Konopiště Castle, Gothic castle in Benešov, Czech Republic

Konopiště is a four-winged, three-storey castle with pale cream walls, a tall round tower under a steep red conical roof, and two small dormer turrets on its long red-roofed facade. Its rectangular plan keeps the early Gothic castellum layout, with two parallel palace wings in the raised eastern part and the entrance gate in the west.

Founded around 1294 as a Gothic castle with a rectangular plan and corner towers, Konopiště passed from the Benešovice family to the Šternberks in 1327 and withstood an eighteen-month siege before surrendering in 1468. After Baroque rebuilding by the Vrtba family, Archduke Franz Ferdinand bought it in 1887 and had Josef Mocker remodel it between 1889 and 1894.

Franz Ferdinand filled the castle with hunting trophies and the Obizzi-Este armoury, the third-largest collection of armour and medieval weapons in Europe, brought from Castello del Catajo near Padua. A shooting hall with moving targets shows how the archduke practised. His rose garden hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II in June 1914.

The castle is accessible through guided tours that cover different areas such as private rooms, the armory, and collections. It is recommended to allow plenty of time to explore multiple exhibition areas and enjoy the wealth of detail.

The bullet that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, fired by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, is displayed in the castle's remote museum, not in the residence itself. The 225-hectare English landscape garden with terraces, a rose garden and statues was laid out at the same time as the 1889–1894 rebuilding by Josef Mocker.