Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV founded Karlštejn in 1348 and personally supervised its construction and decoration. Vitus of Bítov directed the work. The builder is unrecorded, though some historians suggest Matthias of Arras, who died in 1352. The article calls it a large Gothic castle.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross, in the great tower, was consecrated in 1365 when the project was finished. It housed state documents and the imperial regalia, later the Bohemian Crown Jewels. The great tower is about 200 feet (60 m) high, separately fortified, with walls 13 to 25 feet (4 to 7.5 m) thick.
The regalia were evacuated in 1421 during the Hussite Wars. After Swedes conquered the castle in 1648, it fell into disrepair. Josef Mocker's Gothic Revival reconstruction from 1887 to 1899 gave it its present look. It has been open to the public since 1905 and drew over 200,000 visitors in 2019.
Comments