Christmas at Czech castles and châteaux

The Advent, or four weeks prior to Christmas, is a time when everyone is getting ready for the winter holiday. And it is also a time when you can visit Czech castles and chateaux and enjoy the festive atmosphere. Many landmarks have prepared festive decorations and special programmes for the Advent. You can see a snow-covered chateau park, or buy gifts at a craft market, or discover old customs and traditions during special guided tours. Many places will also be open during the holiday and at the end of the year, when you can go on a New Year’s Day tour.

To Loučeň Château to see the Christmas trees and illuminated fairy-tale kingdom

If you love Christmas, a visit to Loučeň Château near Prague is an absolute must! From 17 November 2023 to 21 January 2024 the place is literally bursting with holiday magic! During its special Story of the Christmas Tree tours, this year also known as the Alphabet of Christmas, you can admire festive interiors with 20 thematically decorated trees literally "from A to Z". There’s one letter, a tree and a story about Christmas customs awaiting you in each of the château’s rooms. And after the tour you can rustle up your own decoration in the workshop.

And that’s not all, by far! After all, it’s not just the interiors of Loučeň Château that come alive at Christmas. Don’t miss the courtyard with the biggest Advent wreath in the country, or the château park, which The Lights Tell a Story exhibition transforms into a fairy-tale kingdom full of illuminated statues after dusk. Thousands of light bulbs will also guide you through the twists and turns in the château’s Labyrintharium, with 12 mazes. Or you can also celebrate New Year at Loučeň! And not just the Czech one, either. A special afternoon celebration on 31 December will take you to meet the Inuit, to New Caledonia and Brisbane, Australia.

A princely Christmas at Třeboň Château

Drink in the magical Christmas-festooned atmosphere of this château amidst the wholly unique UNESCO-listed pond landscape, which was a favourite Christmas residence of the famous Czech-German-Austrian noble House of Schwarzenberg. Besides the special tours, which you can take from 1 December 2023 to 5 January 2024, the château will also be hosting two Christmas sales exhibitions of handmade Christmas decorations (from 2 to 9 December) and the Glass Christmas exhibition (from 12 to 17 December). You can also enjoy the festive atmosphere at the Advent château markets in the courtyard, to be held on 16 and 17 December from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

Christmas and New Year at Sychrov Château

Spice up the week between Christmas and New Year by visiting a beautiful example of neo-Gothic architecture! Rooms decked out in festive decorations rooms, Christmas trees, hand-blown and painted ornaments, period gifts and the smell of freshly-baked cookies... You can enjoy all this at Sychrov Château, which is opening its doors to all lovers of the Christmas spirit from 27 December 2023 to 1 January 2024. The tours are without a guide, so you can enjoy the interiors of the fairytale palace at your own pace.

Christmas tour at Valtice Château: a UNESCO jewel adorned in thousands of Christmas decorations

From 11 November to 23 December you can take a guided tour of the period apartment of Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein, decked out in all its Advent glory, at Valtice Château, which is part of the Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO Heritage Site. The interiors of the famous family’s Baroque palace will be decorated with 10 Christmas trees and thousands of handmade Christmas decorations from glass workshops all over Czechia. You’ll get to admire lots of period decorations, as well as some fine UNESCO blown beads from Rautis, Art Nouveau collections from the Koulier workshop, ornaments with a retro feel from the Slezská tvorba workshop, and a host of other sparkling finery. On the Advent Sundays falling on 3, 10 and 17 December you’ll also have the chance to make your own Christmas decorations – however, you need to book yourself a place in the château workshop well in advance!

Christmas with a touch of old England at Hrádek u Nechanic Castle

The romantic Hrádek u Nechanic Castle, built in the Windsor Gothic style, comes alive with an unforgettable magical atmosphere in the run-up to Christmas. The romantic palace will be decked out in its festive finery from 2 to 17 December, when it is open to the public every weekend, and offers two tours every weekday, at 12.00 and 2.00 p.m. During the Advent walks the guides will tell you about the first decorations they put on the tree, what used to be served for dinner on Christmas Eve, and lots of other interesting things about the most beautiful holidays of the year, and you’ll also get to admire dozens of nutcrackers and nativity scenes. The castle kitchen is also open during Advent, and you’ll be able to taste real English punch. On Fridays 1, 8 and 15 December, you can also experience the unique thrill of the castle by candlelight – you need to book for evening tours.

Tuck into delicacies from the château kitchen during Advent tours of Hluboká Château

Get in the Christmas mood during the Advent tours at one of Czechia’s most charming châteaux, Hluboká, which will be held on the weekend of 9 and 10 December. They’ll take you through the private quarters of the last Schwarzenbergs and you’ll also get a peek into the château kitchen, where you can enjoy hot roasted chestnuts fresh out of the château oven, washed down with hot cider. If you don't make it to the special Advent tour, it’s well worth visiting this the neo-Gothic château anyway – there’s a winter tour available from November to 17 December.

A mediaeval Christmas at Český Šternberk Castle

Find out how the nobility and the common people celebrated Christmas not only in the Middle Ages. To learn more, visit one of Czechia’s oldest castles, Český Šternberk, during their special Christmas tours, which will be held on 25 November and 2, 9 and 16 December. Listen to stories about the history of is holiday, its traditions and customs, see various nativity scenes, period toys and much more. If you can’t make it to the Christmas tour, it doesn't matter, as it’s well worth visiting this fine castle in the beautiful countryside anyway – there will be winter tours every weekend until the end of March, always at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Christmas at the Archbishop’s Chateau in Kroměříž

Embark on a Journey from Advent to the Three Kings in at one of the most exquisite Baroque palaces in Czechia. Amongst the Christmas decorations adorning the château in Kroměříž, which, together with the château gardens, is listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site, from 2 to 17 December your guide will tell you about Advent and holiday customs to the sound of Christmas melodies, plus you’ll get the chance to see a wood-carving exhibition.

Advent Days in Jindřichův Hradec

The castle and chateau in Jindřichův Hradec in South Bohemia is a time-tested classic as far as the Advent goes. The theatre, dance and music performances, the market and artisans are ready. Enjoy the Advent with the majestic castle and chateau in the backdrop on the weekend of 9 and 10 December.

Royal Advent at the Křivoklát Castle

The castle gate of Křivoklát, a medieval castle in Central Bohemia, one of the most important and largest castles of Czech princess and kings, breathes with Christmas atmosphere. You will find artisan stands there on the weekends of 9/10 and 16/17 December. You can look forward to the traditional Old Bohemian Market with delicacies such as dried fruit, mulled wine, Christmas cookies or sausages. This castle will be hosting demonstrations of traditional crafts, folk dances and music, jugglers, tightrope walkers and even angels on stilts...

Advent tours of the Villa Stiassni: A Christmas tree and a Hanukkah candlestick under one roof

Even though the Brno Villa Stiassni is not a castle or a chateau, it does resemble one in a way. It was built much later than chateaux. At the times when the higher social class did not desire large luxurious residences but built much more civilian structures. The elegant interiors with an atmosphere of the 1920s and 1930s in combination with traditional decorations – that is what visitors can expect during the Advent and Christmas tours, including the Christmas tree decorated with replicas of period Christmas ornaments made of blown glass pearls, which are inscribed in the prestigious UNESCO list, and you can also look forward to an exhibition of period toys.

The tradition of Christmas celebration in the villa started at the times of the First Republic, even though it was built by a family of a Jewish textile entrepreneur. How is it possible and how did they celebrate Christmas in the villa in the 1930s? Come and see for yourself on a special tour of this villa in the heart of the South Moravian city, which will be held from 24 November to the end of December, every weekend and on certain weekdays.