Bear Pits

Evidently the nobility of Bohemia guarded their castles, not with wolf hounds, but with big brown bears.  These beasts still guard the Krumlov and Konopiste Castles in the Czech Republic.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the rooms of these palatial buildings, but I can tell you I saw many a bear rug on the cold hard floors of the bedrooms and parlors.  In the 16th century the Rozmberk family of the Krumlov Castle loved these creatures so much they added bears to their coat of arms.  They are indeed majestic creatures.

The bears were snoozing inside their dens at Konopiste, the former residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his family.  Every student learns that Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofie were shot to death by a Bosnian Serb while in Sarajevo, thus starting World War I, but who exactly was the man?  Touring his castle (more like a vast hunting lodge) brought the man and that part of world history alive to me.

I didn't know, for example, that by marrying the beautiful but non-royal Sofie Chotkova, he gave up his children's rights to the Austro-Hungarian throne.  He bought Konopiste, 30 miles south of Prague, to get away from his emperor uncle and spent most of his time hunting game, both big and small, all over the country and the world.  The castle is filled with thousands upon thousands of his hunting trophies.  It is very macabre. To me, his sport of choice seemed like slaughter on a massive scale.  That he himself was gunned down is rather ironic.

Although our tour guide spoke Czech and we didn't understand a word he said, it was obvious the archduke also loved art and antiques.  His collection of armor and arms rivals anything I've seen in a museum.

The world he left behind changed forever after his death.  The empire collapsed, boundaries changed and these immense private homes, guarded by big brown bears, opened up to a more mobile and democratic world.  Irony abounds.