点评:There is no castle in Europe quite like it! As someone who has become a castle connoisseur, I specifically made a significant effort to get to this castle, even hiring a private driver, as I only had 2 days left in my trip to the Czech Republic. This was truly the highlight of my entire trip to the Czech Republic! This castle really blew my mind and I felt was more impressive than Prague Castle, not due to the overall size, but due to the unique construction, remote location, and unique history. This is one of the few castles in Europe that has retain all of its original medieval 13th century construction and you can see it in its unique architecture. Castles like Kernstejn, Neuschwanstein, Corvin Castle of Romania, Alcazar of Segovia, and even Windor castles are mostly 18th-20th century reconstructions with very little of the ancient foundations being present, if any at all.
Pernštejn castle has retained all of its medieval grandeur and in addition to never being conquered, enduring catastrophic fires, or being demolished and rebuilt by its residents, it architecture splendor is unique for even its own time period. The hand carved stone buildings, the massive, almost 100 feet towers is just a sight to behold that even pictures cannot do justice. You can feel the energy just walking up to the gates of this ancient fortress. When touring the facilities you can almost feel like these powerful nobles who were rulers of an empire are literally watching you as you go into the rooms.
I underestimated how beautiful the interior actually were and the Renaissance and Baroque periods additions were spectacular. The medieval-era stone carved rooms and hallways were like something out of a movie. In fact, both Nosferatu films were filmed here and the haunting of this castle is pretty much a given. You could feel the energy of the knights sitting at these tables and nobles looking out the windows upon the valley below of their kingdom.
To me this is one of the most under-rated castles in the world, both for its spectacular architectural construction, but the fact its one of the few castles that has retained almost all of its original construction. Everyone raves about medieval fairy tales when in fact these are just modern reconstructions or even re-productions and all the history has vanished and the interiors are just modernized playgrounds for the nobles or tourists of the 19th/20th century.
To see a true medieval castle that is both a visual spectacle and a living piece of history, Pernštejn castle should on the top of your list. I didn't bother visiting some of the other more popular castles, as I am stickler for medieval history and wanted to see something that would be impossible to see in the United States where I live. Pernštejn castle is truly one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen in my life and sadly manages to stay off of the main tourist spots in the country, as many will just go to Prague or Kernštejn and Hluboká Castle (both modern 19th century re-constructions/re-productions) instead.
NOTE: There are some outdated reviews stating you cannot take pictures. Those rules have changed and now you can definitely take pictures without a flash, although video is not allowed. The English guide also must have improved as I actually preferred having it as I was able to take pictures of the guide and now can retain everything of the tour. Let's face it, how many people retain even 30% of the information they receive on a tour? Even if I was Czech (and could read English) I would ask for those pamphlets which had very detailed information.
翻译:在欧洲,没有哪座城堡能与之相媲美!作为一位城堡鉴赏家,我特意下了很大功夫才得以造访这座城堡——由于在捷克的行程只剩两天时间,我甚至专门雇了一名私人司机。这绝对是我整个捷克之旅的亮点所在!这座城堡真的令我惊叹不已,我觉得它比布拉格城堡还要令人印象深刻,这种印象并非源于其规模大小,而是因为其独特的建筑风格与偏僻的地理位置。它拥有独特的历史。这是欧洲为数不多仍保留着13世纪原始中世纪建筑结构的城堡,从其独特的建筑风格便可见一斑。像克恩施泰因城堡、新天鹅堡、罗马尼亚的霍文城堡、塞哥维亚阿尔卡萨尔城堡,甚至温莎城堡,大多都是18至20世纪重建的,原本的古老地基几乎不存在,甚至根本没有保留下来。佩恩什泰因城堡完好地保留了其中世纪时期的宏伟风貌。它不仅从未被攻陷,还历经了多次毁灭性火灾,当地居民也从未将其拆除或重建。其建筑之壮丽在当时堪称独一无二。那些由手工雕刻而成的石质建筑以及高达近100英尺的巨大塔楼,实在令人叹为观止——即便用图片也难以完全呈现其风采。只要走到这座古老堡垒的门前,便能感受到那种独特的气场。参观这些建筑时,你几乎能感觉到那些曾经统治帝国的权贵们正目不转睛地注视着你走进各个房间。
我原以为这里的内部装饰不会有多精美,但事实上它的华丽程度超乎想象;文艺复兴与巴洛克时期的装饰更是令人叹为观止。那些中世纪风格的石雕房间与走廊宛如电影场景一般。事实上,《诺斯费拉图》的两部电影都是在此拍摄的,这座城堡闹鬼的说法也几乎是众所周知的。你能感受到坐在这些桌旁的骑士们所散发出的气场,也能想象到贵族们正从窗前俯瞰着下方王国的山谷。
对我而言,这是世界上最被低估的城堡之一——不仅因为它的建筑风格极为壮观,还因为它属于为数不多几乎完整保留了原始构造的城堡。人人都对中世纪的童话般城堡赞不绝口,但实际上这些不过是现代的重建物或复制品罢了;原本的历史早已荡然无存,如今的城堡内部不过是19至20世纪时贵族或游客们的现代化游乐场而已。
若想见识一座既拥有绝美景观又能体现历史魅力的真正中世纪城堡,佩尔什泰因城堡绝对是首选。我甚至都没费心去参观其他那些更为著名的城堡。因为我痴迷于中世纪历史,所以希望能看到一些在我居住的美国根本无法见到的景象。佩尔恩什泰因城堡绝对是我一生中见过的最令人惊叹的景点之一;可惜的是,它并未被列入捷克的主要旅游景点之列,大多数人只会去布拉格,或是克恩什泰因城堡与赫卢博卡城堡(这两座都是19世纪时重建/仿建的城堡)。
注意:有一些过时的评论称此处禁止拍照。那些规定已经有所改变,现在绝对可以不用闪光灯拍照了,不过仍然不允许拍摄视频。英文版的导游手册想必也做了改进——我其实挺喜欢有这种手册的,因为这样就能把手册的内容拍下来,从而记下游览过程中的所有信息。说实话,能在一次游览后记住30%以上信息的游客又有多少呢?即便我是捷克人(而且能看懂英文),我也会索要那些包含非常详细信息的宣传册。