Castle Tower
The Castle Tower is probably the most famous symbol of Český Krumlov. The banner at the top shines at a height of 86 m above the Vltava River. The tower has a Gothic core, but it was completed in Renaissance style. The lowest section was created in the mid-13th century, while the second floor, slightly narrower and separated from the bottom by a narrow ledge, is about a hundred years younger. The Renaissance Tower was given its shape by completion in 1581, designed by Italian architect Baldassaro Maggi of Arogno (about 1550–1619). The exterior decoration of the tower as well as of the Hrádek in 1590 is the work of the Rožmberk court painter Bartoloměj Beránek, nicknamed Jelínek († 1618). The murals were extensively repaired and partially reconstructed from 1994 to 1996.
The gallery is decorated with arcades on 19 columns.
There are four bells hung in the tower, the heaviest of which has an estimated weight of 1,800 kg and dates from 1406. Other small bells, known as the clock bells, have been hanging in the lucerne atop the tower for 400 years.
Interesting technical details
number of steps: 162
height: 54,5 m
height from the surface of the Vltava: 86 m
height to gallery: 24,6 m
maximum diameter of the tower: 12 m
greatest thickness of the wall: 3,7 m
Bells in the bell-tower
Bell 1: weight 1 800 kg, made in 1406, diameter 1,47 m
Bell 2: weight 1 400 kg, made in 1671, diameter 1,36 m
Bell 3: weight 410 kg, made in 1406, diameter 0,84 m
Bell 4: weight 75 kg, made in 1744, diameter 0,52 m
Castle Tower - hours of opening:
| hours of opening: | |
|---|---|
| date | open |
| 01.01. - 31.03. | Thu - Sun, 09:00 - 16:00 |
| 01.04. - 31.05. | Mon - Sun, 09:00 - 17:00 |
| 01.06. - 31.08. | Mon - Sun, 09:00 - 18:00 |
| 01.09. - 31.10. | Mon - Sun, 09:00 - 17:00 |
| 01.11. - 31.12. | Thu - Sun, 09:00 - 16:00 |
- Tours are without a guide.
Castle Tower - price list:
| Admission in the official visiting time (CZK) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour | Tours are without a guide | |||
| Full | Reduced | Family admission | ||
| Children, students, invalids | Seniors | |||
| Castle Tower | 50 | 30 | 30 | 110 |
| Castle Tower + Castle Museum | 130 | 60 | 80 | 270 |
- children up to 6 years - free entrance
- groups of children up to 6 years - charged a price Kc 20,- / child
- reduced tour price for students - only for students up to 26 years
- reduced tour price for seniors - only for seniors over 65 years
- booking fee = Kc 10,-/person
- reduced tour price for groups from 20 persons - full tour price - 10%
- tour leader for free for groups from 25 persons
- extraordinary admission (out of the common visiting time) = full tour price + 100%
Map of the Český Krumlov Castle /pdf/