*A walk around the park and pond at the beautiful Renaissance castle, Červená Lhota: 2 km*

• Červená Lhota may well be the most beautiful Renaissance chateau in the country. It is certainly one of the most colourful! It is the third most visited chateau in South Bohemia (after Český Krumlov and Hlubloká), attracting nearly 100,000 visitors annually, most of whom visit during high summer. May is a brilliant month to visit the chateau as the rhododendrons in the small but attractive park area should be in bloom.
• Červená Lhota ‘water’ castle dates from the 15th century, but was rebuilt in the 16th century in the Renaissance style. Today’s appearance also owes much to the neo-Renaissance modifications made by the Schönburg-Hartensteins in the early 20th century. The surrounding pond was created as part of the defences by damming the Direnský stream, probably at the time the original Gothic fortress was constructed.
• The interior of the chateau can be visited on guided tours between April and October, featuring the living quarters of the last aristocratic owners, the princes of Schönburg-Hartenstein (who owned the chateau in the 19th and early 20th centuries).
• The walk around the pond (which is partly in the forested area) and the adjacent chateau park is approximately 2 km. The path in the forest is not ideal for strollers, although the route is pretty flat. For refreshments, there are a couple of snack bars just before the castle bridge (these are usually not open out of season).

Note: click ‘Show on Mapy.com’  to go to a full screen version of the route directly on the mapy.com site. This can be used for on line navigation, saved or exported as a GPX file.

Directions

• Červená Lhota is on an (infrequent) local bus route, but most visitors will probably drive and park in the (paid) parking area, just 300m from the chateau gates
• The walk around the pond is marked with YELLOW hiking trail markers – it is about a 1 km round trip. Take it anticlockwise and finish by touring the park area on the terrace above the pond footpath