Day-trips from Prague - The Rough Guide to Prague - page 233

1.5 percent of his final bag is displayed. The trigger-happy archduke had certainly amassed
some bad karma by the time he arrived in Bosnia.
Tours of the chateau
There's a choice of three guided tours . The first tour, I okruh , explores the period interiors,
which contain some splendid Renaissance cabinets and lots of Meissen porcelain, while II
okruh takes youthrough the chapel, past the stuffed bears and deer teeth, to the assorted leth-
al weapons of one of the finest armouries in Europe. Both of these tours include the hunting
trophies. III okruh , meanwhile, concentrates on the personal apartments of the archduke and
his wife. As Sophie was a mere countess, and not an archduchess, the couple were shunned
by the Habsburg court in Vienna, and hid themselves away in Konopiště.
Chateau grounds
In the main courtyard of the chateau, you can pop into the purpose-built Střelnice (shooting
range;30Kč),wherethearchdukewouldhonehisskillsasamarksmanagainstmovingmech-
anical targets, all of which have been meticulously restored. Tucked underneath the south
terrace is the Muzeum sv Jiří (30Kč), which is packed to the gunwales with artefacts from
Franz Ferdinand's collection - from paintings to statuettes and trinkets relating to St George,
the fictional father of medieval chivalry, with whom the archduke was obsessed. Much the
best reason to come to Konopiště, though, is to explore its extensive zámecký park , which
boasts a marked red path around the largest lake, sundry statuary, an unrivalled rose garden
with a café, several greenhouses ( skleníky ; 35Kč) and a deer park.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION: KONOPIŠTĚ
By train Fast trains (every 2hr; 40min) and slower services (hourly; 1hr 5min) to Benešov
u Prahy leave from Praha hlavní nádraží; the chateau is a 2km walk west of the train station
alongeitherthered-oryellow-markedpath-theredfeaturesmorewoodlandwalking.Buses
are infrequent.
Opening hours April, May & Sept Tues-Sun 10am-noon & 1-4pm; June-Aug Tues-Sun
10am-noon & 1-5pm; Oct & Nov Sat & Sun 10am-noon & 1-3pm.
Tours Most tours - I okruh (45min; 150Kč), II okruh (45min; 150Kč) and III okruh (restric-
ted to eight people: 1hr; 220Kč) - are in Czech, but there are occasional tours in English,
which cost 140Kč/140Kč/220Kč extra respectively (ask at the box office or phone ahead).
Contact details 301 721 366, zamek-konopiste.cz .
EATING AND DRINKING
Stará myslivna Konopiště 2 281 863 746, staramyslivna.com . The brief menu at the
lovely Old Hunting Lodge , downhill from the chateau, is straight out of the archduke's hunt-
ing bag, featuring rabbit, venison, pheasant and wild boar. Mains 110-275Kč. Sun-Thurs
11am-9pm, Fri & Sat 11am-10pm.