Křivoklát, King of the Kastles?

A candidate for 'the Czech Republic's best castle beginning with K' is the one at Křivoklát, just over an hour by train west of Prague. It towers over the small village of that name nesting in the middle of hills that feel centuries away from the capital's bustle, hustle, scams, and people making YouTube videos about the hustle, bustle and scams.

Křivoklát itself (pronounced something like 'ksheevo klart', though not much) consists of little more than a few pubs, hotels and guesthouses, train station, and general store.

There are very nice flat walks and cycle rides - or hilly ones - to be had to nearby villages which, don't worry, have bars or pubs of their own. As always, the app mapy.com is your friend.

The castle is the reason people come. Tours show you the stark medieval grandeur of some rooms, and the late-19th century opulence of some others (such as the magnificent library).

There's an entertaining collection of traditional sleighs, one with a heated seat.

Plus, not for the squeamish, a torture dungeon where miscreants were variously racked, caged, branded, mutilated, or - worst of all - forced to listen to Iron Maiden albums.

(There's an iron maiden here, but historians tell us these were never actually used in medieval times. If they had a purpose at all, it was much later, for frightening people rather than multiply piercing them.)

So if you're collecting Czech castles beginning with K, and have done Karlštejn, here is another place to come.

@visitcz #visitcz #visitczechia @turisturaj #turisturaj #visitcentralbohemia #castles