“It was a night before the total eclipse when I decided to do it. I pleated a rope from scraps of my clothing and anything available that I thought would be suitable for such a thing. I swung it out of the dingy window, high up on Huderka tower where I have been imprisoned. I started to descend.
Krivoklat was in deep sleep. The darkness of the night wasn’t disturbed by the moonlight and that just helped my plan. Nothing, not even the guards were stirring. Maybe the trust of those impregnable walls and height in which I was kept reassured them.
Freedom was calling. The hope of getting away from and far beyond the borders of this country was rising just at the bottom of this tower. And the sweet voice of England, my motherland, was singing in my heart.
It could have been my fate but I believe that it was my body weight burdened so much with desire for freedom and haste that made this makeshift rope snap, sending me to the blackness below. My body smashed on the cliff at the foot of the tower. She wanted to keep me. I listened to her mean laughter as I cringed in agony. It was hopeless. I was doomed and conquered by her. Both of my legs were shattered to bits and my chest and head were pumping in bitter pain. That is all I recall!”
The silence spread throughout the stony castle room. It was a while before another voice spoke: “But why were you here anyway?” “Don’t be silly!” replied an angry voice, “They never needed a reason! Most of us were here just because they couldn’t have us running around and fighting their ways..!” “Shhhhhh……it’s not your time now! Let him talk!” commanded yet another voice. “They say I murdered a servant. Me! Magister of Occultism! Scientist! Alchemist praised in so many countries! Me, Sir Edward Kelly!”
The silence spread yet again only to be disturbed by the bell of the mantelpiece clock. The room emptied, until tomorrow. Every night they met for an hour to tell stories of their lives. Who? Well, the ghosts of course. The souls of times gone! The people, who died on Krivoklat.
Story sourced from: Krivoklatske Povesti (The Legends of Krivoklat); Povest o Krivoklatskem Gralu(The Legend of the Krivoklat’s Grail) Written by: Viktor Palivec Translated and slightly amended by: ME
******
Do you know what RTW is? It took me a while but I did figure out eventually that it means “Round the World”. It seams to be quite a reoccurring event to do the RTW trip these days. Very famous by students!
They save their pocket money, take time out of university and travel for a year or so. Asia, Australia, America and all. Don’t know how the ever skint students do it as I had to slave real hard to do so, but oh god, am I proud of saying, I took the famous RTW myself!
Apart from all the other destinations, we had to visit two places; Hong Kong, my boyfriend’s homeland and Czech Republic, my homeland.
One of the adventures we have undertaken in Czech Republic was a canoe trip on the river Berounka. It was recommended by a friend of mine as a very simple river for beginner canoeists (such as us) and also for the famed beautiful scenery around the river.
We took a boat at Dolansky Most (near Plzen), a favourite place for many boating parties, as it has a nice calm stream allowing novices to get used to the boat. It took my partner and me about 3 hours of vigorous zigzagging from one river bank to another until we got used to the boat. And if it wasn’t for my sisters and their husbands and, I must admit it, a random stranger (experienced boat person) who took us through the basics, we would probably be zigzagging still. It is not as easy as it seems, you know. Don’t let anyone fool you and lure you to this type of RELAXING holiday, unless you consider back and upper body pains relaxing. It is great fun after you get used to it though. And I am sure being on slightly faster river would help as you would not have to paddle so much. As it happens and to our disadvantage, we went in 2004, which was a dry year and the Berounka was quite literarily sleeping. At some places it was so slow that it felt like the river was dragging us back rather than helping us forward. But at other parts the stream picked up and we could rest for a while and enjoy the scenery. And there is plenty of scenery to enjoy.
The stream of the Berounka pleats its way through the gorgeous 628 square km of UNESCO national reserve called Krivoklatsko; popular for hiking trails, nature tracks, camps and holiday resorts. The thick forests around the river have always been favourite hunting ground for Czech royalty. The beautiful surroundings were (and are) just perfect for outdoor activities and so a chain of mansions and castles soon outlined the Berounka. Most of them are in ruins now.
The castle mostly visited through out the ages is now called Krivoklat (Originally named the Little Castle). It was erected at the beginning of the 12th century and its purpose was not only for protection and recreation, it also served as a prison. When visiting the castle you can ponder upon several dozens of torture devices still preserved in the castled dungeons. The idea of getting into a prison nowadays has never appealed to me but in them days….believe me….you were screwed!!!
Throughout the ages there were uncountable amounts of prisoners kept in the dungeons of the Huderka tower. Not only thieves, murderers and other disturbing individuals but also royalty, priests, scientists and politicians were conveniently disposed of in there. Amongst all (and apart from Sir Edward Kelly mentioned above) Prince Charles, later to become Charles IV – The Father of the Nation throughout the Golden Age of the Bohemian Empire, was restricted to live in Krivoklat after his return from the French court. He brought with him his pregnant first wife Blanka. This period of the castle is nicely described in another legend – The Nightingales of Krivoklat (Krivoklatsti Slavici) collected by the author I have mentioned at the beginning. It writes about the duties that the surrounding towns and villages (such as Rakovnik) had to the castle in return for protection. Prince Charles had decreed that from that day on the people were to bring in to the Krivoklat’s forests a variety of birds (nightingales, great tits, skylarks and others) to ease the labour pains of his wife and other women that would give birth on Krivoklat in the future. Today the birds still nest there, making Krivoklat forests a great ornithology destination.
The town of Krivoklat about 13 km from Rakovnik was created in 19th century and is now a tourist destination with cafes, bars, restaurants, accommodation, bus and train station; making travelling there easy as it has good connections to main cities like Praha(Prague) or Rakovnik. Or you could canoe for your life, like we did.
As we spent one night in the camp before we climbed the hill the see the castle we listened to the birds singing us a lullaby. The night was illuminated only by moonlight and thousands of glow worms. Very romantic!
We found Krivoklat castle in very good condition and our tour guide was professional and very knowledgeable
Pictures of Krivoklat (Czech Republic)
Krivoklat
in local history. Willing to answer questions and pointing us to the nature trails around the castle, she also directed us to the best vantage points for taking pictures. The castle, as you see it now, has been rebuilt and repaired several times. First constructed from wood it was destroyed by fire several times through its history. In one part of the tour you can see a model of Krivoklat in its pride and glory. The scaled model also shows Krivoklat as once being much larger.
Before you experience a tour of any Czech castle you have to prepare yourself for at least an hour of numbers and names of the (so called) famous royalty as the heritage of many castles went from a hand to hand throughout the years. The last private owners of Krivoklat were the Furstenbergs who gained the castle in the 19th century and saved its message for the future generations by preserving most of it.
You can now enjoy the architecture, antiquities and as the tour takes you on to the magnificent chapel where duo of actors dressed period costumes singing and playing traditional quire music you can step back in time. Other highlights were the castle’s library with its 52 thousand volumes, the grand Hall of the Knights where the owner would have given audiences to emissaries and visitors and the gem of the tour – the first toilet in the castle. They don’t let you use it though.
During your visit you can be refreshed in the Herbal Tea room, buy your souvenirs in the local antique shop or just admire the skill of the candle maker, swords master or carpenter.
Apart from occasional exhibitions you can also enjoy the traditional markets during seasons such as Christmas and Easter.
The opening hours are dependent on the seasons of the year. Czech Republic being can show you some really cold winters. And visiting an otherwise really cold castle (no central heating or double glazing there) could be asking for a bad cold. Hence the fact that:
January and February Krivoklat is closed to public. In March you can enjoy this castle Saturdays and Sundays from 9AM till 3PM. April, May and June the castle is opened daily except Mondays from 9AM till 4PM (in June this attraction stays opened till 5PM) July and August are the most popular months to travel in CR as the school holidays are on and so many historical beauties are open on daily basis and Krivoklat is not an exception. Opening hours are 9AM till 5PM. September 9AM till 4PM except Monday. October daily 9AM till 3PM except Monday. November and December brings us back to winter so the visiting hours are restricted to 9AM till 3PM on Saturdays and Sundays.
The tours leave providing that there are at least 10 people in a group. Viewing hours vary! There is a lunch break from 12 noon till 1PM. The last tour before the lunch break leaves at 12 noon. You can even visit Krivoklat during the national holidays such as 24th December and 1st January. Visiting the tower Huderka comes at extra cost. The tour for this attraction leaves every hour on the hour providing that (yet again) there are at least 10 visitors interested.
The price list for the castle: Adult CZK 160 (£3.80) Children, students and OAPs CZK 80 (£1.90)
The price list for the tower: Adult CZK 80 (£1.90) Children, Students and OAPs CZK 40 (£0.95)
As you can see you are paying close to nothing for entry to this beautiful peace of Czech history so don’t be surprised that you will most likely encounter the “home” price list and the “foreign” pricelist. These places cost millions to restore and charging an entry fee is one of the only ways to maintain the castle upkeep. Compared to typical western wages Czech wages are very low. It is only fair that the locals are charged less.
The entry to the castle and to the tower is only allowed with the guide. The guide will most likely speak in Czech language but translated scripts are available in variety of languages including English, German and Spanish, Italian, French and many others.
Taking photos in certain tourist attractions in Czech Republic might be prohibited. Please ask your tour guide before using a camera. It is only polite to do so.
For me Krivoklat was just another one of the many beautiful castles I have seen in CR but my boyfriend (who hasn’t seen many) was very impressed. I would most definitely go back if only for the nature walks. But next time I will leave my paddle at home and take a bus.
Until next time…..thanks for reading xxx
Literature and sources used: 1) Cteni o hradech, zamcich a mestech (Reading about Castles, Chateaus and Towns) Written by Eduard Petiska 2) Lexikon turistickych zajimavosti A-Z na cety (Lexicon of Tourist Attractions, A-Z for travellers) Published by Olympia Praha 3) Vodacky pruvodce Berounky (The Map of River Berounka for Boat men) 4) Krivoklat web site: www.krivoklat.cz
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