Czech Republic Castles

Like multiple countries throughout Europe, the CZECH REPUBLIC is home to many stoically spectacular castles! Over twenty notable examples include Bezděz, Bouzov, Český Krumlov, Český Šternberk, Děčín, Hluboká nad Vltavou, Jindřichův Hradec, Karlštejn, Kokořín, Konopiště, Kost, Křivoklát, Kunětická Hora (Kunetice Mountain), Ledeč nad Sázavou, Lednice, Loket, Orlík, Pernštejn, Rabí, Raduň, Sovinec, and Trosky. Lovely pictures, an interactive Google map showing castle locations sprinkled throughout the Czech Republic, and many details about twenty of these castles are found in this Road Affair post (↗). There is a particularly picturesque photo of a castle at sunset with over a dozen hot air balloons floating in the sky! The Czech words that translate from castle include hrad and zámek. At least three UNESCO World Heritage Sites feature majestic Czech castles. Including the Lednice and Valtice castles, the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape (↗) was inscribed to the Heritage List in 1996 and underwent a recent boundary update in 2025. The Kroměříž Gardens and Castle (↗) site was inscribed in 1998 and Litomyšl Castle (↗) was inscribed in 1999.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 3

Season 38 Episode 3 (Wednesday, October 8th, 2025) Info: “Contestants travel to Kutná Hora, Czech Republic for a beer-filling challenge.”

In this third episode of The Amazing Race, teams started in the 🇨🇿 CZECH REPUBLIC’s national capital (Prague) and went eastward to Kutná Hora. Teams quickly encountered the Driver’s Seat; Natalie and Stephanie was the first team to arrive. Therefore, they decided which teams would be assigned one crate (Hannah/Simone and Izzy/Paige), two crates (Alex/Kat, Kristine/Rubina, Kyland/Taylor, Matt/Megan, and themselves), or three crates (Adam/Joseph, Chelsie/Jack, Eric/Tucker, and Jag/Jas). Teams visited an over 450-year-old Kutná Hora Municipal Brewery to complete the “Tapped Out” task. Teams first had to fill pilsner lager beer bottles — but making sure to let bubbles subside so there would be plenty of liquid in each bottle. After filling, teams placed about a dozen or so bottles in each crate. Rubina sprayed beer onto herself multiple times since the nozzle was tricky to operate. She was able to “laugh it off” despite being kind of drenched! To receive their next clue, teams visited the historic Church of Saint Anne in the village of Nové Dvory northeast of Kutná Hora.

Teams then plowed a field with a ruchadlo for their next clue. The ruchadlo is a traditional Czech plow that was usually pulled by an especially strong animal such as a horse, mule, or ox but this is The Amazing Race, so one team member was in front to pull while the other steered. After being outside on a rather pleasant and sunny day, teams went indoors to a hockey stadium in or near Kutná Hora. A member of each team had to score a goal in hockey. The puck had to be chucked far away from the goal area — and within several small holes in a cardboard cutout covering the whole goal space. Thankfully they were able to play without a vicious hockey team barreling at them, although some hockey players were in the goal area for blocking. Like with the ski bowling in episode 1 (↗), some teams completed this task rather quickly while one team took a lot of tries (24) before scoring.

The referee gave teams a souvenir token depicting a building (↗) known as Zàmek Kačina (Kačina Castle) which is home to a National Agricultural Museum (Národní Zemědělské Muzeum). Natalie and Stephanie arrived at the Kačina Castle Pit Stop second after Jag and Jas, but the brother team graciously gave the first place to Natalie and Stephanie! Natalie was celebrating her birthday the next day, so she and Stephanie won a nice prize to celebrate: $2,500 each. Matt and Megan were the last team to arrive — they ran out of time to complete all challenges — and ended their journey on The Amazing Race with very positive attitudes and completely in love. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 15th (tomorrow) at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.

The Amazing Race 38, Episode 2

Season 38 Episode 2 (Wednesday, October 1st, 2025) Info: “Teams depart for Prague, Czech Republic, where they must walk across a narrow plank hundreds of feet above the Zizkov Television Tower to retrieve their next clue.”

In the second episode of The Amazing Race (U.S.) Season 38, teams train-travelled from the NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱 through GERMANY 🇩🇪 and into the CZECH REPUBLIC 🇨🇿. Several teams got off at the wrong train stop in Berlin. They exited the train at Spandau instead of the Gesundbrunnen stop that they needed. After arriving in Prague, teams quickly proceeded to the Žižkov TV Tower to tackle the height-defying “Who Wants a Breath of Fresh Air?” Roadblock challenge. One member of each team had to carefully walk on a scary, narrow plank over 100 feet above the city below and grab a clue at the plank’s end. They were harnessed for safety, but of course it is still scary to be at that height and having to walk a narrow surface.

Amazing Race did not mention this, though: completed in 1992, the tower was unfortunately and haphazardly placed in a part of a historic Jewish cemetery in Prague. One competitor said something like “oh no, not above the cemetery” because his plank was high above the cemetery directly below. The Žižkov Tower has been ridiculed by residents of Prague for being so modern in a historic section of the grand city. Fun Fact: David Ćerný sculpted multiple crawling baby statues that were attached to the tower. Strangely though, these metal babies have a barcode punched on their faces instead of the usual eyes, mouth, and nose!

The next challenge was the Detour task. In one of the two detours, teams gathered four dozen (48) colorful Bohemian glass goblets — then moved the goblets carefully and gave them to three different vendors. In the other detour, teams found Czech city crests on restaurant chairs and learned the pronunciations of each crest’s respective city. Teams then marveled at a statue of renowned painter Josef Mánes and found their Pit Stop clue. They arrived at Žofín Palace and found host Phil Keoghan waiting for them at the Pit Stop. Jag and Jas arrived first again and therefore received a trip to SRI LANKA 🇱🇰. Angela and Lexi arrived last and were eliminated from the competition. The next episode will be Wednesday, October 8th at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS and soon streaming on Paramount+.

State Day in the Czech Republic

People all across the CZECH REPUBLIC (Czechia) are celebrating their country's State Day today. This Central European country achieved independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918 as Czechoslovakia. Happy State Day!

Czech Republic Exports

The following items are major exports of the CZECH REPUBLIC: automobiles, chemicals, coal, fruit, fuel, glass, graphite, hops, kaolin, machinery, metal, potatoes, processed food, raw materials, sugar beets, transportation equipment, and wheat. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include Germany (top importer), Slovakia, Poland, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, China, Turkey, Denmark, and Israel.

Czech Republic Quiz

See if you can answer these quiz questions pertaining to the CZECH REPUBLIC (Czechia) without the help of literary resources and the Internet. Answers are provided at the end — good luck!

1)      Czech Republic's western historic region is Bohemia, known for its Bohemian glass, castles, and rolling-plain landscapes. One historic region in the east (other one: Czech Silesia) is known as what?
A — Trebova
B — Moravia
C — Ostrava

2)      Established in 1348, the oldest university in the Czech Republic and Central Europe in general is ____________________.
A — Charles University
B — Palacký University
C — Mendel University

3)      What color is the triangle on Czech Republic's flag?
A — red
B — white
C — blue
D — orange

4)      Which of the following items was not invented by a Czech person?
A — soft contact lenses
B — chairs
C — sugar cubes
D — arc lamps

5)      True or false: Boasting over 2,000 castles, the Czech Republic is sometimes known as the Castle Capital of the World (unless you prefer Wales to have that honor).


















ANSWERS
Question 1:
B . . . . . Moravia

Question 2:
A . . . . . Charles University

Question 3:
C . . . . . blue

Question 4:
B . . . . . chairs

Question 5:
True

So, how did you do? Thanks for taking this quiz! Map image is credited to National Geographic's Mapmaker Interactive (↗)

Czech Republic Endangered Species

As of May 18th, 2015, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for the CZECH REPUBLIC in Central Europe lists only 5 critically endangered species and 18 endangered species. Fortunately, the Czech Republic does not have any extinct species on the IUCN Red List. The five critically endangered species are the European Eel, European Mink, Slender-billed Curlew, Sociable Lapwing, and Spengler's Freshwater Mussel. Some endangered species include the Danube Salmon, Freshwater Pearl Mussel, Hungarian Thorn hawthorn tree, Saker Falcon, and Yellow-breasted Bunting.

Czech Republic post (links opens in new tab/window)

Countries with Z in their Names

There are sixteen countries with Z in their names. Two countries start with the letter Z: Zambia and Zimbabwe. Other countries with the letter Z in their names are Azerbaijan, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, New Zealand, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela. Zaire was a former Z country, but that became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Vodní Nádrž Skalka

Vodní Nádrž Skalka is one of the westernmost lakes of CZECH REPUBLIC. It is located very close to the border with Germany. The Eger River runs through the eastern and western sides of the lake. Located east/southeast of the lake, Cheb is a city with a population over 30,000.

Czech Republic (Czechia)

Known as ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA by Czech citizens, the CZECH REPUBLIC (Czechia) is a landlocked country located in Central Europe. The four surrounding countries are Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the east and southeast. Situated east of the north-south Vltava River, the capital of Czech Republic is Prague (Praha). Other major cities in this country include Brno, České Budějovice, Liberec, Ostrava, and Plzeň (Pilsen). The currency is the Czech Koruna, and its ISO 4217 currency code is CZK.