Czechia 4K walk 🇨🇿 Konopiště Castle - The last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

Not far from Prague, to the south, is the impressive Konopiste Castle, which we will visit today in our Czechia 4k walk. It was The last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Late spring finally comes to us. Flowering trees around us add joy. Konopiště Castle (Zámek Konopiště) is a four-winged, three-story castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I. Fired by Gavrilo Princip, the bullet that killed him is now an exhibit at the castle's small museum. The castle was established around 1294 by Prague Bishop Tobiáš of Benešov as a Gothic fortification in the style of a French castle with a rectangular plan and round towers protruding from the corners, making the most effective defense possible. Accounts show that the Benešovic family from nearby Benešov were the owners in 1318 and that in 1327 the castle passed into the hands of the Šternberks. In 1468, it was conquered by the troops of George of Poděbrady after a siege that lasted almost two years. In 1603, the estate was purchased by Dorota Hodějovská of Hodějov, who made Renaissance alterations to the old Gothic fortification. The Hodějovský family fortified their property because of their active participation in the anti-Habsburg rebellion in 1620. Albrecht von Waldstein acquired the castle, and after him, it was passed to Adam Michna of Vacínov. Michna gained notoriety through his repression of the serfs, who revolted against him and conquered Konopiště in 1657. The Swedes occupied and plundered Konopiště in 1648, and the Vrtba family then purchased the dilapidated structure. After 1725, they had it transformed into a Baroque style château. A stone bridge replaced the drawbridge, and near the east tower, a new entrance was inserted in the wall. The gate which embellished it was designed by František Maxmilián Kaňka and featured statues from the workshop of Matthias Bernard Braun. In 1746, the upper levels of four of the towers were destroyed, and one tower was utterly demolished. During the repair of the interiors, mythological and allegorical frescoes were painted on the ceilings of the great hall, and marble fireplaces with carved decorations by Lazar Wildmann were created. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria bought Konopiště in 1887 with his inheritance from the last reigning Duke of Modena. He had it repaired between 1889 and 1894 by the architect Josef Mocker into a luxurious residence, suitable for a future Emperor, which he preferred to his official residence in Vienna. The extensive 225 ha (550-acre) English landscape garden with terraces, a rose garden, and statues were established simultaneously. He invited Wilhelm II, German Kaiser, to see his roses early in June 1914. Insofar as they discussed politics, they discussed Romania. Still, undocumented conspiracy theories about their planning an attack on Serbia or a division of the Austro-Hungarian Empire arose at the time. Since 1921, the castle has been the property of the Czechoslovak and later Czech state, one of 90 such properties in state ownership. The Ministry of Culture was said to spend more than US$800,000 per year to maintain the castle, and it recovers about as much from entrance ticket sales and rental fees for periodic functions. Konopiště has been open to the public since 1971. Visitors can observe the residential rooms of Franz Ferdinand. He was also an enthusiastic hunter, an extensive collection of antlers, the "Obizzi-Este collection" (the third-largest European collection of armory and medieval weapons from Castello del Catajo, Padua, Italy), a shooting hall with moving targets, and a garden with Italian Renaissance statues and greenhouses. Recorded in 4k 60fps HDR Perception Philosophy © 2022 21th April 2022 Czech Republic HDR ASMR