Central Bohemia · Czechia
Hrad Karlštejn — the treasury of the Holy Roman Empire
A Gothic fortress built by Charles IV to guard the crown jewels and the relics of the Passion, 40 minutes from Prague. Guided tours only, booked in two minutes.
Book your tickets
Pick your tour and start time below. The walk up from the village takes 15–20 minutes — allow for it.
Welcome to Karlštejn Castle
Built to keep the most precious things in Christendom
Charles IV — King of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperor, founder of Prague's university and its great bridge — laid the first stone of Karlštejn in 1348. It was never meant as a home. It was a strongroom in the form of a castle: three towers rising in order of holiness, ending in the Great Tower where the Imperial crown jewels and relics of the Passion were kept behind four locks in the Chapel of the Holy Cross. The jewels have gone to Vienna and Prague; the chapel, with its 129 panel paintings by Master Theodoric, is still here.
Discover the castle
Where would you like to start?
History & Architecture
From a Celtic hillfort to a royal seat, a burnt-out ruin and back again — and the Slovak National Museum’s history collections inside today.
Visitor Info
Tours, seasonal opening hours, tickets and accessibility — everything you need before you arrive.
Bookings
Choose a tour and reserve your date and time online in a couple of minutes.
Find & Navigate
The castle on the map, with directions for your visit.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross
Walls of gold and semi-precious stone
The chapel at the top of the Great Tower is the reason the castle exists. Its walls are set with polished jasper and amethyst, its vault is gilded and studded with glass stars, and above the stone runs a band of 129 paintings of saints, prophets and holy rulers — the largest surviving cycle of its kind in Europe. Only sixteen people enter at a time.
What visitors say
Loved by travellers from around the world
Take the Chapels tour if you can get a slot — the Chapel of the Holy Cross is genuinely one of the great rooms of Europe. The basic tour is fine but you don't see it.
Easy half-day from Prague: train to Karlštejn, walk through the village, up the hill. The castle from below is the picture everyone wants; the guide inside was excellent.
Steep walk up from the station — allow 25 minutes. Tours run in Czech with English text, or book the English slot ahead. Worth it for the towers alone.