Cesky Krumlov Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

The route: from the Latrán monasteries over the Vltava and back up to the castle

10 stops · about 25 min walking · start: Monasteries (Kláštery) · finish: Český Krumlov Castle

The hunt starts at the Monasteries in the Latrán district and climbs to the Castle Tower before crossing Barber's Bridge into the old town in the river bend. There you visit the Church of St Vitus, the fountain and plague column on Náměstí Svornosti, the Wax Museum and the Egon Schiele Art Centrum, then return across the river to the Cloak Bridge and the castle garden, finishing at Český Krumlov Castle. Each riddle is read from the street, the bridges or the garden paths, so you never queue at a ticket desk, and if your guesthouse is inside the river bend, the app can open the game at Náměstí Svornosti and fit the castle side around it.

Open the route map ↗

1. 

   1Monasteries (Kláštery)Start

   The Monasteries of Český Krumlov in the Latrán district were founded in the mid-14th century by the Rosenberg family as a double convent for Minorite friars and Poor Clare nuns, a rare arrangement in Central Europe. After a long restoration the complex reopened as a cultural centre around its Gothic cloisters.

2. 

   2Castle Tower

   The round Castle Tower rises above the town on the castle rock and is one of the symbols of Český Krumlov. Gothic in origin, it received its painted Renaissance decoration and arcaded gallery in the late 16th century, and from the top you look over red roofs and the bend of the Vltava.

3. 

   3Barber's Bridge (Lazebnický most)

   This wooden bridge over the Vltava links the Latrán district with the inner town and is named after a barber's bathhouse that stood at its end. Statues of St John of Nepomuk and of Christ on the cross stand on it. It is linked to the story of Julius d'Austria, illegitimate son of Emperor Rudolf II, who lived in the castle and murdered a barber's daughter in 1608.

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4. 

   4Church of St Vitus

   The Church of St Vitus is the town's late-Gothic parish church, built in the first half of the 15th century on the slope above the river. Its slender tower, seen from all over town, forms the classic view of Český Krumlov together with the Castle Tower.

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5. 

   5Fountain and Plague Column

   On the main square, Náměstí Svornosti, stands a Baroque plague column from the early 18th century, raised in thanks for the end of a plague epidemic and crowned by a statue of the Virgin Mary. Beside it is the town fountain, and the square is lined with old burghers' houses and the Town Hall.

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   6Wax Museum

   The Wax Museum occupies an old townhouse in the historic centre. Its wax figures show people from Czech history and from the town's past in recreated period settings, so you meet the characters of the stories you hear on the route.

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   7Egon Schiele Art Centrum

   This art centre fills a former Renaissance town brewery and is devoted to the Austrian painter Egon Schiele and to modern art. Schiele's mother came from Český Krumlov, and in 1911 he lived here with his model Wally Neuzil until the townspeople's disapproval of his lifestyle drove him away.

8. 

   8Cloak Bridge (Plášťový most)

   The Cloak Bridge is a covered bridge on three levels of arches spanning a deep ravine inside the castle complex. It links the castle with the castle theatre and the garden, and its present form dates from the 18th century, with Baroque statues of saints on its lower level.

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9. 

   9Castle Garden

   The large castle garden, Zámecká zahrada, stretches over the hill behind the castle and was laid out mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries. It holds the Bellarie summer house, the Baroque Cascade Fountain and an open-air theatre with a revolving auditorium.

10. 

    10Český Krumlov CastleFinish

    Founded shortly before 1250, the castle grew under the Rosenbergs, Eggenbergs and Schwarzenbergs into one of the largest castle complexes in Central Europe, with about forty buildings around five courtyards. Look for the bears in the moat, a tradition linked to the Rosenbergs' claimed kinship with the Italian Orsini family. Its Baroque theatre, built in 1680–1682, still survives.