Dobříš: Holy Moley! A castle for all the family

Thirty kilometres southwest of Prague, just in the up and coming Brdy Highlands region, is the town of Dobříš. The must-see here is the splendid castle, and what makes it stands out is how it’s been carefully refurbished and restored to appeal to all the family.

The rococo-style manor house, built in the mid-1700s, is still owned by the Austrian Colloredo-Mannsfeld dynasty. They run it as a family business, and take a keen interest in the place. It shows, in a welcoming way.

Yes, there’s plenty of history in the displays and exhibits, plenty of cases with interesting things for grown-ups to ponder on and well-thought-out interactive displays. There’s a superb orangery, absorbing films about the history of the building, and a French terraced garden that was stepped to work around the brewery cellars. (This is the Czech Republic, after all.) And there’s period furnished rooms with costumes, portraits and antiques; even a concert hall.

But it’s not just for adults. A strong point about Czech attractions is keeping children, even toddlers, in mind. There are play areas and plenty of space inside and out (in the parklands) for little ’uns to run around: a family can spend all day here. (This, as I know from experience, is a vital part of a family trip: getting whole-day value for money and keeping kids perpetually entertained, and ideally as exhausted as the grown-ups by the end.)

And yes, the mole: Krtek. He (or she?) is a 1960s animated cartoon on Czech kids’ TV. It was also shown on UK telly, and so is familiar to a whole older generation of Brits as well as Czechs. Remakes have ensured the character is also known to younger audiences, with new marketing pushes evidently on the way. The man behind the programme was Zdeněk Miler (1921-2011), a regular house guest at the castle, along with his artist wife Emilie. Her naive paintings, direct and appealing to kids, are on display here.

Fortunately, even with kids in tow, you don’t have to dig as deep as the mole to find entertainment in the Czech Rep.

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