Karlštejn
Among the castles designed for relaxation and amusement for the sovereigns, or for military purposes, there is one, built for a special reason, that stands out: Karlštejn, built by the Parler workshop from 1348 to 1357. It is said that Karlštejn was to provide a home for the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire and for the relics of saints. The fact is, however, that Charles IV took up this purpose much later, and the jewels were then stored in the Chapel of the Holy Cross in the Great Tower. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Czech crown jewels were housed here for a while as well. Karlštejn today holds the most extensive collection of panel paintings in all of Europe. This is a unique collection comprising 129 Gothic portaits of saints, created from 1359 to 1365 by the workshop of Master Theodoricus, the Italian-born court painter of Charles IV.
Among the castles designed for relaxation and amusement for the sovereigns, or for military purposes, there is one, built for a special reason, that stands out: Karlštejn, built by the Parler workshop from 1348 to 1357. It is said that Karlštejn was to provide a home for the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire and for the relics of saints. The fact is, however, that Charles IV took up this purpose much later, and the jewels were then stored in the Chapel of the Holy Cross in the Great Tower. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Czech crown jewels were housed here for a while as well. Karlštejn today holds the most extensive collection of panel paintings in all of Europe. This is a unique collection comprising 129 Gothic portaits of saints, created from 1359 to 1365 by the workshop of Master Theodoricus, the Italian-born court painter of Charles IV. The walls of the Chapel of the Holy Cross are adorned with polished semi-precious stones, gold accessories, and frescoes, much like the Chapel of St. Wenceslas (Václav) in the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Beautiful period murals also decorate the lower Marian Tower with its capitular Church of the Virgin Mary. In many places, these frescoes faithfully portray Charles IV himself. The ruler’s dwelling at the castle, the Imperial Palace, was later heavily damaged, so the original murals today show us their former glory.
