Hidden Room

Lore & Background

The hidden room within Prague Castle is the secure repository for the Bohemian Crown Jewels. According to the source, these jewels are kept 'within a hidden room inside it.' The most famous item is the Crown of Saint Wenceslas, which carries a potent legend: any usurper who places it on their head is doomed to die within a year. This lore was invoked during World War II when Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, was rumored to have placed the crown on his head. Heydrich was ambushed on 27 May 1942 during Operation Anthropoid by British-trained Slovak and Czech resistance soldiers while on his way to the Castle, and died of his infected wounds a week later. His firstborn son, Klaus, died the next year in a traffic accident, further cementing the legend's grip on popular imagination.

In Their Own Story

On 15 March 1939, Adolf Hitler spent a night in Prague Castle, 'proudly surveying his new possession.' During the Nazi occupation, the castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich. According to a popular rumor, Heydrich is said to have placed the Bohemian crown on his head—a direct challenge to the old legend that a usurper who does so will die within a year. Less than a year after assuming power, on 27 May 1942, Heydrich was ambushed by British-trained Slovak and Czech resistance soldiers while on his way to the Castle. He died of his wounds, which became infected, a week later. Klaus, his firstborn son, died the next year in a traffic accident, also in line with the legend.

Reader's Guide

The hidden room is not accessible to the public; its exact location is not specified in the source. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept there, and the most famous item is the Crown of Saint Wenceslas. The legend states that a usurper who places the crown on his head is doomed to die within a year. This was reportedly tested by Reinhard Heydrich, who died less than a year after the rumored act. His son Klaus also died in a traffic accident the following year. The room itself is a secure, secret chamber within the castle complex, but no further details about its entrance, mechanisms, or contents beyond the jewels are provided in the source.

Did You Know?

• The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside Prague Castle.
• A legend says a usurper who places the Crown of Saint Wenceslas on his head is doomed to die within a year.
• Reinhard Heydrich is rumored to have placed the crown on his head; he died less than a year later from wounds sustained in an ambush on 27 May 1942.
• Heydrich's firstborn son, Klaus, died the next year in a traffic accident, also in line with the legend.
• Adolf Hitler spent a night in Prague Castle on 15 March 1939, 'proudly surveying his new possession.'