Two-hour queues form for final day of Czech crown jewels display

Visitors hoping to see the Czech crown jewels on the final day of their public display at Prague Castle faced waits of two to three hours Monday morning.

The line began near the entrance to the South Gardens and continued through the Bull Staircase toward the Old Royal Palace, where the jewels are displayed inside Vladislav Hall.

The free exhibition closes at 5 p.m. Monday. Castle staff advised visitors arriving later in the day about the route and likely wait, answering questions from Czech and international tourists in several languages.

The first visitors arrived at around 8 a.m., an hour before Vladislav Hall opened. Sept. 28 is also Czech Statehood Day and the feast day of St. Wenceslas, whose name is carried by the crown at the center of the collection.

“We wanted to get here early because we were afraid we would have to wait a long time,” Tomáš Malaska, who traveled from Olomouc with his family, told ČTK.

Access to the exhibition is available only from Hradčanské náměstí through Prague Castle’s South Gardens.

The collection includes the St. Wenceslas Crown, royal scepter and orb, their leather cases, the crown cushion and the coronation robes and accessories.

This year’s exhibition traces the history of the jewels from their storage at Karlštejn Castle in the 16th century through their transfer to Vienna during the Thirty Years’ War and ceremonial return to Prague in 1791.

It also commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Habsburg dynasty’s accession to the Czech throne under Ferdinand I in 1526. Historical keys, portraits and a coronation robe dating from 1653 are among the accompanying exhibits.

The jewels are normally kept in the Crown Chamber of St. Vitus Cathedral. They can be removed only when all seven official keyholders gather to unlock the chamber.

President Petr Pavel decided in 2024 that the collection would be displayed annually. More than 51,500 people, including school groups, visited last year’s exhibition.