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The castle moat between the first and second
courtyards began as part of the original Gothic
fortification and served mainly a protective
function. It protected the castle wall and the
tower gate and had a wooden drawbridge. Under the
reign of Wilhelm von Rosenberg in the 16th
century, the wall and the tower gate were pulled
down and an administrative building - the
Buchhalterie (New Burgrave´s House) was
constructed in their place. In 1760 the original
wooden drawbridge gave way to a stone
bridge.
The first notes of bearkeeping at the
Ceský Krumlov Castle date from the time of
Wilhelm von Rosenberg in the latter half of the
16th century. Just where the bears were kept in
the castle at that time is not known. It could
not have been in the present bear moat as this
was not established until the beginning of the
17th century.
The first records of bears being kept in the moat
date from 1707, when four bears were held there.
In the first half of the 19th century no bears
were to be found there. It was not until 1857
that Karl zu Schwarzenberg of the Orlík
family line acquired a pair of bears from
Transylvania for Johann Adolf II zu
Schwarzenberg. The task of looking after the
animals was given to Jan Jindra with the title of
"bearkeeper", who held this post for the full 30
years.
Besides bears being born at Ceský Krumlov
Castle, the number of bears was maintained by
purchasing animals from zoological gardens and by
donations from well-known aristocrats. From 1887
the moat remained uninhabited for 20 years. In
1907 the prince Sigmund Schonburg-Waldenburg gave
the Schwarzenbergs a gift of two she-bears called
Ruschi and Ajax, brought from the preserve of
Kynzvart. The first bear lived until 1930, the
other until 1935.
At present there are four bears in the moat - the
older Vok and Katerina, and their two cubs Daxi
and Hubert, which are taken care of by the
present bearkeeper, Jan Cerný. The present
conditions in which the bears live, however, are
far from ideal by modern standards. The
administration of Ceský Krumlov castle, in
cooperation with the Foundation of the Baroque
Theatre, are attempting to carry out a renovation
of the ursinarium and improve the living
conditions of the bears.
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