Klause Bei Kastel

Beautiful place. Entrance fee was 3.50€ per adult. You want to begin on the right and work your way around. Fantastic views. Not stroller friendly because of all the stairs. Careful if you go when it's raining. The stairs can be very slick. I almost busted my head within the first 5 minutes. Hahaha There is a church before the entrance, but it was closed when I went.

Fantastic historical experience for young and old. I came here with my three kids ages 6, 4, and 2 and a friend with her 6 year old. We parked at the Parkplatz at the end of KonigJohannStrasse,walked past the Bee trail, to the right of the Alte Kirche to see Elisensitz, then behind the church through the cemetery to the kasse for Klause bei Kastel. After our visit, we followed paths using Komoot to visit the Romisches theater; this route was beautiful and easily done, and only totaled less than 1km in all. Once we arrived at the Kasse, which is just inside the main gate into the Klause, and the only public entrance into it, you must pay IN CASH. Kids under 7 were free, and adults were 3.50 euro. The woman at the kasse was friendly and spoke English well. Just inside, there is a model of the complex, which is much larger than I had realized. There are several trails and stone staircases (most with directional signage) that bring you to various lookout points, many of which have old-appearing sandstone benches and tables, At the center of this complex is the highlight - the beautiful hermitage and chapel. The hermitage is from the 12th century (which during the 1800s housed the bones of the king of Bohemia from the 1300s) and the chapel added on in the 16th century. The hermitage has two rooms which are fun to explore for a few minutes, and the chapel building is only accessible through one short foyer that looks into the beautiful (locked) chapel through an iron gate. As you walk out of the chapel to the right of the building, you see what looks like an outdoor stone bath which was the "holy spring". We then walked through all the other side paths, spending about 1 hour in total here enjoying the stunning views and looking at every small detail we could find of the old structures. The kids enjoyed it, though it was a little nerve wracking as there were MANY places a child (or adult, for that matter) could fall quite a ways down a hill or cliffside, and the bannisters are meager metal railings that a small child could easily fall through. Most of the time I wore the toddler, and held the hands of my other two during risky places. A stroller would not have worked, except for the short walk from the parking lot to the kasse, which I didn't feel was worth it. Overall, a great sightseeing destination for any age, especially in combination with the local Roman ampitheater and Alte Kirche and grounds, with close free parking and inexpensive prices.