On the way from Prague to Salzburg, everyone told us we had to stop at Český Krumlov. “It’s a fairy tale town.” “You’ll love it.” “There’s a castle.”
Sure. Fine. We hired a driver to take us through on the way.
Then we got there.
Český Krumlov is a medieval town built inside a bend of the Vltava River, with a massive castle complex perched on the cliffs above it. The whole thing looks like someone asked an artist to draw a fairy tale and they just drew this place from memory.
The town is tiny. You can walk the whole thing in maybe an hour. But every corner has another view that makes you stop and stare at the river wrapping around these centuries-old buildings like it’s protecting them.
The Castle#
Český Krumlov Castle is the second largest castle complex in the Czech Republic, right after Prague Castle. It dates back to the 1240s and has been through the hands of the Rosenbergs, the Habsburgs, and the Schwarzenbergs. The whole compound has 40 buildings, five courtyards, and a baroque theater that still has its original stage machinery from the 1600s.
Also, it has a bear moat. But I’ll get to that.
The castle gardens are immaculate. Formal hedges, stone staircases, statues. The kind of place where you feel underdressed no matter what you’re wearing.
The Tower#
There was a tower. We climbed it. The stairs were narrow, steep, and made of wood that has been absorbing tourist footsteps for hundreds of years. Every step creaked like it was filing a complaint.
At the top: bells. Big ones. And views over the entire town that made the creaky death stairs worth it.
Czech Lunch#
We stopped for a proper Czech lunch. Dumplings, ham, roast meat, sauerkraut, potatoes. Heavy in every direction. Exactly right.
THE BEAR MOAT#
OK. The real reason this post exists.
Český Krumlov Castle has a moat. In that moat, there are bears. Real, actual, living bears.
They’ve been keeping bears in this moat since the 1500s. The Rosenberg family, who owned the castle, claimed descent from the Italian Orsini family (whose name comes from “orso,” the Italian word for bear), so they kept bears as a living symbol of their lineage. The tradition has continued on and off for over 400 years. The current bears are brown bears, and they live in a landscaped enclosure in the castle’s first courtyard.
I need to be very clear about something: this is the greatest castle feature in human history. Every castle should have a bear moat. I don’t understand why this isn’t standard.
I stood at the edge and looked down at those bears and felt a deep kinship. They live in a castle. They’re bears. They don’t have to pay rent. This is the dream.
Český Krumlov was supposed to be a quick stop between Prague and Salzburg. Instead it turned out to be a medieval fairy tale town with food that could knock you unconscious, a bell tower with views for days, and the single greatest castle moat arrangement I have ever encountered.
If I ever get a castle, and I will, it’s getting a bear moat. Non-negotiable.
Onwards to Salzburg!