Hluboká

Hluboká, set against the rolling forests and fields of Bohemia, is one of the most gorgeous castles in the country. Built in the 13th century, it originally was a Gothic castle but has been renovated many a times as it passed on from one owner to another. It took its present Tudor form in the 19th century on the orders of Johann Adolf II of Schwarzenberg, who modelled Hluboká after the British Royal Family’s Windsor Castle.

Hluboká’s hour long tour takes you through the ornately decorated dining rooms, card rooms, libraries, bedrooms, dressing rooms, smoking salons, and the family armoury―the old quarters of the Schwarzenberg family, who occupied the premises until they fled the Nazi invasion in 1939, and had their property permanently confiscated by the communist government in 1947. Intricate woodwork adorns the ceilings, Persian carpets stretch luxuriously across the floors, and Chinese porcelains, woven tapestries, and huge oil portraits of various relatives line the walls. In the princess’ study there are more than 13000 volumes, including a book triple the size of a Merriam-Webster dictionary. It has sketches and writings on hunting. Featuring floor-to-ceiling cabinet carvers, it took about 5 master carvers about 13 months to complete.