Czech Castles and Chateaus – The Perfect Storytellers 捷克城堡和庄园——最完美的故事叙述者

STORYTELLER MR.R
Frantisek Reismüller Czech Tourism Shanghai Office Director

This time, Mr. R. is going to tell you some stories about Czech castles and chateaus. Or maybe he will let the castles and chateaus tell the stories themselves. Over the course of many centuries these magnificent buildings stayed very well preserved and now their strong and beautiful walls breathe with all splendid stories that happened inside them. There is over two hundred castles and chateaus in the Czech Republic. ‘We don’t have the time and space to tell the stories of all of them, so we have chosen the most important and most interesting.’

Karlstejn Castle
The Guarded Treasure
Karlstejn Castle holds an absolutely exceptional position among Czech castles. It was established by the Czech king and Roman emperor Charles IV as a place to store the royal treasures, collections of holy relics and the crown jewels. The very impressive layout of the castle buildings from the settlement outside the castle walls right up to the Imperial Palace and the towers rising over it will captivate you with their ingenuity.
Karlstejn Castle was completed in 1365 and apart from its beautiful decoration, it also stands out among the others for its stepped layout according to the importance of individual parts of the castle. At the lowest point, you will find the settlement outside the castle walls with the Burgrave’s Palace and its originally designed well, the two-storey Imperial Palace spreads out above this with the bedrooms of the king, his court and noblewomen, on the next level, the smaller Marian Tower with chapels reaches for the sky and at the very top you will find the dominant Great Tower, in which the Czech royal treasures were supposed to be stored.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in the High Tower
The Chapel of the Holy Cross located in the highest High Tower enjoyed such esteem that Charles IV entered it barefoot as a sign of humility and had it fitted with three iron doors and nine locks. Its decoration is inspired by the description of Heavenly Jerusalem in the biblical book of Revelations. The chapel was used as a repository for the crown jewels and held Charles’ collection of the remains of saints. The chapel with four windows, partially glazed with precious stones, cross vaults with profiled ribs, frescoes from the life of Christ and 129 unique panels depicting the saints by Master Theodoric make a visit to this sacred room a truly ethereal experience.

The most famous legends of Karlstejn
Karl?tejn has been a great muse for artists since time immemorial. According to one legend, Karl?tejn Castle was intended only for the secular and spiritual needs of King Charles IV, so women were forbidden from entering. Another legend tells of a blind musician who used to play the lute accompanied by his faithful dog. The Prince of Brunswick was visiting once with a treacherous butler who wanted to poison the nobleman. He passed him a goblet with poison, but the prince offered this to the blind lute player to slake his thirst as he had been playing so beautifully all day. The faithful dog did not let his master drink from the goblet, jumped onto his lap and drank it himself.

Loket Castle
The Key to the Bohemian Kingdom
Since time immemorial Loket Castle has been called the key to the Kingdom of Bohemia. It was claimed, in fact, that whoever conquered Loket would conquer the entire Czech kingdom. The mighty castle was an important point in the medieval defensive line and was a gateway to the former Bohemian crown lands. On a rocky promontory, protected on three sides by the river Oh?e (Eger in German), it was built in the 13th century on the orders of the Czech king Wenceslas I as an impregnable fortress. Local residents could attest to its invincibility as early as the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century, when Loket was three times besieged in vain. It is a historical paradox that although throughout its long history the castle usually held its ground, much to the despair of the would-be conquerors, today it is one of the few castles in the Czech Republic which can boast that its gates are open to visitors all year round.
The impregnability of the city walls and its location in the midst of deep, untamed forests also predicted a dark future for Loket Castle. The chill of the unyielding Loket walls was even felt by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (1316–1378), who was imprisoned here as a child. Despite this terrible experience, he did not lose his love for the castle, and as an adult he would often travel here from Prague to relax and especially to hunt in the expansive royal game park and the surrounding forests. It was on one of his adventurous game hunts that his entourage discovered the curative effects of the springs in the nearby valley of the river Teplá, where the emperor then established the now famous spa town Karlovy Vary.

Torture chambers and dungeons
Today, we can imagine how the young Charles felt when he was imprisoned in one of the castle’s myriad dungeons by visiting an extensive exhibition of torture here. The future emperor definitely was not the only one to be locked up in the castle. Starting in 1792, the multilevel castle cellars were used as a state prison, so the exposition had a lot of history to draw upon. The exhibition takes visitors through the world of medieval torture chambers and dungeons. The tour is enhanced by the presence of mechanical figures of convicts whose unnerving cries heighten the spine-chilling presentation.

Kuks
An Island of Barogue Art
Many tales from the Baroque era begin with a miracle. The story of Kuks apparently began with a swindle. In the late 17th century, the owner of the estate, the eccentric Count Franti?ek Antonín ?pork, invited a commission of illustrious experts to the springs bubbling up in a picturesque valley, whose waters they proclaimed to be curative. Modern chemical analyses, however, have shown the water to have no special properties.
While the beneficial effects of the water was a hoax, it led to the creation of one of the most fascinating gems of Baroque art in the world. At a feverish pace, an extensive and meticulously planned spa complex was built not only on both sides of the Labe (Elbe) river valley but also in the adjacent forests. Count ?pork hired the very best architects and sculptors. The fame of the spa spread quickly, and, just as its founder had wished, it became a popular centre of social life. Just as at today’s spas, the founder Kuks put an emphasis not only on curative treatments, but to a large extent also on social activities for the guests. In the times of its greatest glory, Kuks was a true sensation for all the senses.
Symbolically, what began with water, ended with water. In December 1740, the Labe river overflowed its banks, and the flood wiped out a significant portion of the spa. Its operation was never renewed, and further blows were brought by military conflicts which swept through the Kuks area in the following century. We can only regret that just a fragment of the grandly conceived design of ?pork’s Kuks has survived. Meditation on the transience of earthly life is an inseparable part of Baroque art, and it underscores the unique atmosphere of a visit to Kuks today.

米局长讲故事
米德仁
捷克旅游局上海办事处局长

“这次米局长将会告诉你一些关于捷克城堡和庄园的故事，有时让城堡和庄园自己来讲述它们的故事更为有趣。经历漫长岁月，这些宏伟建筑依旧保存完好，现今它们坚实美丽的壁垒处处孕育着故事。捷克有超过200座的城堡和庄园。“我们无法在此将这些故事一一叙述，所以这里我们为大家挑选了一些最重要和最有趣的故事。”

卡尔施泰因城堡
被守护的珍宝
卡尔施泰因城堡傲立于众多捷克城堡之上，主要归功于它杰出的建筑地位。它由当时的捷克国王即罗马帝国皇帝查理四世兴建，旨在陈列皇室宝藏，诸如神圣的遗物和皇权加冕珠宝。错落有致布局考究的各个建筑包括城堡下层，皇宫以及耸立的钟塔构成城堡整体。在城堡中的圣十字小教堂里，人们会在西奥多里克大师的画作前片刻沉思。
卡尔施泰因城堡于1365年建成。除了华丽的装潢，建筑的每个部分根据重要性而错落有致的布局也凌驾于其他城堡之上。最下面是城堡底层，这里有一口井，在这之上是两层的皇家宫殿，其中有国王的卧室以及国王妃子和贵族亲友的卧室，另外一层的高度与稍低一点的玛丽昂塔持平其中有祷告室，在最高处可以看到高耸的大塔，在里面陈列着捷克国王的珍宝。拾级而上便能亲眼目睹奇珍异宝。

高塔里的圣十字小教堂
圣十字小教堂位于整座城堡最高的高塔中，它的神圣与庄严不言而喻。查理四世皇帝进入其中都要拖鞋以示卑微，并且有三道铁门和九把锁捍卫。它的装饰灵感来自于圣经中对天堂般耶路撒冷圣城的描述。小教堂里陈列着象征皇权加冕的珍宝，以及查理国王收藏的圣物。小教堂有四扇窗，部分装饰有宝石镶嵌的玻璃，十字花纹塑造的拱形穹顶，描绘耶稣基督生活的壁画，以及举世无双出自大师西奥多里克之手的129幅圣徒版画。所有这些，都令人们对造访如此圣地所获得的超凡体验无限向往。

卡尔施泰因城堡最著名的神话
自古以来卡尔斯泰因就受到众多艺术家的青睐，有一种传说卡尔施泰因城堡是专供国王查理四世修行祈祷的圣地，因此是禁止女人入内的。另一个神话则讲述了一位盲人音乐家带着自己忠诚的狗在城堡里演奏七弦琴。当来自布伦斯威克的公爵带着他不诚实的随从造访时，这个随从企图毒死这位贵族公爵。他给公爵端来了下了毒的酒，而公爵却把酒赏给了盲人琴师，因为他整天在演奏非常辛苦，可以润润嗓子。忠诚的狗为了不让自己的主人喝毒酒，纵身跳到他的膝上自己将毒酒一饮而尽。

洛克特城堡
通往波西米亚王国的钥匙
自古洛克特城堡就被称作波西米亚王国的钥匙。据说，无论是谁征服洛克特城堡就能征服整个捷克王国。该巨大的城堡是中世纪防线上重要的据点，也是通往波西米亚王室领土的门户。它是根据捷克国王瓦茨拉夫一世之令于13世纪建立在三面环水的海岬之上的坚不可摧的防御工事。早在15世纪早期的胡斯战争，当地居民就亲眼见证了它的无敌，当时它被三次围攻，却都令对手无功而返。这就是一个历史的悖论，漫长的历史岁月过去了，让侵略者绝望的这座城堡依旧矗立在那儿。现在它是捷克共和国为数不多的全年开放的城堡之一。
坚不可摧的城墙以及地处的深渊险要，蛮荒的森林也预示了洛克特城堡之后的一段的黑暗时期。神圣罗马帝国皇帝查理四世（1316——
1378）孩提时曾被囚禁在这里，坚不可摧的洛克特城堡的森冷让他不寒而栗。除却这可怕的经历，罗马帝国皇帝查理四世并没有失去他对这座城堡的喜爱，成年后，他经常从布拉格到此处来旅行放松，尤其爱在这里的皇家狩猎场和周围的森林里狩猎。就是在某次他来此地的狩猎冒险过程中，他的仆从发现了附近特普拉河边山谷中温泉的疗效，在那里最后皇帝建造了现在最著名的温泉小镇——卡罗维发利。

酷刑和地牢
今天， 我们可以通过参观城堡大量的酷刑展览想象当年年轻的查理被囚禁在这城堡地牢中的情景，这位未来的皇帝并非是唯一一个被关押在此城堡中的。自1792年开始，城堡中多层牢房被用做国家监狱。因此展览有很多历史故事可以讲述。展览带着游客一同穿越在中世纪酷刑室和地牢，整个旅程还伴随了机器模拟罪犯发出的呼叫更加增添了毛骨悚然的氛围。

库克斯
一座巴洛克艺术之岛
巴洛克时期的许多传说都始于一个个奇迹。库克斯的故事显然是从一个骗局开始。17世纪末，该城堡的主人怪伯爵Frantisek Antonin Spork邀请了一组著名的专家前往风景如画山谷里的一个具他们声称有治疗功效的热温泉。现代化学分析表明该泉水并无特别功效。
虽然泉水的功效是个骗局，但是它却导致了一个世界上最迷人的巴洛克艺术瑰宝的诞生。非常快的一个占地广阔精心设计的温泉综合疗养所在易北河两岸以及附近的丛林建立起来。Spork伯爵雇了最好的建筑师和雕塑师傅，很快温泉的雏形就完成了，如同他的建造者所期望的那样，它成了了一个社交生活的中心。就如同现在的温泉一样，奠基人库克斯不光把重点放在温泉的治愈疗效上，并延伸到客人的社交活动上。在其辉煌时期，库克斯能让人享受所有感官所能享受之极。
非常有象征意义的，从水开始从水结束。1740年12月易北河溃堤，洪水冲毁了温泉疗养地的绝大部分。重建始终未能如愿，因为随后的一个世纪库克斯地区被卷入了横扫该地的军事冲突之中。我们感到遗憾的是仅只有一小部分Spork费心构想的库克斯设计被保留了下来。对短暂的地球生命之冥想是巴洛克艺术不可分割的一部分。这也是今天参观库克斯的一个意义所在。

by