Bečov nad Teplou Castle Accused of Flying "Ukrainian Flag" — It's Actually the Kesselstatt Family Coat of Arms

The state castle of Bečov nad Teplou in the Karlovy Vary Region regularly finds itself at the center of a wave of negative comments over the yellow-and-blue flags decorating the building. According to castle warden Tomáš Vízovský, visitors on social media — Facebook in particular — mistake the historic flags for Ukrainian ones and accuse the administration of taking a political stance.

In reality, the yellow-and-blue — or more precisely, gold-and-blue — banners represent the heraldic colors of the Kesselstatt family, one of the castle's most significant former owners. "These are not Ukrainian flags. We patiently and constantly explain that these are the heraldic colors of the Kesselstatt family," Vízovský emphasized.

He says criticism pops up almost every time the castle posts a photo or video of the building featuring these flags. The warden pointed out that the logic of removing flags "because they look similar" is absurd: following that reasoning, they'd also have to take down the flags of the Plauen family from Rabštejn, which resemble the Polish flag — even though it was precisely this family that brought the castle to its greatest flourishing. "Then we'd have to remove the flags of every other family too," he reasons.

Visitors also raise questions about the flags in person — at the ticket counter or during tours. However, the warden notes, spoken comments tend to be far more restrained than the aggressive, often profanity-laced remarks posted on social media.

Due to the growing number of attacks, the castle's administration was forced to post an official clarification on its Facebook page. "I'm not surprised there's panic, given that the Ukrainian flag is already flying at Prague Airport. It makes me sick... But what else can you expect. The rules and regulations are clearly defined," reads one of the castle's posts.

Alongside the criticism, the castle has also received plenty of support. "People from the Czech Republic and abroad wrote to us saying they've faced similar situations. A call from Count Sternberg was especially heartwarming — he expressed his support, since his own castle, Jemniště, faces the exact same problem," Vízovský said.

Castle warden Bedřich Hrabovský of Duchcov Castle in the Ústí nad Labem Region deals with similar questions over the Wallenstein family coat of arms. "It happens regularly, especially during the Casanova Festival celebrations. People argue about it on social media or send me letters asking if I'm not ashamed of myself," he said.

Read also: Prague Castle from the inside: 9 spots within the fortress you shouldn't miss

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz