Konopiště Castle, Benešov Czech Republic

When studying our family history, we came across records of our ancestors in The Czech Republic. One of the Fischers talked about being proud to guard a palace, and living close by Benešov. This leads us to believe that he guarded Konopiště Castle!

My dad had to come back to Europe to do work in Latvia, and stopped by Prague for a day to see me! Last time he visited, Konopiště Castle was closed for the winter (Many castles in Europe aren't open for touring until April) so we were so excited to finally go on the day trip!

In my dad's hometown in Illinois, there used to live the Benešov family. The father of the family was ancient, and my relatives used to use the excuse that he died to get out of class. Of course, that was never true!

We took photos at the station to send my grandparents!

Kids from the community painted the inside of the station!

We walked a little over a mile to get to Konopiště. The walk took us through fields and forest, and it was a beautiful day to get outside!

We passed a gated in area where Franz Ferdinand originally kept pet deer and goats in the early 19th century! The groundskeepers still keep them as pets today!

Feeding the deer!

After an uphill climb, we finally got to Konopiště Castle!

The castle was originally built in 1280, and was modified throughout history. The castle was originally built in the gothic style, but during the anti-Hapsburg rebellion, was changed to the Renaissance style. The most famous owner of the castle was Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria! Bought in 1887, he actually didn't buy the property to rule from. Instead, he turned the palace into his summer hunting lodge. Ferdinand was a huge fan of trophy hunting, and had logged over 300,000 kills during his lifetime. This was a pretty insane amount, even for a noble. We got to see a few of his trophy halls on the tour, and were blown away.

Under each trophy was the species and location of the hunt. Ferdinand traveled all over the world for his kills!

We had to sneak pictures inside, so this was our selflie! The antlers go on forever! We definitely thought it was a bit excessive, but if you were royal you could pretty much do whatever you wanted! I think my dad will show my mom this picture the next time she complains about the amount of animals on our walls!

Even on his outside balcony he displayed his kills...

He probably didn't need an intense security system, any bad guy who saw all of these would probably run for his life.

Inside Konopiště's courtyard

We then headed over to Ferdinand's target room! Of course, he had more of his kills on display inside. To motivate him I assume.

My dad is getting some decorating ideas for the man cave! Only missing about 1,000 deer..........

The target was beautiful, encrusted in gold and including paintings of hunting scenes

Loved exploring the castle grounds with my dad! So cool getting to walk where our ancestors once did!

This fenced in area actually used to house Ferdinand's pet bears! They still have one at the castle today, but he was sleeping inside!

I think in my dad's future hunting cabin he should get a statue of him and Cody!

Such a fun day!

View of Konopišťský rybnik lake, which the castle sits on!

Headed out for lunch at Ferdinand's favorite restaurant, Old myslivna! The restaurant serves traditional Czech meals, with lots of wild game!

We chose to sit outside on the beautiful day, but made sure to check out the inside first!

My dad got a Pilsner and I got a raspberry lemonade!

Wild game appetizer filled with boar, venison, and a mixture of other things! Also got a Czech bratwurst to split!

After we ate a big lunch, we hiked back to the train! Prague is about an hour train ride from Konopiště, and we rode by many yellow fields of Canola!

Once back in Prague, we still had a few hours of sunlight, so we headed over towards the JZP farmers market and the Television Tower!

The Television Tower was created during Communism in the Czech Republic. All of the residents of Prague absolutely hated the tower, since it was so ugly! Once communism collapsed, David Cerny created modern art statues of babies crawling up the tower, super creepy! Today there is a hotel, restaurant, and 360 observation point in the tower!

Spooky....

The observation deck has these fun bubble swings you can sit in, while overlooking the city!

Panoramic views to end a perfect day!