A Moat with Bears
Historic castle moat where live bears have been kept for centuries as a family emblem come to life.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Moat with Bears at Český Krumlov Castle traces the story back to 1556, when Wilhelm von Rosenberg reworked his family's coat of arms to claim descent from Rome's Orsini family, a claim resting mostly on a pun between orsa and Orsini. It follows how that invented pedigree turned into a menagerie, with bears first recorded in the moat in 1707 and the population emptying and refilling across the centuries, including a mysterious twenty-year gap nobody ever explained. Along the way you'll meet Ruschi and Ajax, two females who lived here in the early twentieth century.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Červená brána
Ceremonial gate marking the threshold between town and castle, opening onto stairs toward a moat once guarded by live bears.
State Castle & Chateau Český Krumlov
Vast Renaissance and Baroque castle complex of painted towers, courtyards, and a moat still home to bears.
Český Krumlov Castle Tower
Cylindrical Renaissance tower with a painted facade, open arcaded gallery, and four historic bells over a Gothic base.
Rožmberk Castle
Gothic-Renaissance castle on a rock spur nearly encircled by a tight river bend.
Cloak Bridge
Three-story covered stone bridge with a hidden corridor once used by nobles to reach the castle theatre unseen.
Široká
Wide market street lined with Renaissance houses, once home to a court alchemist jailed for fraud.