Strkov Castle Park
The freely accessible park area features an exhibition of wooden sculptures and an educational trail following the traces of local birdlife.
Strkov Castle might very well have served as the model for the castle in Franz Kafka’s novel of the same name. The writer spent some time in Planá and completed his novel The Castle here. Let’s allow our imagination to run wild, just as the castle once inspired Kafka. However, Franz Kafka wasn’t the only famous personality who found inspiration in Strkov Castle. In the summer of 1915, Oskar Nedbal worked in the château to complete his third operetta, The Vintage. Its premiere took place on February 11, 1916, in Vienna, with its Czech premiere in May at the Vinohrady Theatre in Prague, conducted by Nedbal’s nephew Karel Nedbal and directed by Karel Hašler.
The castle was built in 1903 as a summer residence for the Harrach family. Today, the building is privately owned. However, one part of the château is open to visitors as a restaurant, with a section located directly in the castle chapel. For walks, we recommend the beautiful château park, which has recently been renovated. A nature trail runs through the park, introducing visitors to the birdlife of local species. The trail is about 2 km long and leads to the dam of the Hejtman Pond with its island, Markéta.
A walk through the park itself is also highly recommended. In addition to majestic trees and benches, you’ll find wooden sculptures representing birds and animals living in the surrounding area. These sculptures were made from tree trunks that originally grew in the park but had to be cut down due to their poor condition.
