyramids and obelisks made of the bones of plague victims, but you may also enter into a unique Gothic Stone House and become a medieval craftsman or even a cook for a while.

Tip: The Story of the Cathedral

Listen to the story of the building of the temple, which was written over five centuries and was interrupted by historical events several times. From the beginning the Cathedral of St. Barbara was conceived as a representative building, erected under the patronage of wealthy burghers of Kutná Hora. Its creation reflects the period tension between Kutná Hora and Prague, as well as between Kutná Hora and the powerful abbey in nearby Sedlec. This magnificent building still stuns with its outdoor architecture and rich murals in the interior.

Proud Karlštejn

West of Prague, we find one of the symbols and dominant features of the Czech Republic, the massive stone castle Karlštejn, the pride of Czech Gothic architecture. Time seems to have stood still and does not dare disturb the breath of history. Palaces and chambers, long spacious hallways, impregnable walls and strict towers of the castle , and above all, the most precious jewel, the Chapel of the Holy Cross with a unique collection of one hundred twenty-nine Gothic panel paintings by Master Theodoric.

Fairy-tale Konopiště

The castle, as if from a fairy tale, emerges in the south from a wonderful park with forests and lakes. But this place is far more imbued with the spirit of courtly etiquette from the early 20^th century, terrific imperial uniforms, hunting coats and the first cars. Franz Ferdinand of Austria, a heir to the Austro-Hungarian imperial throne, was the last one who transformed Chateau in his own image. His breathtaking hunting collection, armory, pompous salons and bedrooms, studies and even a private dining room, a spirit of man, whose death in faraway Sarajevo started the First World War, still remained there everywhere to this day.