Konopište Castle

Konopište Castle is the last residence of the heir to the Astro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand von Habsburg, whose assassination in 1914 started the First World War.

The Gothic castle was built in the 13th century for maximum protection against possible sieges. In the arsenal of the castle there are seven towers, moats and earthen ramparts. His first siege in 1467, the castle courageously held for 17 months, but was surrendered to the troops of King George of Podebrad. The second time the castle was defeated in 1648, and was completely looted by Swedish troops. Subsequently, Konopište changed owners several times, each sought to transform the castle into his own way - so Gothic began to turn into Baroque. During the Second World War, the General Staff of the SS troops was located in the castle.