Konopiste Chateau

Konopiste is a medieval castle rebuilt repeatedly and finally, from 1887, remodelled for Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este into a modern residence with electricity, lifts, running water and central heating - unusually advanced for the period. He lived here with Sophie Chotek and their children, and the rooms are shown essentially as they were on the day he left for Sarajevo in June 1914, which gives the place its particular character. He was an obsessive hunter and record-keeper: his tallies run to around three hundred thousand animals shot, and the corridors are hung with tens of thousands of trophies, many labelled with date and place, which most visitors find overwhelming and some find distasteful. He also assembled a large collection of St George imagery, thousands of pieces, shown in a separate room. There is a rose garden, a park with ponds and a bear enclosure.

What you actually see

• Rooms as left in June 1914 - the archduke's residence kept as it was.
• Tens of thousands of trophies - hung in the corridors and labelled.
• The St George collection - thousands of depictions in one room.
• A rose garden and park - with ponds and a bear enclosure below.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Several separate guided routes, each its own ticket, and they sell out in summer. The trophy corridors are confronting - a lot of dead animals. Closed Mondays and in winter.

Nearby

Benesov is three kilometres away; Cesky Sternberk is east.