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Witness / Attend in Cesky Krumlov
Five-Petalled Rose Festival
A UNESCO-listed South Bohemian town wrapped in a bend of the Vltava below a vast castle, one of the best-preserved medieval and Renaissance townscapes in Europe. Once the seat of the Rozmberk lords, it hosts the Five-Petalled Rose Festival each June.
Organized by Town of Cesky Krumlov, which publishes the official dates and program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why here
The Five-Petalled Rose Festival turns Cesky Krumlov back into a Renaissance town for one weekend each June. The whole UNESCO-listed old town, wrapped in a bend of the Vltava below its huge castle, is given over to the era of the Rozmberk lords, whose five-petalled rose is the town emblem, and specifically to the year 1586. Thousands of costumed locals fill the streets for a grand historical parade with knights on horseback, period markets, fencing and jousting, early music, jugglers and fire shows, with torchlit processions and fireworks at night. It is among the largest historical festivals in the country, drawing around eighteen thousand visitors to a town of fewer than fourteen thousand. For living history in one of Europe's best-preserved medieval townscapes, this is the weekend to come.
Best months
The festival runs across three days on the third weekend of June, spread through the old town, the castle gardens and the riverbanks. Most of the street theatre, parades and markets are free to watch, with wristbands for the festival zones; the costumed parade on the Saturday is the centrepiece. June weather is warm, and the compact town is very crowded over the weekend.
Getting there & around
Cesky Krumlov is about three hours south of Prague by bus or car, near the Austrian border and close to Ceske Budejovice. The old town is pedestrianised and walkable, but accommodation is limited and books out well ahead for the festival weekend, so reserve early or stay in Ceske Budejovice and travel in. Bring cash for market stalls and festival wristbands.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Five-Petalled Rose Festival
OrganizerThe Five-Petalled Rose Festival is organised by the town of Cesky Krumlov with the Cesky Krumlov Development Fund and the Municipal Theatre. Reaching its 38th edition in 2026, it recreates the Renaissance rule of the Rozmberk lords in the year 1586, filling the UNESCO-listed old town for one June weekend with a costumed parade of some five hundred performers, historical markets, fencing, jousting, early music and night-time fireworks that draw around eighteen thousand visitors.