2025 castle and chateau season begins: Historical sites brace for Kingdom Come fans

This year's season at the state castles, chateaus, and other monuments managed by the National Heritage Institute (NPS) will begin on Saturday, April 5. Visitors can look forward to new guided tours, and, starting in mid-April, Easter traditions and fairs. The 2025 season will be extended through the autumn holidays and will run until November 2. To find out more about what visitors can expect from this year’s season, I spoke with the Institute’s spokeswoman, Blanka Černá.

About one hundred sites across Czechia are opening for this year’s season at the state castles and chateaus. But visitors can also expect to see monasteries, churches, Villa Šťastný in Brno, or even the technical monument Důl Michal in Ostrava. So the range and offer is really very broad.

Důl Michal|Photo: Martin Knitl, Czech Radio

In contrast to previous years, the National Heritage Institute has prepared another edition of its long-term project In the Footsteps of Noble Families. This project always focuses on a specific noble family or families, or a theme connected to the life of the nobility, and links it to the sites managed by the National Heritage Institute that are open to the public. Černá continues:

“This year’s edition of the project is called Year of the Italian Nobility and will present three noble families: Colalto, Coloredo, and Piccolomini. These Italian families were very significant for the history of the Czech lands after the Thirty Years' War, and these families are associated with three state chateaus that the National Heritage Institute manages: Uherčice, Opočno, and Náchod.”

Opočno Chateau|Photo: Národní památkový ústav, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 CZ

Many scientific institutions will also be involved, offering expert programs from the National Heritage Institute’s departments, libraries, and museums.

Zvíkov|Photo: Jana Matznerová, Czech Radio

The National Heritage Institute has prepared another major project for this year called Vltava, the Famous and Navigable River. This project involves several sites located in South and Central Bohemia along the Vltava River. It will showcase the Vltava as a cultural route that contributed to the development of life and culture, inspiring many artists. It also highlights river transport, which played a role in regional development, including the capital city.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other significant sporting events in recent years, among other things, visitor numbers have not increased significantly, but they remain stable, Černá noted:

“Visitor numbers dropped significantly due to COVID, but in recent years, they have been increasing again. They reached nearly 4 million before last yea. Last year, the number was slightly lower, but the visitor numbers still remained around the 4 million mark.”

Trosky Castle|Photo: Jaroslav Hoření, Czech Radio

Due to the popularity of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, fans can also expect to be able to visit some popular sites, such as Trosky Castle. Černá explained how they expect the fans to change this year’s season:

“We are preparing for this not only at Trosky Castle but also at the Sázava Monastery, where the first part of the Kingdom Come game took place, and where there was a visitor boom after the release of the first part. An app was also created for visitors, so Sázava Monastery is preparing for the fact that some people will come to see this location, where the first part of the game was set.

Statue of St. Procopius in Sázava Monastery|Photo: Petra Kulísková, Radio Prague International

“But returning to Trosky Castle, yes, we expect the visitor numbers to reflect this interest. We are also preparing a program for the summer months that will be more focused on fans of this game. The program is not yet fully finalized. We are still in the process of preparation, so I would not reveal the details just yet. However, we are aiming for the second half of July. We are considering a whole weekend dedicated to the fans of this game.”

Other notable projects include the state chateau of Zákupy, where the restored southern wing of the farmyard will open this weekend, and many other cultural landmarks. To read more, visitors can access the National Heritage Institute’s website, where they highlight the most important events, along with dates and social media accounts to stay in touch with in the months to come.