Czech Republic: holidays and events
Public holidays
There are a number of public holidays that do not have a fixed date, but are based on the time of Easter. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the beginning of spring. Lent, which lasts 46 days, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Pentecost is 50 days after Easter.
The Corpus Christi festival is celebrated on the 2nd Thursday after Pentecost.
All Saints’ Day is celebrated for Orthodox Christians on the 1st Sunday after Pentecost, but for Catholic Christians the date is fixed on November 1st. On October 31, Protestants celebrate Reformation Day. The Halloween festival also takes place on this day.
Date | Holiday |
January 1 | New Years, the day of the renewal of an independent Czech state on January 1st, 1993 |
March April | Easter (Easter Monday) |
1st of May | Labor Day |
8th of May | Victory Day 1945 |
5th July | Day of the Slavic Messengers of the Faith Cyril and Method |
July 6 | Memorial day for Jan Hus, who was burned on July 6, 1415 |
September 28 | Anniversary of the death of St. Wenceslaus – the country’s holy patron |
28th of October | Establishment of the first Czechoslovak Republic on October 28, 1918 |
November 17 | Day of Freedom and Democracy Student demonstrations in 1939 against the occupation of Czechoslovaki and in 1989 on the eve of the “Velvet Revolution” |
24th of December | Christmas eve |
December 25th and 26 | 1st and 2nd Christmas Day |
Source: Countryaah – Czech Republic Holidays
Cultural events
Music Festival “Prague Spring”
International music festival in Prague, in May/June
International Film Festival Karlovy Vary (MFF, Karlsbad)
This film festival is one of the most important film festivals in Central and Eastern Europe, comparable to the festival in Cannes or the Berlinale. At the beginning of July, more than 200 films from all over the world will be shown here, some of which will be shown exclusively at this festival.
International Music Festival “Janackuv Maj” in Ostrava
Classical music concerts in June with excellent performers
Paleni cardojenic in Prague
Traditional witch festival at the beginning of spring on April 30th
International Jazz Festival in Prague
It takes place in October
Prague Christmas
festival with Christmas choirs and customs in early December, various events and concerts in the Old Town Square.
Sporting events
Velka Pardubicka (Steeplechase)
A very controversial and criticized horse race with a long tradition that has been held every October since 1874. The race is considered brutal, and it is not uncommon for fatal accidents for horse and rider. The most famous of the 31 difficult obstacles at 6,900 m is the Taxis Trench, where a 10 m long jump is required.
Prague Marathon
International marathon with participants from more than 55 different countries in May
National customs
More elegant clothing is expected in upscale restaurants and hotels. A tip of 5 to 10% is common in restaurants.
climate
The Czech Republic is located in the moderate climatic zone. The annual average temperature is 7.9 °C with cool winters and mild summers. The annual rainfall is 508 mm, although it is relatively dry due to the mountain shadow east and south-east of the Bohemian Forest, the Upper Palatinate Forest and the Ore Mountains.
Travel times
There is actually no best time to travel to the Czech Republic.
However, the idea of what is meant by a particularly favorable travel climate depends on various factors. Pure cultural travelers certainly see the climate differently than people planning a beach holiday. Health status and age can also play a role in the experience of the climate. The country is worth visiting in spring, summer and autumn – also in Prague and other cities in the country. And in winter you can hike through lonely snow-covered forests or devote yourself to winter sports.
For winter sports enthusiasts
Plenty of snow can be expected in the mountains of the country every winter – the best conditions for passionate skiers and tobogganists. However, heavy snowfalls can make traveling to and from the airport more difficult.
Climate table
The following table shows climate data for the Czech Republic. It should be noted that the climatic conditions in different regions of the country can differ from each other and therefore also from the values shown. In addition, the monthly temperature averages have little informative value with regard to the minimum or maximum temperatures. It is possible that at average temperatures of around 20 °C maximum values of 30 °C or more occur. The table therefore only provides a general overview of the climatic conditions in the Czech Republic.
Month | Average number of rainy days | Mean maximum temperatures in (°C) | Mean minimum temperatures in (°C) |
January | 12-14 | at 01 | -03 to -04 |
February | 10-12 | 02-03 | -03 to -04 |
March | 09-11 | 08-09 | at 0 |
April | 10-12 | 13-14 | 04-05 |
May | 12-14 | 18-19 | 08-09 |
June | 11-13 | 22-23 | 11-12 |
July | 12-14 | 24-25 | 13-14 |
August | 11-13 | 22-24 | 13-14 |
September | 09-11 | 20-21 | 09-10 |
October | 12-14 | 12-13 | 05-06 |
November | 11-12 | 06-07 | 01-02 |
December | 12-14 | 01-02 | -01 to -02 |
Czech Republic: sights
- Abbreviationfinder.org: Presents the way that EZ stands for the nation of Czech Republic as a two-letter acronym.
Cities worth mentioning
České Budějovice (Budweis)
Who does not know Budweiser beer. But Budweis, at the confluence of the Vltava and Malše rivers, offers a lot more. The city was founded in 1265.
The city has around 95,000 residents, making it the largest city in South Bohemia. The city has a university town and it is the seat of a bishop.
The large market square with the 72 m high Black Tower and the baroque Samson Fountain or the city’s magnificent town hall are particularly worth seeing. You should also visit the Aleš Gallery and the South Bohemian Museum.
You can enjoy plays and operas in the local South Bohemian Theater. The Dominican monastery with the Church of the Sacrifice of Mary on Piaristenplatz is also interesting.
There are city partnerships with Passau and Suhl in Germany and Linz in Austria.
Česky Krumlov (Krumau)
This city is located in southern Bohemia and is known as the “Pearl of the Bohemian Forest” or “Venice on the Vltava”.
The historical center of Český Krumlov has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1992. The huge castle complex defines the image of the city – the second largest in the country after Prague
Frýdlant (Fiedland)
Friedland is located in Bohemia in the Jizera Mountains at the confluence of the Řasnice (Rasnitz) in the Smědá (Wittig).
The city is particularly well-known for its mighty castle, which was acquired in 1620 by the imperial general in the Thirty Years’ War – Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634).
Also worth seeing is the town hall, which was built between 1893 and 896 by the Viennese architect Franz Neumann in the neo-renaissance style.
A city museum is located on the second floor of the building.
On the square in front of the town hall is a stutue by Wallenstein.
Kutná Hora (Kuttenberg)
This small but unfortunately not very well-known town in Central Bohemia outside of the Czech Republic is home to outstanding cultural, historical and architectural evidence in its old town. The old town of Kutná Hora as well as the monastery church of the Sedlec monastery and of course the Barbaradom were included in the list of world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 1995. The city is located about 70 km east of Prague. A visit to the city should not be missed.
Liberec (Reichenberg)
This town in Bohemia on the edge of the Jizera Mountains is worth a visit not least because of the 100 m high futuristic TV and hotel tower on the summit of the 1,028 m high Jersted.
Plzeň (Pilsen)
Like Ceske Budejovice, Pilsen is particularly known for its beer and also for the local Škoda factory. But the city is much more and for example European Capital of Culture 2015.
Pilsen – located in the west of Bohemia – is the fourth largest city in the Czech Republic with around 168,000 residents. The city inspires with numerous sights such as:
the West Bohemian Museum, Brewery Museum from 1959 as part of the West Bohemian Museum, the Diocese Museum in the former Franciscan monastery, the Regional Technical Museum “Techmania” from 2008.
Special highlights of the city are the St. Bartholomew Cathedral with its 102.3 m high church tower, the plague column built in 1691 and the large synagogue. There are also numerous art nouveau buildings worth seeing in the city.
And last but not least, a visit to the historic cellars should not be missed – an extensive complex of underground rooms and corridors that extends under the entire old town.
Prague
The “golden” city on the Vltava is the political, cultural and, to some extent, also the economic center of the Czech Republic. The visitor is overwhelmed by the numerous sights. Because of the tourist flows, it is advisable to visit the city out of season. A detailed description of Prague can be found at Goruma here >>>
Tábor (Tabor)
The South Bohemian city of Tabor was founded by the Hussites after 1420 and was one of their strongholds. Today the city has around 35,000 residents on an area of 62.2 km².
In the city center is the “Jordán”, the oldest reservoir in Central Europe.
The historic city center invites the visitor to visit the Gothic town hall, the underground passages and the remains of an extensive medieval fortification.
The tower of the former castle “Kotnov” allows a view over the city and the baroque pilgrimage church in Klokoty.
Třebíč (Trebitsch)
Třebíč (Trebitsch) is a town in southwest Moravia. It spreads on both sides of the Jihlava River and over time has become an important economic, administrative, cultural and political center of Southwest Moravia.
Due to its good location, the beautiful city is not only an excellent starting point for interesting excursions in the area, but also worth a longer visit itself.
The most famous in the city are certainly the Jewish quarter with the Jewish cemetery and the basilica of St. Procopius.
A detailed description of Třebíč can be found at Goruma here >>>
Special places
Charles Square (Karlovo náměstí) in Třebíč
The central market square of Třebíč measures 22,000 m² and is surrounded by various buildings from the Baroque and Renaissance periods.
Palackého nám in Kutná Hora
The Palackého nám, a large central square, is simply beautiful and well worth a visit. The homely image is only clouded by the rather unattractive Hotel Mědínek. The city’s tourist information office is also located on the northeast side of the square.
Wenceslas Square in Prague
In the center of Prague, it has been named after Saint Wenceslas since 1848. In the Middle Ages it was the center of Prague’s New Town as the Rossmarkt. With a length of over 700 m, it is one of the largest courses in Europe.
The end of communism was also announced here in 1989. In addition to the National Museum, there are many department stores, hotels and cafes on the square named after St. Wenceslas of Bohemia. With a length of around 750 meters, it is of course one of the largest urban squares in Europe.
Special buildings and structures
Graphite Mine
A visit to the graphite mine is a wonderful experience, especially since the South Bohemian graphite is a world famous article. The graphite tunnels in Český Krumlov were already used by the Celts and are still in use today. Visitors can drive into one of the 70 meter deep tunnels in a mine car and get to know the inner workings of the tunnel and the work in it.
Mantle bridge
This multi-storey bridge spans the moat of the Český Krumlov Castle.
The open passage of the bridge connects two castle courtyards. The bridge must have been built sometime in the 15th century, but the current shape dates back to 1777.
The bridge, like the castle, has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Moldau bridges
In the city of Prague there are 15 major bridges over the Vltava River.
Probably the most famous of them is Charles Bridge, which is only open to pedestrians.
Its construction began in 1357 under Charles IV. It is considered to be the oldest preserved stone bridge in the world of this size.
Ptačí hrádek (Bird Temple) in Český Krumlov
This unfinished military monument stands near the Český Krumlov Castle and was erected to celebrate the victory of the Allied armies of Russia, Austria and Prussia over Napoleon (1813). These armies were commanded by none other than Charles I Philip zu Schwarzenberg, brother of the Duke of Český Krumlov.
Plague Column of the Holy Trinity
This plague column in Olomouc is a baroque building with a height of 135 m.
Rožmberk Castle
This castle from 1253 is located 30 minutes by car from Český Krumlov. It was the official seat of the Rožmberk family, whose power once extended over the entire region.
Town Tower of Třebíč
The 75 meter high town tower of Třebíčis located at the church of St. Martini and was actually part of the city fortification. The tower was built around the beginning of the 15th century and was badly destroyed when the Hungarian king invaded in 1468. In 1716 it was associated with the Church of St. Martini. Further destruction of the tower by storms and fires resulted in various modifications. The last structural measures were undertaken between 1996 and 1997. The tower is therefore composed of different architectural style elements, whereby the lower part still reveals its clearly Gothic origin. A 4 meter high cross sits enthroned on the top of the tower. Most imposing is certainly the huge clock tower, one of the largest in Europe. The Třebíč Tower is a unique landmark of the city and can be climbed.
Dam wall at the Lipno reservoir
The Lipno is also called the Bohemian Sea, with an area of around 48.70 km² it is the largest reservoir in the Czech Republic. The dam is around 25 m high and 296 m long.
Stone house in Kutná Hora
This town house in á Hora shows the former wealth. It was built before the city was conquered by the Hussites, but it was not given its present-day appearance until 1489. The building captivates with its magnificent decorations and was acquired by the city at the end of the 19th century. Between 1901 and 1902 it was set up as a museum.
Tower on the mountain Ještěd (Jeschken)
The unusual building in the form of a hyperboloid is the symbol of the region around the city of Liberec (Reichenberg) on the edge of the Jizera Mountains in Bohemia. The building on the summit of the 1,012 m high mountain serves both as a television tower, a restaurant (cafe) and a hotel.
The futuristic-looking 100 m high building was built between 1966 and 1973 according to plans by the Prague architect Karel Hubáček (1924-2011).
There are numerous parking spaces below the mountain top, but it is also possible to drive to the top by car, where there are some parking spaces. The last few 100 m to the summit are regulated by a traffic light.
In addition, a cable car leads from the foot of the mountain, which can be reached by tram, to the summit.
Villa Tugendhat
This villa was built in 1929/30 according to plans by the architect Mies van der Rohe in Brno for the entrepreneurial couple Fritz and Grete Tugendhat. The Jewish family had to flee from the National Socialists at the end of the 1930s. The house is considered one of the most important Mies van der Rohe buildings in Europe. It was listed by UNESCO as a monument of modern architecture in 2002 and has been open to visitors again since March 6, 2012 after extensive renovation.
The building is located in the north of Brno Černopolní 45
www.ticbrno.cz
Welscher Hof in Kutná Hora
The Welsche Hof, a building from the second half of the 13th century, was actually used to store silver ore and to mint the famous Prague groschen. In the 14th century it became the central mint of the Kingdom of Bohemia. After renovation work, it served as a royal residence. With the withdrawal of the right to mint in 1724, the Welsche Hof lost its outstanding importance and fell into disrepair. At the end of the 19th century it could be restored.
Great museums
Egon Schiele Museum in Český Krumlov
The Austrian expressionist painter Egon Schiele (1890-1918), who, along with Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, is one of the most important artists of Viennese modernism, had lived and worked in Český Krumlov for a few months. The Egon Schiele Museum is now housed in an old brewery site and, in addition to a permanent exhibition, also offers temporary exhibitions of modern art.
Ladislav Novák’s gallery in Třebíč
Born in 1925, Ladislav Novák was an artist who had over fifty solo exhibitions and published several volumes of poetry and a monograph in the course of his career. Many of his interesting works are on display in the gallery that bears his name.
Museum of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in Třebíč
The Museum of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands is located in the former monastery of Třebíč, which was converted into a chateau after secularization. Moravian rocks and minerals as well as Christmas cribs are exhibited.
National Museum in Prague
The National Museum in Prague located on Wenceslas Square is the oldest and largest museum in Prague. The imposing National Museum has a main building that is visible from afar.
It rises on the south-eastern narrow side of Wenceslas Square – so in good historical company.
National Technical Museum (Národní Technické Muzeum) in Prague
The National Technical Museum is about the history of Czech science and technology, but oldies of cars and motorcycles also attract visitors.
Villa Müller
The building contractor and co-owner of the construction company Kapsa und Müller, Dr. Frantisek Müller commissioned the architects Adolf Loos and Karel Lhota to plan the villa in October 1928. Despite protests from the neighborhood, construction began before the building permit was granted in June 1929. The building was completed in February 1930, Dr. Müller moved into the house with his wife Milada, their four-year-old daughter Eva and a staff of domestic workers. The villa was nationalized under the communists in 1948, after which the family could only claim part of the house. In 1995 the villa was declared a national cultural monument and since then it has been managed by the Prague City Museum. After extensive restoration, theVilla Müller was reopened in 2000 as part of the European City of Culture year. Today it can be visited as a museum and houses an Adolf Loos study center.
Castles
Bečov Castle and Chateau
The complex is a Gothic castle and a Baroque chateau below. Bečov Castle and Palace are located in the small town of Bečov, a little more than 60 km northeast of Karlovy Vary in the western Czech Republic.
The Castle
The Bečov Castle was built around the first half of the 13th century and was first mentioned in writing in 1349. The castle, built in the Gothic style, is located on a rock, which is surrounded on two sides by the 60 km long Teplá River.
In 1407 it came into the possession of the Lords of Hasenburg. In 1411 they were followed by the Lords of Plauen. From 1495 it was owned by Mr. Pflug von Rabenstein.
Because of Kaspar Pflug von Rabenstein’s participation in the uprising of 1547, his property was confiscated by King Ferdinand I (1503-1564).
Thereupon the castle came to the Lords of Plauen, then to the Count Schlick. In 1573 it became the property of the city of Bečov and in 1615 the city of Schlackenwerth.
At the end of the Thirty Years War (1648) the castle was conquered by the Swedes and badly damaged.
In 1624 the castle was acquired by the Thuringian Questenberg, from whom it passed to the Lords of Kaunitz in 1752. In 1753 these owners completed the construction of the new palace below the castle. In 1813 the castle and chateau were purchased by the Belgian nobleman Friedrich Beaufort-Spontin. His descendants remained in possession of the castle until the end of the war, before they were expropriated and driven out by the communists. Before they escaped, they managed to hide the St. Maurus shrine, which was partly gold-wrought, under the floor of the castle chapel. The valuable shrine, which they had owned since 1838, was brought to the castle in 1888.
The shrine was found in 1986 and, after extensive restoration, has been exhibited in Bečov Castle since 2002.
The castle
As mentioned, the Bečov castle is located below the castle. It was started at the beginning of the 18th century by Johann Adam Questenberg in the Baroque style and – as mentioned – completed in 1753 by Dominik Andreas von Kaunitz. From 1861 to 1865 the castle was rebuilt according to plans by the architects Josef Zitek and Josef Mocker. The representation rooms and the castle chapel are located in the octagonal residential tower of the castle. The castle can be visited – including the St. Maurus shrine, the representative rooms, the library and the castle chapel.
www.becov.cz
Bezděz Castle
The castle is one of the most important and fully preserved royal castles in Bohemia. It was difficult to conquer because of its excellent fortification system.
The construction of the castle began in 1264 under King Přemysl Ottokar II, and the building was completed in 1278. The castle complex remained in the possession of the Bohemian rulers until 1420.
After the battle of the White Mountain, Albrecht von Wallenstein received the property. After Albrecht von Wallenstein came into possession of the castle after the battle “on the White Mountain”, he had the castle rebuilt for the first time in the 1920s. The castle was then conquered by the Swedes and was subsequently uninhabited. From the second half of the 17th century until the dissolution of the order by Emperor Joseph II in 1785, it served the monks of Montserrat as a place of pilgrimage. Then the abandoned facility fell into disrepair.
From the middle of the 19th century, the castle complex was extensively restored.
The castle is located on the top of the 604 m high Velký Bezděz (Bösig), near the town of the same name Bezděz – near Doksy. Together with the Malý Bezděz (Neuberg), both mountains form an impressive double peak.
www.czech-heritage.com
Buchlov
Castle Buchlov Castle is one of the oldest preserved castles in Moravia. It was built as a fortress by the Bohemian king around 1250. The first written mention of the Burgrave Protiv von Buchlov at that time comes from 1300.
She is often referred to as the “Guardian of South Moravia”. Despite some renovations during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the castle did not lose its original Gothic “character”. In 1793, after a number of different owners, the castle became the property of the Counts of Berchtold. – in whose possession it remained until the end of the war in 1945. The culturally and scientifically committed counts furnished the rooms of the castle with scientific and exotic collections that were made accessible to the public around 1850. The late Gothic knight’s hall should definitely be visited. From the castle tower you have a wonderful view of Lower Moravia.
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www.hrad-buchlov.cz
Bouzov Castle
This castle in Northern Moravia is the most common used as a film set by all castles in the country. Not least because the castle is reminiscent of a “fairytale castle”. The castle originally dates from the 14th century, but was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the 16th century. And in 1696 the German Order of Knights acquired the complex, which was partially destroyed in the course of the 30 Years War.
But it got its present-day look in the Romantic style as the “Teutonic Order” built the castle between 1896 and 1901 according to plans by the Munich architect Georg von Hauberrisser as a summer residence for the Grand Master Archduke Eugen of Austria. had it rebuilt in the style of romanticism.Czech Republic s.
www.hrad-bouzov.cz
Jindřichův Hradec
The early Gothic castle of Jindřichův Hradec rises above the confluence of the Nežárka and Hamerský brooks at the crossroads of old long-distance trade routes. This was converted into a renaissance castle in the 16th century. Over ten thousand objects of art are exhibited in today’s castle. The name of Jindřichův Hradec is also given to the town whose foundation goes back to the construction of the castle. A visit to the Church of John the Baptist with the adjacent Minorite Monastery, the Church of the Assumption of Mary and the City Museum in the former Jesuit seminary is particularly worthwhile. The largest mechanical Christmas crib in the world is also exhibited here.
Karlštejn Castle (Karlstein)
Karlstein is the most famous castle in the Czech Republic. This originally Gothic castle was built from 1348 by the Bohemian King and Roman Emperor Charles IV (1316-1378). The castle is a specialty among the Bohemian castles, as it was built practically only for the storage of the royal treasures, especially the holy relics and the imperial coronation jewels – which were kept here for almost 200 years together with the Bohemian archives.
During the Renaissance, the castle was rebuilt under the direction of Ulrico Aostalli de Sala. However, the castle got its current appearance through a restoration at the end of the 19th century under the architect Josef Mocker.
A very special sight is the Heiligkreuzkapelle, which with 130 panels from the workshop of the master Theodoric represents a unique Gothic gallery that has been preserved to this day. The walls and the ceiling of the chapel are decorated with gold with semi-precious stones and glass lenses inside, creating the illusion of a starry sky.
The castle is located about 30 km southwest of Prague on a limestone rock and about 130 km south of Dresden and about 100 km southeast of Karlsbad in the west of the Czech Republic.
www.hradkarlstejn.cz
Kost Castle
This castle is a very well preserved castle from the Gothic period. It stands on a high rock massif in the middle of a valley with a series of ponds. Visitors will find a collection of historical weapons and a very interesting exhibition on the development of criminal law. The White Tower – a multi-storey residential tower with a trapezoidal floor plan – is the castle’s landmark.
The castle was first mentioned in writing in 1347 when Beneš von Wartenberg began construction – his son completed the construction. The castle is now owned by the Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau noble family.
Kost Castle is located in Mladějov in the north of the country, a little less than 35 km south-southeast of Liberec.
www.kinskycastles.com
Křivoklát Castle
Křivoklát Castle is a Gothic royal castle from the 13th century, which was originally built for defensive purposes, but was later used as a hunting castle of the Przemyslid dynasty.
The castle is one of the oldest castles of the Bohemian rulers (dukes, kings).
It is just over 40 km west of Prague.
The castle was enlarged at the end of the 15th century by order of the Bohemian king. In the 16th century it was rededicated as a dungeon with a torture chamber. It burned down in 1643 towards the end of the Thirty Years’ War. Towards the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century it was restored by architects Josef Mocker and Kamil Hilbert, among others. Today’s visitor can “enjoy” various castle rooms, the chapel, the knight’s hall, the king’s hall, the library, the torture chamber or the hunger tower. In the castle tower there is an exhibition about hunting. A highlight is certainly the local exhibition of painters and sculptors from the Gothic period.
www.krivolat.cz
Castle of Kutná Hora (Hrádek)
The castle of Kutná Hora, called “Hrádek” in Czechwas first mentioned in 1312. In 1490 it passed into the possession of the mining entrepreneur Jan Smisek Vrochovist and was structurally modified. Among other things, the royal chapel, which can still be visited today, was built at this time. The Hrádek now functions as a museum. The original of the councilor’s plaque, which was saved after the fire in the town hall in 1770, is particularly interesting.
Prague Castle
The largest closed castle area in the world is located on the Hradschin hill in Prague.
The former seat of the Bohemian kings towers high above the Vltava.
Today it is the largest closed castle area on earth and rises on the Hradschin mountain.
The castle was built in the 9th century, but has been repeatedly changed over the centuries by generations of builders in different architectural styles.
Today the President of the Czech Republic has his official seat in the castle. Another impressive part of the castle complex is the majestic St. Vitus Cathedral.
Loket Castle (Elbow)
This castle fortress is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval monuments in Bohemia. It is located on a rocky promontory and the Eger river flows around it on three sides.
This royal castle was built in the 12th century to protect the border and is known as the key to the Kingdom of Bohemia. Visitors should also take a look at the local porcelain exhibition.
www.loket.cz
Pernštejn Castle The Pernštejn
Castle (Pernštejn, formerly called Bärenstein) is one of the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic and today it largely looks as it was in the 16th century.
The castle dates from the beginning of the 13th century. The first owner of the castle, mentioned in a document in 1208, was Stephan von Medlov (Štěpán z Medlova). He is considered to be the progenitor of the later Lords of Pernstein, whose coat of arms, an aurochs head, is located above the entrance gate of the castle.
Under Wilhelm II of Pernstein – at the time one of the most powerful nobles in Bohemia and Moravia – the fortifications of the castle were redesigned, including a square defensive tower and a new wall with a moat
Under his son, the castle was expanded into a representative seat and a mighty fortification in the Renaissance style.
After a number of different owners, the castle came into the possession of Franz Edler Stockhammer in 1710, who had the castle partly redesigned in the Rococo style. Later the castle came into the possession of Wilhelm Graf Mitrowsky von Mitrowitz and Nemischl (1789-1857). The castle remained in the possession of his descendants until 1945. Thereafter, the castle and rule of Pernstein remained with his descendants until they were expropriated in 1945.
During a tour inside the castle you can visit the library, the hunger tower and the kitchen.
The castle is located about 2 km west of Nedvědice on a wooded rock spur – about 40 km northwest of Brno.
Film fans will be interested in the fact that some films were shot here – such as Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu – Phantom of the Night” with Klaus Kinski in the role of Count Dracula.
www.bystricenp.cz
Rožmberk Castle This castle from 1253 is located
30 minutes by car from Český Krumlov. It was the official seat of the Rožmberk family, whose power once extended over the entire region.
Sádek Castle
About 8 km from Třebíč near the village Kojetice stands this former castle, which was once built in the Gothic style and later converted into a Renaissance chateau. The Wine and Culture Center can be seen below the complex.
Spielberg Castle Spielberg
Castle is located near Brno in South Moravia and dates from the 13th century. It has an eventful history as a fortress, barracks and prison and is now a popular destination for the Brno people.
Šternberk Castle
The castle (Sternberg Castle) is located above the town of Šternberk in northern Moravia – approx. 17 km north of Olomouc and a little less than 80 km north-northeast of Brno.
The castle was built by Zdeslav von Sternberg during the Gothic and Knights’ times in the 13th century. Conversions took place in the 16th century. The damage caused by the Thirty Years War was repaired by Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein, who bought the castle in 1695.
Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein had the castle rebuilt from 1886 in the style of romantic historicism by the Viennese architect Carl Gangolf Kayser. It is also worth mentioning that the park and gardens were redesigned between 1907 and 1909 under the direction of the Viennese garden architect Albert Esch. The castle remained in the possession of the Liechtenstein family until the end of the war in 1945. Today it is owned by the state. The visit hall and the knight’s hall are worth seeing. The chapel with some remains of Gothic painting is also worth seeing.
www.sternberk.cz
Gothic castle ruins Trosky
The ruins of the Trosky castle are located near Rovensko pod Troskami between Turnov and Jičín in the north of the Czech Republics. The castle now consists of two towers with the names “Jungfrau” for the slimmer of the two towers and “Grandmother” for the other. The castle, built on conical magma rock, was first mentioned in 1396. In 1399 the castle fell to the Bohemian king. Wenceslas IV () After several changes of ownership, the castle was set on fire at the end of the 30-year war in 1648 and fell in the course of time
, the surroundings of the ruin – with the towers as a symbol of the nature reserve Czech Paradise – stands since 1998 under nature protection.
Burgwall Vyšehrad in Prague
Vyšehrad in Prague is one of the most famous early medieval castle walls in Bohemia south of downtown Prague on the banks of the Vltava. It was founded as the second Prague castle in the 10th century. The St. Peter and Paul Church, which was founded around 1070 under Vratislav II as the collegiate church of the Vyšehrad Chapter, is located on its premises. It served as the burial church of four Přemyslid dukes.
Castles
Bruntal Castle
The former late Gothic castle located here was rebuilt after 1560 by a Silesian-Moravian knight family into a pompous castle in the Renaissance style. Because of their participation in the so-called class uprising, the family lost their property after the Battle of the White Mountain at the beginning of the Thirty Years War (1620) and the castle was transferred to the “Teutonic Knight Order”. The order had the castle partly rebuilt in the Baroque style from 1766 to 1769, but the renaissance character of the castle was partly retained.
Further rebuildings inside the castle took place between 1838 and 1840 and at the beginning of the 20th century.
Here you will find halls with valuable furniture from the end of the 18th and 19th centuries. Works by Italian, Dutch and German masters from the 16th to 18th centuries are exhibited in the castle gallery. Also worth mentioning are the hunting armory and the castle library.
In 1939 the Nazis expropriated the Teutonic Order and with it the castle. In 1946, under the Communists, the castle became the property of what was then Czechoslovakia.
Castle and Castle of Český Krumlov
In addition to the wonderful architecture, of course, the historical significance of the Český Krumlov Castle makes it one of the most interesting architectural monuments of the Czech Republics. The castle was built in the Renaissance and Baroque styles and is the second largest historical building in the country after the Prague Castle. There are around forty buildings and five castle courtyards with gardens on the seven-hectare grounds. The castle, which was mentioned for the first time in 1253, is known for the valuable rooms and halls in which many works of art from the last 500 years have been preserved. These include, for example, the Flemish tapestries or the illusionistic paintings by Josef Lederer (in the Mask Room) or the golden carriage that Johann Anton I von Eggenberg carried with him in 1638 during an audience with Pope Urban VIII. In addition, a large baroque theater can be admired as well as a palace garden with a pleasure palace. It comes alive in the moat, because bears have been kept there since the 16th century. The castle had long served as the residence of the Rosenbergs and later the aristocratic Schwarzenberg family. The castle, which has largely remained true to its original appearance, was declared a national cultural monument in 1989. Three years later it was put on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Frýdlant Castle The Frýdlant
Castle is situated on a hill on the outskirts of the town of Frýdlant in Bohemia. The castle is surrounded by a very deep moat. There is a small but strikingly beautiful forest near the castle.
The castle can be visited. Every now and then there are also German-speaking tours. The castle is best known for the imperial general in the Thirty Years’ War – Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634) – who only visited the castle a few times.
In Friedrich Schiller’s drama “Wallenstein’s Death”, Wallenstein expresses himself as follows in the 10th appearance of the third acre:
“It must be night where Friedland’s stars shine.”
The old predecessor castle, built in the early Gothic style, was built by the von Ronow family. The core of the tower, which still dominates the building today, also dates from this period.
In 1278 the castle changed hands and came to the Lords of Bieberstein, who expanded the castle.
In the second half of the 16th century, the complex was owned by the von Redern family, under whose rule parts of the castle were converted into a one-story castle according to plans by the Italian architect Marco Spazio.
After the Battle of White Mountain near Prague on November 8, 1620, Albrecht von Wallenstein acquired the castle. After the murder of Wallenstein on February 25, 1634 in Eger (Cheb) in Bohemia, the castle came into the possession of Matthias Gallas (1588-1647), a lieutenant general in the imperial army during the Thirty Years’ War. After a series of fires, the castle was changed at the end of the 17th century with early baroque additions and alterations. From 1757 to 1945 the castle belonged to the Counts Clam-Gallas.
Hluboká nad Vltavou Castle Hluboká nad Vltavou
Castle is located in the town of Hluboká nad Vltavou in the south of the Czech Republic and extends over a deep valley through which the Vltava River flows.
An early Gothic castle from the second half of the 13th century used to stand here. Wilhelm von Pernstein had the castle expanded at the end of the 15th century and in 1514 left it to his youngest son Vojtěch.
The system has been sold very often – only the most important buyers are mentioned here.
Jan Vojkovský von Milhostice had the castle converted into a Renaissance chateau by the architect Baldassare Maggi in the 1580s. His heirs sold the castle and the surrounding area to Johann Adolf I von Schwarzenberg in 1661.
At the request of Prince Adam Franz, the palace was rebuilt in the Baroque style at the beginning of the 18th century according to plans by Paul Ignaz Bayer and his successor Anton Erhard Martinelli.
In the middle of the 19th century, the castle was rebuilt in its current form under Johann Adolf II, Prince of Schwarzenberg. The plans for this came from the Viennese architect Franz Beer, who had directed the construction work that began in 1840 for twenty years. He had the old buildings demolished and a castle built in the Tudor Gothic style instead. The external and internal design.
It was then completed by Ferdinand Deworetzky by 1871. In 1947 the property of the Schwarzenbergs was confiscated by the communists.
Karel Schwarzenberg did not ask for the castle back after 1989.
The Aleš Gallery (Alšova Jihočeská galérie) is located in the castle. Here you can find paintings by Dutch and Flemish painters from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Konopiště Castle (Konopischt)
The castle is located in the Konopiště part of the town of Benešov (Beneschau) – about 40 km southeast of Prague. The castle is the former summer residence and the hunting lodge of the Austrian heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand d’Este, who was murdered on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo. The castle park with native and introduced trees covers 225 hectares. In the castle itself you can see period furniture and works of art from the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods to the present day. The weapons collection of the d’Este family is also worth seeing.
A predecessor of today’s castle was a castle built in the 14th century, which was transferred to the von Sternberg family in 1327 by the Bohemian King John of Luxembourg. The descendants redesigned the castle at the beginning of the 17th century in the Gothic style and later in the late Renaissance. Another renovation took place at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1887 the castle came to Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este, who had the castle restored in the neo-Gothic style by architects Josef Mocker and Franz Schmoranz from 1889–1894
After the assassination attempt in Sarajevo, his two underage sons inherited the castle. One year after the end of World War I, the two heirs were expropriated in favor of Czechoslovakia without compensation. During the occupation of Czechoslovakia in the course of World War II, the command of the SS military training area in Bohemia was based here in 1943. Today the castle is owned by the state.
www.zamek-konopiste.cz
Kroměříž Castle The Kroměříž
Castle in the district town of Kroměříž dates from the 16th century. It has a valuable interior with hunting, council and throne rooms as well as the pink and tsar salons. It also houses a picture gallery, which is considered the second most important Czech Republic after the Prague National Gallery. You can see pictures by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553), Hans von Aachen (1552-1615), Tizian (1488-1576), Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) and others.
Lednice Castle
Lednice Castle was originally built as a Gothic castle and was later rebuilt and extended to a Renaissance castle. The castle has representative halls with beautiful carved coffered ceilings. The Lednice-Valtice Natural Landscape Park is attached to the castle. Palace and park areas together form an ensemble of buildings with rivers and canals. The park is therefore not called the garden of Europe for nothing. It should be noted that the park is very suitable for cyclists.
Opočno Castle The Opočno
Castle can be found in the town of the same name in Opočno in Eastern Bohemia – about 120 km northeast-east of Prague and about 20 km from the border with Poland.
The castle is considered to be one of the most remarkable examples of the country’s renaissance architecture. Originally a Přemyslid castle was located here, which was mentioned in writing as early as 1068.
Instead of the castle, a three-wing renaissance castle was built by Wilhelm Trčka von Leipa between 1560 and 1569.
Under the rule of the Counts of Colloredo-Wallsee, the palace was expanded in the Baroque style at the end of the 17th century – while maintaining the core of the palace in the Renaissance style. The arcade courtyard of the palace is particularly worth seeing.
In the palace complex, visitors will find, among other things, a gallery with Italian paintings from the 16th to 18th centuries, an ethnographic collection from Africa and America, and in the knight’s hall an extensive collection of armor and historical weapons. Portraits of the castle owners and their family members are also on display.
Politics
It should be mentioned that negotiations took place here at the palace from June 10 to 23, 1813, at which, among others, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, the Austrian Chancellor Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, the Prussian State Chancellor Karl August Freiherr von Hardenberg (from 1814: Prince) and at times also King Friedrich Wilhelm III. of Prussia involved. The aim of the negotiations was an alliance against Napoleon, including Austria.
www.czech-heritage.com
Slakov Castle (Austerlitz)
There used to be a fortress from the 12th century, which was built by the Teutonic Knight Order. At the beginning of the 16th century it came into the possession of the Moravian noble family von Kaunitz. Under Ulrich von Kaunitz, the fort was converted into a palace in the Renaissance style and expanded. Another renovation took place towards the end of the 17th century in the Baroque style according to plans by the Italian architect Domenico Martinelli.
Today’s castle has a striking U shape. The Hall of the Ancestors, the Rubens Hall and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit are of particular interest to visitors.
After the battle of Austerlitz – which took place on December 2nd between France on the one hand and Austria and Russia on the other – the armistice was signed on December 6th, 1805 in the historical hall of Schloss Saal. It should be mentioned that Napoleon stayed here after the victorious battle.
The castle houses a historical museum and a multimedia show about the battle of Austerlitz. The palace garden covers an area of 15 ha = 150,000 m². It was laid out as a baroque garden in 1774 based on the model of Versailles. It was redesigned in the English style in the 19th century, but has been dismantled as a baroque garden for some time.
The castle is located in the place of the same name Slavkov – approx. 20 km southeast-east of Brno (Brno)
www.zamek-slavkov.cz
Valtice Castle The Valtice
Castle is located in the town of the same name in Valtice in the south of the South Moravian Region. As part of the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, the castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The splendid baroque palace was built in the middle of the 17th century in place of an older building from the 13th century. The palace chapel, the marble dining room and the Spanish stables with their valuable rococo ovens are particularly worth seeing. The castle is surrounded by a nature and landscape park. Until the expropriation after 1945, it was the seat of the Liechtenstein family. The return of the castle to the aristocratic family was strictly refused by Czechoslovakia and, after the separation from Slovakia, also by the Czech Republic.
Valice is located in the middle of the Moravian wine-growing region. A wine tasting should be a must here.
www.unesco-czech.cz
Vranov Castle
The castle rises on the rocks of the Dyje river and is considered one of the most beautiful aristocratic residences in Moravia.
The Vranov chateau belongs to the Vranov nad Dyjí municipality in Moravia. The castle on today’s border with Austria was built by Duke Břetislav I and was first mentioned in writing around the year 1100. Since the beginning of 1323, the castle was in the possession of Heinrich von Leipa. Later it came into the ownership of the Lords of Lichtenburg, who also owned the neighboring castles of Vöttau and Zornstein. Since the beginning of the 16th century it was first owned by Ar Kleb von Boskowitz, after which it changed hands several times. In 1614 the castle was acquired by Wolf Dietrich von Althann. But because of his participation in the so-called uprising of the estates, his property was confiscated by decree of the emperor. In 1629 the castle came into the possession of Johann Ernst von Scherfenberg and after 1665 into the possession of the Counts Starhemberg. Among them, Frain Castle was structurally changed again.
In 1680 the castle came into the possession of Count Michael Johann von Althann. Under him, the castle was converted into a baroque palace between 1687 and 1695 according to plans by the imperial court architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Later there were further expansions and modifications. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Pole Stanisław Mniszek bought the chateau and made changes to the façade of the chateau in the neo-Gothic style. After further changes of ownership, the last owner was expropriated after the end of the Second World War and the chateau became state property. The castle was extensively renovated in the 1970s.
Parts of the system can be viewed. The ancestral hall in particular with its ceiling and wall decorations depicts episodes from the life of the Althan family. It is a unique document of the lifestyle of the Central European aristocracy.
In the exhibition in the castle there is a collection of earthenware from the local manufactory.
www.zamekvranov.cz
Cervena Lhota Water Castle
This Renaissance-style castle is the only castle in the Czech Republic that is located in the middle of a lake. According to legend, the characteristic red color of the castle facade is supposed to hide the blood stain of a murder committed here.
The visitor will find the earlier furnishings from the 17th and 19th centuries in the castle.
The first written mention of the complex comes from 1465. And in 1530 Jan Kába z Rybňan acquired the Gothic castle, which he converted into a chateau in the following years.
After numerous changes of ownership, Eduard Fürst zu Schönburg acquired the castle in 1835, which then remained in the possession of the Schönburger family until the end of World War II, which was then expropriated and expelled to Austria.
The castle is located in the district of the same name in Pluhův Žďár in the south of Bohemia. It is owned by the state.
www.czech-heritage.com
Churches
Barbaradom in Kutná Hora
The Barbaradom in Kutná Hora is a (new) Gothic five-nave cathedral dedicated to Saint Barbara, a saint and martyr of Christianity. Construction of the church began in 1388. The oldest part of the cathedral is the choir, which was inaugurated in 1391.
St. Bartholomew’s Church in Pilsen The St. Bartholomew’s Church in Pilsen is a Gothic church, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1295. It has the highest church tower in the Czech Republic with a height of 102.3 m.
Basilica of St. Prokopius
The basilica of St. Prokopius in Třebíč was built together with the Jewish ghetto and the Jewish cemeteryon July 3, 2003 included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first place of worship built there in connection with the monastery was a chapel dedicated to St. Benedict was consecrated. Today’s three-aisled basilica was built in the late Romanesque style between 1240 and 1260 and was consecrated to the Virgin Mary at the time. But as early as 1468 the church – like the monastery – was almost destroyed by the Hungarians under their King Matthias Corvinus, actually Hunyadi (1443-1490). Services were not held here until 1629 and the remains of the church were used for all sorts of non-religious purposes. An extensive renovation took place under the nobleman and patron Jan Josef von Waldstein (1684-1731) by the builder František Maxmilian Kaňka from 1725 to 1733. At that time the church was also consecrated to St. Prokopius (Prokop). The architect built, for example, the baroque-Gothic reticulated vault and the two towers in the Baroque Gothic style. Another renovation was carried out between 1924 and 1935 according to the plans of the Czech architect Kamil Hilbert (1869-1933). And it was not until 1956 that the destroyed south chapel with the apse was completed. True treasures of the church are the entrance portal from the 13th century, the choir with the apse and the Romanesque crypt below the church. And it was not until 1956 that the destroyed south chapel with the apse was completed. True treasures of the church are the entrance portal from the 13th century, the choir with the apse and the Romanesque crypt below the church. And it was not until 1956 that the destroyed south chapel with the apse was completed. True treasures of the church are the entrance portal from the 13th century, the choir with the apse and the Romanesque crypt below the church.
Bethlehem’s Chapel (Betlémská kaple)
The Bethlehem’s Chapel (Betlémská kaple), built in 1391 by Prague patricians, became the center of the Reformation movement through the Reformer. After Jan Hus was burned at the stake, the chapel became a national shrine.
Cathedral of the Purification of the Virgin Mary
The Cathedral of the Purification of the Virgin Mary is located in Dub nad Moravou (Dub an der March), in Moravia; the cathedral and the baroque church in Dub nad Moravou are also known as the “Haná basilica”. The cathedral was built in 1734-1756 by the architect Jiri Klíczník. The baroque monuments of St. Florian (1733), St. John Nepomuk (1739) and St. Joseph (1740) are particularly valuable. The cathedral contains a baroque organ from the workshop of the organ builder Jan Vymol from Brno.
All Saints Cemetery Church with Ossuary
The small All Saints Cemetery Church (Hřbitovní kostel všech Svatých s kostnicí) in Kutná Hora goes back to the 14th century, but has been structurally redesigned many times over the years. It got its baroque appearance in 1710. The Sedletz Ossarium (Kostnice Sedlec) is located in the basement of the church, which is enthroned in the middle of a small cemetery. This ossuary contains the bones of around 40,000 people. Around 10,000 of these bones were artistically staged. Both the wall decorations and the candelabra, the bell and even the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family are made of bones. The ossuary was created after the Sedletz cemetery had become too small due to a plague epidemic and a spatial restriction caused by mining.
Church of the Assumption in Kutná Hora
Built between 1280 and 1330, destroyed in 1421 and rebuilt between 1699 and 1707 in the Baroque-Gothic style, the Church of the Assumption in Kutná Hora was initially used as a warehouse after its desecration. From 1806 it functioned as a parish church and was restored from 1854 to 1857. Inside there is the wonderful fresco “St. Trinity ”, which was created in 1717 by Hans Jakob Steinfels.
Rotunda of St. Catherine
The “Rotunda of St. Catherine” is one of the oldest churches in the country and is located on the area of the Přemyslid Castle in the Moravian town of Znojmo – in the south of the Czech Republic, approx. Km southeast of Prague. The rotunda is decorated with Romanesque frescoes from 1134 depicting the family tree of the Přemyslids, the oldest Bohemian ruling dynasty, as well as episodes from the country’s history.
The building was built in the Romanesque style – in the middle of a bailey – by Břetislav I until around 1019. The first written mention of the building comes from the year 1100, when Duke Bořivoj II celebrated his wedding here. According to an inscription from the 13th century, the building was rebuilt by the Přemyslid prince Konrad II of Znojmo around 1134 and provided with the frescoes that have survived to this day.
After the founding of the old royal city of Znojmo, the rotunda was subordinated to the parish of St. Nicholas as a subsidiary church in 1226 and from 1287 it belonged to the parish church of St. Michael, which was ceded together with the rotunda in 1320 to the local Poor Clare monastery. After another series of changes of ownership, it was even used as a stable at the end of the 18th century, and from 1830 it served as a beer bar.
From 1879 a basket-weaving workshop was housed here for a while. From 1888 onwards the value of the building finally began to be recognized and the reconstruction of the rotunda began, during which the frescoes were also reconstructed between 1891 and 1893. After further reconstructions, the last renovations took place between 1966 and 1991.
The rotunda consists of an oval-shaped nave, which is connected to an apse to the east. The masonry of the building consists of irregularly shaped dark rubble stones.
The rotunda has been a national cultural monument since 1962.
Tyn Church in Prague
The Catholic Tyn Church is completely called “Church of St. Maria in front of Tyn” and is located on the Old Town Square.
Construction of this Gothic church began in 1365. The church was not completed until the 15th century. Over the years, several renovations and extensions took place. The mighty towers of the church are striking.
The baroque altar inside the church and the grave of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), who died in Prague, are particularly worth seeing.
Celetná 5
110 00 Prague 1
Vitus Cathedral (St. Vitus Cathedral) in Prague
The Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle is the largest church in the Czech Republic. The building in its current form as a Gothic cathedral was built from 1344 on the instructions of Charles IV. The three-aisled cathedral is 124 m long and 33 m high. The main tower is 99 m high and offers a wonderful view of Prague.
Pilgrimage Church in Hejnice
The pilgrimage church “Basilica of the Visitation of Mary” in the small town of Hejnice (Haindorf) – located approx. 10 km south-east of Frydlant (Friedland) – was styled between 1722 and 1729 according to plans by the Prague builder Thomas Haffenecker (1669-1730) built in the baroque era.
A previous church burned down in 1761.
A brief history of this place can be found on the notice board in front of the castle, which is shown here. This representation should be supplemented by the following:
According to legend, a tired and sick sieve maker is said to have laid himself under a linden tree in the local forest and miraculously recovered.
Then he bought in Zittaua picture of Maria that he put on this linden tree. As a result of this event, a chapel was built here in 1211, around which a settlement is said to have developed.
Monasteries, monastery churches
Broumov Benedictine Abbey The Broumov
Monastery is the largest monastery complex in the whole of the Czech Republic. The town of the same name, Broumov (Braunau) with around 8,000 residents, is located in the northeastern part of Bohemia on the border with Poland (Lower Silesia).
It began in 1213 with a donation from the Bohemian King Ottokar II (), who left the northern foothills of Bohemia in the vicinity of the town of Broumov to the Benedictine monks who had settled in Břevnov near Prague.
Around 1322 the construction of a Benedictine monastery began here instead of a Gothic castle.
The current appearance of the abbey goes back to a renovation in the Baroque period between 1728 and 1733. The plans for the renovation come from the Prague baroque master builder and architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and his son.
The frescoes with motifs from the life of St. Adalbert in the abbey church are by Jan Jakob Steinfels, while the altar paintings are by Wenzel Lorenz Reiner and the sculptures are by Wenzel Matthias Jäckel.
After the war, most of the German monks had to leave the country and went to Bavaria. But later the last monks had to leave the monastery. It was very bad that from 1950 the monastery was used as a prison camp for priests and monks.
It was not until 1990 that the monastery was returned to the Benedictine order. Nowadays the abbey can be visited. Here visitors will find a library with around 17,000 volumes, an exhibition of old prints – especially Bibles, and a gallery with portraits of the abbots of the monastery
www.broumov.net.
Doksany Monastery and Castle
The Premonstratensian Monastery was founded in 1144.
Hradisko Monastery
The monastery north of Olomouc was built from 1661-1750 in a baroque style. Koster Kladruby The former Benedictine monastery Kladruby (Kladrau) is located in the town of Kladruby in the west of the Czech Republic. The village with around 1,500 residents is located in the immediate vicinity of the D 5 (Dálnice 5) motorway – approx. 30 km west of Pilsen. The D 5 runs from the German border at Rozvadov (Roßhaupt) via Pilsen to Prague.
The monastery church of the Assumption is presented in the style of the Bohemian Baroque Gothic. The monastery was founded in 1115 by Duke Vladislav I as a Benedictine monastery. It is one of the oldest in the Czech Republic and is the largest church in the country after the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The Romanesque basilica originally located here was rebuilt in the Baroque period according to plans by Johann Blasius Santini-Aichel in the Baroque style – but incorporating Gothic motifs.
www.kladruby.euweb.cz
Klokoty Monastery The Klokoty
Monastery, west of Tábor and approx. 70 km south of Prague, was built by the Benedictines between 1701 and 1730 and is particularly a place of pilgrimage. An earlier chapel has stood here since the end of the 14th century. According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd boy there.
The pilgrimage church has a rather untypical floor plan for Central Europe in the form of a two-beam cross and stands in a trapezoidal courtyard that is bordered by chapels and a cloister. The ten onion domes, which give the ensemble its typical silhouette, are located above the presbytery of the church and on all chapels
www.tabor.cz Osek Monastery of the Virgin Mary
The monastery in Osek in Bohemia was founded in 1196, it has Romanesque-Gothic style elements.
Porta coeli monastery The Porta coeli
women’s monastery (Gate to Heaven) is located in the village of Předklášteří, a neighboring town of Tišnov – approx. 25 km northwest of Brno.
The origin of the church goes back to a donation from Margrave Přemysl to his widowed mother Konstanze. In 1233 he bequeathed her lands near Tišnov, where she founded the Porta Coel Cistercian convent. The monastery church was consecrated around 1239 in honor of the Assumption of Mary. The three-aisled church was built in the early Gothic style of the Cistercians. After a checkered history, the Porta Coeli monastery was closed by the communists in 1950 and the convent was dissolved. But after the fall of the Wall you could celebrate the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of the monastery in 2001. In the monastery church you can find the resting places of the founders of the monastery – the widow Konstanze and her son Přemysl.
In the former provost house of the monastery there is a museum with a collection of minerals and a paleontological collection. The visitor will also find an exhibition on the furniture of the bourgeoisie from the turn of the 19th century to the 20th century.
www.tisnov.cz
Sedlec Monastery in Kutná Hora
The first Cistercian monastery in Bohemia was founded in Sedlec in 1142 and in the first half was considered the richest monastery in Bohemia, which was due to the silver finds in neighboring Kutná Hora, some of which were owned by the monastery. In 1421 the Hussites raided the Romanesque-Gothic monastery and burned it down. It was only rebuilt towards the end of the 17th century and was able to experience a second heyday in connection with the Catholic reform. In 1783 it was finally abolished and served as a tobacco factory from 1812. The church of the monastery has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1995.
Strahov Monastery
The monastery was founded in Prague around 1140 and houses, among other things, a theological library room with valuable books.
Monastery Třebíč
The monastery of Třebíč was founded in 1101 by Benedictine monks, and in the middle of the 13th century replaced by a three-aisled basilica with a portico. The monastery church was once one of the largest in Europe. It was partially destroyed under the Hussites. Numerous restorations in the late 16th, 18th and most recently in the 20th century have determined its current appearance. In 1990 Pope John Paul II held a service in front of the church and in front of about 500,000 believers. The rest of the monastery was converted into a castle after secularization, which is now the Museum of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Moravian rocks and minerals as well as Christmas cribs are exhibited there.
Teplá Monastery (Teplá)
This monastery in western Bohemia – about km 12 km east of Marienbad – was founded around 1193 as a Premonstratensian monastery by the Bohemian noble Count Hroznata von Ovenec. According to legend, he founded the monastery because he had not participated in the third crusade of 1191. The monastery has a two-towered front and the monastery church was built for the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The church is considered to be one of the largest Romanesque churches in the country.
During the Baroque period, the building complex was rebuilt by Christoph Dientzenhofer (1655-1722) in the style of the time. The monastery library, which is one of the second largest in the country, is worth mentioning.
www.klastertepla.cz
Vyšší Brod (Hohenfurth)
The Cistercian monastery Vyšší Brod is located in the village of the same name Vyšší Brod – approx. 10 km north of the border with Austria and approx. 40 km north of Linz (Austria).
The monastery complex is often referred to as the “pearl” of Gothic architecture in Bohemia. The monastery was founded in 1259 by the Bohemian Marshal Wok von Rosenberg, who – according to legend – was saved from drowning in the Vltava and had the monastery built in gratitude for it.
In the course of the Thirty Years’ War the monastery was looted several times but not destroyed, which only happened much later due to a fire in 1690.
Almost 100 years later – in 1786 – the abbot was removed from his office and the further admission of novices was forbidden, the monastery property was partially divided up and leased elsewhere. It was not until 1789 that this was reversed by an imperial order.
During the German occupation, the monastery was closed by the Gestapo on April 17, 1941.
But under the communists, who had taken power from 1948, the monastery and the monks who returned under the reign of Edvard Beneš were no better. After most of the monks had already left the monastery, it was officially closed on May 4, 1950 and then served for a time as barracks for the army and later as accommodation for the border guards. After they moved out, the monastery buildings stood empty and gradually fell into disrepair.
Only after the fall of the Wall did monastic life begin to return here.
The monastery church “Assumption of Mary”, which was initially made of wood, is worth mentioning. It was consecrated in 1259 and then rebuilt from stone between 1270 and 1280. But the Gothic vault of the three-aisled church was not completed until around 1370.
www.czech-heritage.com
Zlatá Koruna Monastery
The Bohemian monastery is only about 10 km from Český Krumlov and is one of the oldest monasteries in the Czech Republic. His name means something like “golden crown”. The former Cistercian monastery was built in 1263 under King Premysl Otakar II ().
At that time the complex served not only as a spiritual center, but was also an important pillar in the building of royal power in South Bohemia.
The former monastery, recently extensively renovated, now serves as a museum devoted to the history of the Cistercian order and the writings in South Bohemia.
www.zlatakoruna.cz
Pilgrimage sites
Stará Boleslav (Altbunzlau)
Stará Boleslav (Altbunzlau) has formed a twin town together with “Brandýs nad Labem” since 1960. The city belongs to the Středočeský kraj region and is located approx. 20 km northeast of Prague.
This oldest pilgrimage site in Bohemia can be reached via a pilgrimage route with 44 small chapels from Prague.
The beginnings of Christianity in Bohemia are connected with today’s pilgrimage site Stará Boleslav. On the site of the Romanesque St. Wenceslas Basilica from the first half of the 12th century there was previously a church, in front of which Duke Wennzeslaus (Wenceslaus, Václav) – later St. September 935 was murdered. Wenceslas, born in 905, became Duke of Bohemia in 924, which he remained until his murder.
He has been the patron saint of Bohemia since the 11th century.
Another important pilgrimage destination is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with the Marian medallion, which St. Wenceslas – according to legend – wore when he was murdered. The tomb of Wenceslas is now in the St. Wenceslas Chapel of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague – the 1367 AD. was built.
www.staraboleslav.com
Pilgrimages
- Assumption of Mary on August 15th and on the Sundays before and after
- on the 1st Sunday in July
- on the Sunday after Mary’s birth (Sept. 8)
- Pilgrimage to St. Wenceslaus on September 28th
- the last Sunday in September
Svatá Hora
The pilgrimage site of Svatá Hora is located around 60 km southwest of Prague above the town of Příbram.
The Assumption Chapel was originally a Gothic chapel. A Lady Chapel has been located there since the 13th century, and in 1348 it received the image of the Virgin Mary from Prague Archbishop Ernst von Pardubitz, which is still venerated today. This place has been an important place of pilgrimage near Příbram since the 17th century. The complex with cloisters, chapels and gates around the Church of the Assumption of Mary was built between 1658 and 1709. The church and the cloister of the pilgrimage church were designed by Carlo Lurago and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. The construction plans came from the architects C. Lurago and GD Orsi as well as PI Bayer. Giovanni Battista Passerini senior, master stonemason and employee of Lurago, built the grand staircase in front of the chapel in 1673, designed the facade and drew altar designs. The plastic jewelry in the cloister comes from Johann Brokoff. In the vicinity of the church there is a former Jesuit residence in the baroque style. The richly furnished church rooms offer beautiful stucco work as well as a gilded altar with a silver shrine and a Gothic statue of the Madonna and Child.
After the dissolution of the order of the Jesuits, who administered the place of pilgrimage and looked after the pilgrims, the Redemptorists took over this task in 1861.
The monastery was closed on April 13, 1950 – but reopened on March 1, 1990 after the fall of the Wall. Since then, regular pilgrimages have taken place again, also with German participants.
www.pribram-city.cz
Pilgrimages
- on the third Sunday after Pentecost (coronation pilgrimage).On this day, the coronation of the statue of Mary on June 22, 1732 is commemorated.
- Sunday after the Assumption (August 15th).
Svatý Hostýn (St. Hostein)
The Svatý Hostýn basilica was built between 1721 and 1748 on the Hostýn hill of the same name. The church had an oval floor plan.
On April 21, 1784 a ban on pilgrimages to the Hostein was issued and by order of the Count “Monte dell’Abbate della Rovere”, who had inherited the complex, the towers, the roof and the entablature of the basilica were removed so that only the masonry on which the mountain remained.
But at the beginning of the 19th century there was a strong effort to rebuild the church, as a result of which the church was rededicated in 1841.
In 1898 a lookout tower and the chapel ”
According to legend, the Virgin Mary protected the area from the Turks in 1241. In 1982 Pope John Paul gave the church the honorary title “Basilica minor”.
The 735 m high Hostýn mountain is located about 3 km southeast of the town of Bystřice pod Hostýnem – about 80 km northeast of Brno and about 240 km southeast of Prague.
www.hostyn.cz
Pilgrimages
- on the Sunday closest to the Assumption of Mary.
- on the 2nd Sunday in October (All Saints’ Pilgrimage)
Velehrad
The local basilica is dedicated to St. Cyril and St. Method. The two brothers came to Moravia in 863 to preach Christianity.
The village of Velehrad is located around 5 km northwest of Staré Město – around 60 km east of Brno.
www.slovacko.cz
Pilgrimages
- on the Sunday closest to July 5th(feast of the two saints Cyrillus and Methodius)
Svatý Kopeček (Holy
Hill ) Svatý Kopeček (Svatý = Saint) is a district of the city of Olomouc (Olomouc) – and is located a little more than 60 km northeast of Brno (Brno). The district has fewer than 1,000 residents.
On the basis of a promise made by Jan Andrýsek, a wine merchant from Olomouc, he had a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary built on a hill, which was consecrated in April 1633. However, the chapel burned down towards the end of the Thirty Years’ War. 1645 from. It was rebuilt between 1650 and 1656. The strong increase in pilgrims and other believers was the reason for the construction of a new, larger church. This Baroque pilgrimage church “The Visitation” was inaugurated on October 1st, 1679. The church impresses with its onion dome.
The communists violently dissolved the monastery in April 1950 and expelled the monks. The Premonstratensian monks returned on February 11, 1990 after the fall of the Wall.
On May 21, 1995 Pope John Paul II visited the church and gave the church the honorary title of “Basilica minor”.
www.olomouc-tourism.cz
Pilgrimages
- on May 31st
- on the Sunday after the Assumption of Mary (15.8)
- the following Monday and Tuesday
- on the last Sunday in October
Zlaté Hory
The origins of this pilgrimage site go back to the time of the Thirty Years War. According to legend, the pregnant Anna Thannheiser fled from the Swedes to the woods on Gottgabberg in 1647. Here she is said to have given birth to a son named Martin Thainnheiser. This Martin made a vow to make a picture of the Virgin Mary, which was then actually commissioned by his daughter and was hung in 1718 at his birthplace.
However, the picture only attracted a lot of attention when the picture was found by chance in the forest and is said to have been surrounded by a light phenomenon. Then a wooden chapel was built in 1718 to protect the image. This was to be removed in 1785 under Emperor Joseph II, who had pilgrimages forbidden. But the place of pilgrimage remained against the instructions, as no local could be found who wanted to do this work. In 1803 the military was threatened to enforce this order. Only in 1819 were the rulers allowed to go on pilgrimages again.
In 1834 a new pilgrimage church was built and in 1841 on the day of Mary’s birth (September 8th) the church was solemnly consecrated.
From May 1955, worship services were banned here by the ruling communists. As a result, the church fell into disrepair over the years. But renovation work began during the Prague Spring under Dubcek, but after its failure the renovation work had to be finished in May 1973 and in September the remains of the church were even blown up.
Only after the fall of the Wall could the construction of a new church begin. The foundation stone was laid in 1993 and the ceremonial consecration took place on September 23, 1995.
www.mariahilf.cz
Pilgrimages
- on Friday after the Assumption of Mary
- on Saturday after the Assumption of Mary (August 15)
Synagogues
Old New Synagogue (Staronová synagoga) in Prague
The oldest synagogue still in use in Prague has been preserved in its almost original state.
Rear synagogue in Třebíč
The so-called rear synagogue was built at the end of the 16th century, with later alterations changing the appearance of the Jewish church. Since around the 1920s, however, the synagogue was no longer used for church services, but as a storage room for various companies. This also resulted in the poor condition the synagogue was in in the 1980s. It was lovingly renovated in the 1990s and is mainly used for exhibitions, concerts and seminars due to the lack of a Jewish community.
Front synagogue in Třebíč
The Front Synagogue in Třebíč , also known as “Altschul”, was built between 1639 and 1642 and was designed in the Baroque style. Subsequent alterations resulted in today’s neo-Gothic appearance. The last repairs were made in 1994 and 1995. It was incorporated into the Czechoslovak Hussite Church in the 1960s for church services.
Synagogue in Český Krumlov
The Egon Schiele Art Centrum, in cooperation with the Prague Jewish Community, has started to repair the synagogue in Český Krumlov. Exhibitions on the history of the Jews in Český Krumlov as well as visual arts are to be visited there. With the construction of the synagogue, the center wants to contribute to the cultural diversity in Český Krumlov.
Universities
Charles University in Prague (Univerzita Karlova)
By far the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic – and also the oldest university in all of Central Europe – was founded on April 7, 1348. It owes its existence to the Roman-German Emperor and Bohemian King Charles IV. The renowned university is currently attended by around 40,000 students who are divided between the university’s 17 faculties.
Czech Technical University in Prague (České vysoké učení technické v Praze)
Founded in 1863, ČVUT is the second major university in Prague. It has branches not only in the Czech capital, but also in other cities in the country. It offers nearly 50 courses and is currently attended by an estimated 23,000 students.
West Moravian College Třebíč
This private university in Třebíč was founded in 2003 and three years later it was able to dismiss the first academics. There are currently around 100 students studying there.
Spas
Františkovy Lázně (Franzensbad)
Františkovy Lázně is located in the western Czech Republic – approx. 5 km north of the city of Cheb and around 10 km from the border with Germany. The city has around 5,600 residents.
The village was founded in 1793, not least thanks to the active support of Emperor Franz II. The newly founded town was therefore named in his honor, Kaiser-Franzensdorf. Later it became Kaiser-Franzensbad and Franzensbad.
The thermal power of the local springs was already known in the Middle Ages and was used by the population of the region.
The center of the city is surrounded by beautiful parks. The spa pavilions are fine examples of the style and architecture of historicism.
The spa guest or other visitors will find 21 large and numerous small springs here – with temperatures between 09 and 12 °C.
The springs of the spa are particularly suitable against diseases of the heart and blood vessels, against women’s ailments and against joint and back problems. Numerous hotels of almost all categories offer their rooms at
www.franzenzbad.cz
Jáchymov (Joachimsthal)
The Jáchymov spa is located around 7 km south-southwest of the winter sports resort Oberwiesenthal in Germany and around 15 km north-northeast of Karlsbad. The city has around 3,000 residents.
The spa became famous not least because of Pierre and Marie Curie. The two later Nobel Prize winners isolated the radioactive elements uranium and polonium from the remains of the Joachimsthal mines.
The place is famous for its radon baths, in which the spa guests inhale the alpha-emitting gas radon. The healing springs come from the local tunnels and have temperatures between 28 and 36 °C. The springs are said to have a healing effect on complaints of the musculoskeletal system and a number of metabolic diseases.
www.laznejachymov.cz
Janske Lazne
This resident health resort is located in the Risen Mountains – about km
Jesenik (Freiwaldau)
The spa town of Jesenik is located in the north-east of the Czech Republic – around 200 km east of Prague and around 100 km south of the Polish city of Wroclaw. The city has about 12,500 residents.
In 1822 the natural healer Vincenz Prießnitz (1799-1851) established the world’s first aqua healing facility (aqua = water) here. Prießnitz is considered to be one of the pioneers of cold
water therapy. With the help of water and physiotherapy, diseases of the respiratory tract, metabolism and skin diseases are treated here.
www.jesenik.org
Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad)
The spa town of Karlovy Vary is certainly the most famous spa town in the Czech Republic not only in Germany. The spa is also the largest and most exclusive in the Czech Republic. Karlsbad is located at the confluence of the Teplá and the Eger – around 23 km south of the border with Germany and around 65 km south of Chemnitz in Saxony. The city has around 51,000 residents. The city was founded around 1350 by the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and Moravia, Charles IV (1316-1378). Its healing springs have been used for around 500 years. The doctor David Becher (1725-1792), who was born in Karlovy Vary, made great contributions to Karlbad as a health resort.
Most of the buildings date from the period of historicism and the burgeoning Art Nouveau. The bath has 12 mineral springs with temperatures between 42 and 73 °C. plus a cold spring. It should be mentioned that the largest spring has its water gushing up to a height of 15 m. You can also be treated with peat soil and carbonic acid anhydride.
The sources promise relief for diabetes (sugar disease), gout and liver and gall bladder problems. Also for diseases of the digestive tract, metabolic disorders and the musculoskeletal system.
www.karlovyvary.cz
Luhačovice
The town with a population of just under 6,000 is considered the largest spa town in Moravia. It is located on the Luhačovicer Bach in the White Carpathians – about 15 km from the border with Slovakia and about 85 km southeast-east of Brno.
The eastern and south-eastern parts of the city’s surroundings are part of the “White Carpathian Mountains” nature reserve and are ideal for excursions and hikes. The mineral springs in the city have been known since 1669 and were later also used as medicinal springs.
The year 1789 is considered to be the beginning of the modern spa business. At the beginning of the 19th century the spa then recorded its heyday.
The most important dissolved minerals in the mineral water of the local springs are found: sodium, calcium, magnesium, chlorine, bromine and iodine. The temperature of the spring water is between 10 and 13 °C.
In the health resort, diseases of the respiratory tract, the digestive tract, the musculoskeletal system, diabetes and metabolic disorders are treated in particular. This is done with the help of sophisticated drinking cures from the 16 mineral springs, as well as inhalations and mud baths. There is also a spring with sulphurous water here. Also worth mentioning is the Jurkovič House, which is considered a particularly beautiful spa house. It was built by the Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič (1868-1947).
www.luhacovice.cz
Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad)
The spa town of Mariánské Lázně is located at an altitude of over 600 m in the far west of the Czech Republic – approx. 15 km east of the border with Germany and a little less than 70 km from Bayreuth. The city has around 13,500 residents.
Marienbad was officially recognized as a spa town in 1818, making it the youngest spa in western Bohemia.
Three years earlier – i.e. in 1813 – Karl Prokop Reiterberger became abbot of the Teplá Monastery and, based on the findings of the monastery doctor Nehr, began to set up a bathing resort here. He is therefore considered to be the founder of the spa town of Marienbad. From 1817 to 1823 the architects Georg Fischer and Anton Turner built numerous spa buildings in the neo-classical style. In 1879, the city erected a monument on the Kreuzbrunnen promenade in honor of Ridingberger, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe even visited the bath for the first time in 1820. The “City Museum” was set up in the former guesthouse “Zur Goldenen Traube”, which he had built as a hostel, and a Goethe memorial was later erected on the square in front of the museum, which was named after him. In 1897, the future British King Edward VII visited. (1841-1910) Marienbad and in 1904 even the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916) came to the city. These years were undeniably the heyday of the spa.
Today there are more than 50 cold springs with temperatures between 7 and 10 °C in the health resort, all of which serve as health springs.
Here, in particular, diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, the locomotor system, metabolic disorders, respiratory diseases, as well as skin diseases and gynecological problems are treated or alleviated.
Some of the main sources are:
- Ambrosius spring, its water is drunk as medicinal water, but also used for baths.
- Ferdinand spring, it is the first healing spring discovered in Marienbad. Between 1826 and 1827 a colonnade, which is still preserved today, was built here.
- Karolina spring, it was named in 1870 after Karoline Augusta – the wife of Emperor Franz I.
- Kreuzquelle, first mentioned in 1749.
- Marienquelle – a strongly carbonated spring, it gave the city its name.
- Forest spring, it belongs to the ferrous wells.
Note
The impressive film with the title “Last Year in Marienbad” – a Franco-Italian film by Alain Resnais from 1961 – did not take place in Marienbad but in some castles near or in Munich
Poděbrady (Poděbrady)
Poděbrady is located on the right bank of the Elbe – about 7 km southeast of the district town of Nymburk and about 50 km northeast-east of Prague. The city has around 14,000 residents.
In 1905, a dowser believed he had discovered a water vein in the forecourt of the local castle. During the subsequent drilling, a carbon dioxide-containing mineral spring water was actually encountered at a depth of around 95 m. The first season as a bathing resort began as early as 1908.. The place quickly acquired an excellent reputation as a spa – also outside of the country’s borders. Nowadays, the spa area extends over the part of the city to the northwest of the city center.
Here, the spa guest can find help or relief for cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and back problems. In particular, bath tubs and massages are used.
www.ipodebrady.cz
Teplice (Teplitz)
Teplice is the oldest spa in Central Europe. It is about 8 km south of the border with Germany (Saxony) and about 45 km south of Dresden on the edge of the Ore Mountains in an area with parks, fountains, ponds, ornamental trees and green areas. The city has around 50,000 residents. By the way, the next German border town is Altenberg in Saxony.
The bath had its heyday in the years 1634 to 1850. The thermal springs Pavridlo with a temperature of approx. 49 °C and Hynie with a temperature of around 44 ° C as well as a mountain thermal spring are particularly worth mentioning.
The healing effects and the pleasant environment prompted Beethoven, Goethe, Chopin or Liszt to stay there. The bath is especially used to combat or alleviate rheumatism, gout, neuralgia, and complaints of the musculoskeletal system. Thrermal baths, hydrotherapy, paraffin wraps or gas injections (oxygen) are used for this.
www.teplice.cz
National parks
Bohemian Forest (Šumava National Park)
A major attraction in the Czech Republic is the Bohemian Forest, the largest national park in the Czech Republic with 68,520 ha = 685.2 km². Together with the landscape protection area surrounding it, there are even 94,480 hectares. The park was founded in 1991. The Šumava Mountains are on the border with Austria and Germanyand underline this wonderful scenery. The “Green Roof of Europe” is traversed by the Vltava and Otava, has five glacial lakes (Jezero Laka, Prášilské jezero, Plešné jezero, Černé jezero and Čertovo jezero) and various moors. The Bohemian Forest is particularly suitable for hikers, cyclists and canoeists. The park is located at an altitude between 510 m and 1,378 m (Plechý – Plöckenstein).
The Šumava National Park has the character of a low mountain range or highland with extensive plateaus. It is one of the largest forest areas in Central Europe, it is also the headwaters of the longest Czech river, the Vltava.
There are several cities in the vicinity of the national park, in which the visitor can find appropriate accommodation and catering. They are “České Budějovice”, “Kaplice”, ” Český Krumlov”, “Horní Planá”, “Prachatice”, “Vimperk” or “Železná Ruda”. In addition, in the tourist areas of the Bohemian Forest, the visitor will find a number of ski resorts with hotels of various price ranges, which are often open all year round.
Krkonoše (Giant Mountains)
The “Krkonossky narodni park” in the Giant Mountains was inaugurated in 1963, making it the oldest national park in the country. it covers a total area of about 36,300 ha = 363 km². The national park includes the highest mountains in the country – including the Krkonoše foothills. The southern edge of the national park and the most famous tourist centers are located in a protection zone with an area of around 18,600 ha = 186 km².
The national park is formed by mountain landscapes, some of which are high mountain landscapes. All rare plants and animals in the park In the area of the Krkonoše National Park are under strict nature protection.
The towns “Harrachov”, “Špindleruv Mlýn”, “Pec pod Sněžkou” and ”
České Švýcarsko (Bohemian Switzerland)
The youngest national park in the Czech Republic is Ceske Svycarsko, founded on January 1, 2000 in Czech Switzerland, which covers an area of around 7,900 ha = 79 km². The first efforts to put the area under nature protection go back to 1928.
The national park includes the important part of the rock formation Labské pískovce (Elbe Sandstone Mountains), the rocky area Jetřichovské stěny and the edge area of the Děčínské stěny. In the south and north-east the national park is bordered by the protected landscape area Labské pískovce (Elbe Sandstone Mountains), while in the east it merges into the protected landscape area Lužické hory (Lusatian Mountains).
The area of Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland is one of the internationally known tourist areas in Central Europe. Its area becomes part of the German National Park Saxon Switzerland, founded in 1990.
Podyjí (Thayatal)
The Podyji National Park covers an area of 6,300 ha = 63 km².
It stretches along the middle course of the Thaya, between the cities of Znojmo and Vranov nad Dyjí – in the immediate vicinity of the border with Austria. It is part of the highlands located on the south-eastern edge of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands.
The area was declared a protected landscape area in 1978. However, since it was in the exclusion zone on the border before the fall of the Wall, most of it was not accessible to the public. In 1991 the Podyjí Protected Landscape Area became the Podyjí National Park. On January 1, 2000, the Thayatal National Park was also founded on the Austrian side. This created a unique, cross-border nature reserve.
The highest point in the park is the “Byčí hora” at Vranov nad Dyjí at a height of 536 m.
UNESCO biosphere reserves
Bílé Karpaty (White Carpathians)
The White Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is located at the south-western end of the outer Carpathian Arc in the districts of Zlín, Hodonín and Uherské Hradiště. The area covers an area of 71,000 ha = 710 km² and was established as a nature reserve in 1980 – it has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1996
The reserve is located at an altitude between
180 m and 970 m The entire area includes the following mountain landscapes: “Radějovská vrchovina “,” Javořina “,” Lopeník “,” Javorník2 and “Vršatec”.
Accommodation can be found in the following larger cities: “Uherské Hradiště”, “Uherský Brod” and in the more distant “Zlín”.
Jizerské hory (Jizera Mountains)
The southern edge of the Jizera Mountains is bordered by the cities of Liberec, Jablonec nad Nisou and Tanvald. In the north it falls at the Friedland Zinne (Frýdlantské cimbuří) into the flat landscape of the Frýdlant foothills. In the east it rises to its highest point in the Bohemian part of the country, Mount Smrk (1,124 m), with the greater part of the mountain being in Bohemia. It is the transition between the Zittau Mountains and the Giant Mountains.
The reserve covers an area of 36,600 ha = 366 km².
This landscape protection area was created in 1968 and is therefore one of the oldest large-scale nature protection areas in the Czech Republic.
In the mountains there are numerous beautiful peat bogs with a variety of rare plants.
Interesting sights include the mountain village “Jizerka”, the Smědava peat bog, the Souš and Bedřichov dams, the Štolpišské vodopády waterfalls and the Frýdlantské cimbuří rock formations.
Křivoklát and Surroundings
The Křivoklát and Surroundings Biosphere Reserve extends along the middle course of the Berounka River in the Beroun, Kladno, Rakovník, Plzen-North and Rokycany districts. The reserve covers an area of 63,000 ha = 630 km². The area has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1977 and extends to an altitude of 215 m to 616 m. The reserve’s large contiguous forest areas, which make up more than 60% of the territory, have been used for hunting for a long time..
In the vicinity of the area are the following larger cities with good and inexpensive accommodation options: “Beroun”, “Plzeň”, “Rokycany”, “Rakovník” or “Kladno”. The area is easy to reach from Prague.
Pálava (Palau Mountains)
The Pálava Protected Landscape Area is located on the territory of the Palau Mountains and includes part of the forest in the vicinity of the Lower Novomlýnská nádrž basin in the Břeclav district. The protected area covers an area of around 7,000 ha = 70 km². The protected region was established in 1976 and has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1988. it extends at an altitude between 170 m and 550 m.
The numerous and colorful flowers in forest steppes and steppes are very worth seeing. Bird lovers will find a rich observation area for numerous birds at Křivé jezero.
In the following cities you can find good and inexpensive accommodation and everything you need: “Břeclav”, “Mikulov”, “Valtice”, “Lednice”, “Hodonín” or the a little further away Brno (Brno).
Třeboňsko (Třeboň and surroundings)
This biosphere reserve extends on both sides of the Lužnice river and represents a lowland in South Bohemia with numerous ponds, small lakes and ponds. The area covers an area of around 70,000 ha = 700 km². It has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1977. Třeboň and the surrounding area are considered an ornithologically significant area. The reserve extends over a height of 410 m to 540 m. Slightly less than 45% of the area is forested, with the large oaks on numerous dams of the ponds particularly striking. The white water rose, the yellow and the small water rose, for example, grow on the ponds and other bodies of water. The reserve is also home to most of the Czech Republicoccurring bird species that live near bodies of water and moor areas, such as herons and, more recently, sea eagles.
In the middle of the reserve lies the town of Třeboň, an important tourist center and the former residence of the Rosenbergs. Not too far away is the town of České Budějovice – the center of the South Bohemian Region.
More natural beauties
Berg Kleť
At 1,084 meters, the Klet ‘is the highest point in the region. It’s a tough 4 hour hike up and down the mountain. Most of the way leads through forests. For the more comfortable, it is of course also possible to drive to the top of the mountain by car. In addition to a restaurant and a bar, there is also an observatory up there.
Blanský les (Blansker Wald or Plansker Wald)
These north-eastern foothills of the Bohemian Forest are up to 1,084 meters high (Kleť/Schöninger Mountain) and extend north of Český Krumlov. In 1990, the 212.35 km² nature reserve of the same name was established in Blanský les, and within it there are several nature reserves. The Blansker Forest impresses with many cultural and historical places. In addition to Český Krumlov, these include the baroque village of Holašovice, the Zlatá Koruna monastery and the ruins of the Dívčí Kámen and Kuklov castles.
Chřiby (German Mars Mountains)
The Mars Mountains is a nature park in South Moravia with an area of 335 km 2
Český ráj (The Bohemian Paradise)
The nature reserve is located in the north in the city triangle of Mnichovo Hradiště, Ji ? Ín and Turnov. The highest mountain is Kozákov, not far from Turnov. It was founded in 1995, making it the oldest protected landscape area in the Czech Republic.
Jizera Mountains
This mountain range lies between the Zittau Mountains in Germany and the Giant Mountains, which belong to the Czech Republic (Bohemia) and Poland. The Iser, Queis and Lusatian Neisse rivers, among others, arise here. The highest mountain in the Czech Republic is the 1,1124 m high Smrk (table spruce). The region is very popular with hikers, cyclists and horse riders. In winter you can go on wonderful cross-country skiing tours here. In the Czech part of the mountains lie Liberec, Tanvald and Frytdlant (Friedland) – the town of Wallensteins.
In addition, the visitor will find numerous moors and large, extensive forests here.
Moldau (Vltava)
The Moldau (Vltava) is a tributary of the Elbe and is also known as the Bohemian Sea. It is the longest and richest river in the Czech Republic. The Moldau-Ragweg leads along the Vltava, the landscape is worth seeing and romantic, a bike tour or at least a long walk along the Elbe should not be missed.
Třebíčsko Nature Park
The nature park is located northeast of Třebíč and extends over an area of about 10,000 hectares. It was created to protect the high-quality landscape. The nature park consists of various woods, meadows and pastures and has the so-called “Syenite rocks” as the most important sight. These are a kind of boulder islands.
Nature reserve
Adršpach -Weckelsdorf rock town near Adršpach and Teplice in a nature reserve in the Broumov region. A grouping of sandstone rocks over an area of 20 km². Under the influence of water, sun, frost and wind, gorges and cones up to 100 m deep or high have formed. The highest mountain is the Starozámecký vrch with a height of 671 m. The rock city has been accessible since 1700.
Milá nature reserve
in the north of the Czech Republic. Numerous herbs and shrubs grow here, and there are also various species of animals, such as mouflons, foxes, martens, wild boars and many birds.
Castle Garden (Zámecká zahrada) of Český Krumlov
large 10 hectares is the garden of the castle of Cesky Krumlov. In the years between 1752 and 1843 there was a rectangular maze made from hornbeam hedges. Unfortunately, only a small viewing pavilion has survived from this maze.
Waldstein Garden (Valdštejnská zahrada) in Prague
A labyrinth of hedges, gravel paths and flower beds. There is a riding hall, an artificial grotto, a fountain and some bronze statues of Greek gods. Theater performances and concerts are also held here in summer.
Czech Republic: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The historical center of Cesky Krumlov (1992)
The city of Cesky Krumlov is located on both sides of the Vltava River.
The castle was built in the 13th century and gradually expanded into a castle in various styles over the centuries. The town with its well-preserved town houses was founded around the castle. Fortunately, the city was not involved in wars, so the old buildings are a testament to the old days.
The church of St. Veith dates from the 15th century, as do the mendicant monasteries, the Jesuit college built in the Renaissance style, the town hall and the armory.
The historical center of Cesky Krumlov was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1992.
Historic Center of Prague (1992)
The world history of the city of Prague is linked with falls, once the monk Nepomuk was thrown from Charles Bridge down into the Vltava, another time in 1419 several councilors and a judge were elected from the citizens of Prague during the first “Prague window lintel” Town hall windows thrown out.
The executions of the reformer Jan Hus in 1415 and his friend Hieronymus a year later were the original trigger. King Wenzel hit the blow and the 15-year Hussite War broke out.
In disputes about religion on May 23, 1618, two councilors and a clerk were thrown out of a window in Prague Castle during the second “Prague Lintel”. This incident is often made to trigger the “Thirty Years War”.
The city of Prague is located in the west of the country on the Vltava. For 500 years the Marcomanni settled the surroundings and the area of Prague. The Slavs settled here in the 6th century. The city was founded in the 9th century and when King Wenceslas I had the city fortified on the Vltava bend between 1230 and 1234, he granted it city rights and Prague became the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Under Charles IV in the 14th century, Prague became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. It became the spiritual center and the center for artists, and it was soon called the “Golden City”.
The protected area in Prague consists of three districts, the Old Town, the Lower Town and the New Town. In 1541 the district on the left bank of the Vltava burned down almost completely and this district was rebuilt in the Renaissance style and so the cityscape is characterized by buildings from the Renaissance in addition to Gothic and Baroque buildings.
Prague Castle is located on the Hradcany Mountain.
The closed castle area was founded in the 9th century and was constantly rebuilt.
Nowadays the seat of the president is in the castle. In the middle of the castle complex is the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral and the royal crypt. It was commissioned by Charles IV in 1347, but was only completed after 600 years. The castle burned down several times, so it is not surprising that it was rebuilt in the prevailing style. Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements are united in it.
The Charles Bridge, which spans the Vltava, was built by Charles IV in the 14th century and connects the old town with the Lesser Town. A bridge had already stood at this point, but it was destroyed by a flood. Today’s bridge is an arched bridge with 16 arches and a length of 516 m. At the beginning of the 18th century, the baroque sculptures were placed on the bridge – including a statue of St. Nepomuk, who is said to have been overthrown at this point in Moldova.
The historical center of Prague was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1992.
Historic center of Telc (Teltsch) (1992)
The city of Telč is located at the junction of important roads between Bohemia and Moravia.
The town of Telc was rebuilt in the Renaissance style after the town burned down at the end of the 14th century.
The Gothic castle, which was built in 1354, was converted into a magnificent palace.
The citizens of the city rebuilt their Gothic houses by adding glazed gables to simulate a Renaissance building. Arcades run along the market square, where the old Renaissance buildings crowd. Baroque fountains and a column from 1717 dedicated to Mary can be found on the market square.
The historic center of Telc was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1992.
Pilgrimage Church of St. John Nepomuk by Zelena Hora (Grüneberg) (1994)
The pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk on Zelená Hora is located near Žďár nad Sázavou south of the Saar Mountains. It was built on a hill, for which a thick pine forest was cleared so that the church can be seen from afar. In the center of the entire circular complex is the pilgrimage church, which has a domed roof supported by columns. In the church there are again smaller chapels and galleries.
The altar is equipped with 5 angels, three of which symbolically carry the sky as a ball – which is surrounded by 5 stars. Here, too, one encounters the number “five”, which according to legend plays a major role. There is a sculpture of St. Nepumuk on the ball. In the complex you will find 5 chapels with a triangular floor plan, 5 chapels with an oval shape and 5 entrances.
The complex combines Gothic and Baroque style elements. The church burned down in 1784 but was rebuilt in 1787.
Nepomuk was actually called Johannes from Pomuk in Bohemia.
He was born in 1350. Nepomuk studied canon law and became vicar general of the Archbishop of Jenzenstein.
In 1393 he was captured and tortured by King Wenceslaus.
A legend tells:
“The reason seems to be that Nepomuk was the confessor of the queen, and the king feared that his wife had confided a secret to the confessor. Nepomuk was then thrown into the Vltava and drowned. ”
Historically, however, there is probably another reason. The king wanted to prevent the election of abbot of the Kladrubys monastery at Stribro, but failed because Nepomuk pushed through the election. Nepomuk was then murdered by the vengeful king.
The pilgrimage church of St. John Nepomuk in Grünberg was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1994.
Historic center of Kutná Hora and the Church of St. Mary in Sedlec (1995)
The town of Kutná Hora is located about 60 km east of Prague on the Vrchlice River. The city owes its prosperity to the silver deposits that were mined there for a long time.
In the 14th century the city became a royal city, and the buildings still bear witness to the wealth it was then. The remaining buildings include the late Gothic Cathedral of St. Barbara – furnished with frescoes depicting the life of the population at the time -, the Church of St. Jacob, the Gothic-style fountain and the “Stone House” – which its appearance in 1489 while it was previously a simple and inconspicuous town house. It was lavishly decorated and the “stone fountain” was built – a place for fetching water from the 15th century.
The Church of the Assumption of Mary was built in the Gothic style in 1280 and 1320 by Cistercian monks on behalf of King Wenceslaus II.
The Gothic monstrance, which was built around 1390, is another gem. In the vaults under the chapel, the bones of around 40,000 dead are piled into pyramids. The historic center of Kutná Hora and the Sedlec Church and St. Mary’s Church were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1995.
Cultural landscape of Lednice (Eisgrub) -Valtice (Feldsberg) (1996)
Lednice Castle is located near the Austrian border.
The princes of Liechtenstein lived in Lednice and Valtice from the 14th century until they were expropriated by the Nazis. They had extensive estates in Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia, Austria and the Alpine Rhine Valley, but they built a baroque chateau in Valtice and a summer residence chateau in nearby Lednice, which was built as a simple villa in the Renaissance style.
Residence Lednice is surrounded by a park with an area of approx. 2 km², when it was created, swamps were drained and the river was even diverted, and a lake landscape with small islands was created. Baroque architecture was thus linked with English landscape architecture. American trees were planted in the park, the seeds of which had been specially brought from America.
The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1996
Historical village Holasovice (1998)
The village of Holašovice is about 15 kilometers west of České Budějovicebei – known for the beer “Budweiser”.
King Wenzel II handed the village over to Hohenfurth Monastery, which was run by the Cistercians.
With the plague epidemic in 1525, the village was completely orphaned with the exception of two villagers. A column reminds of this time.
However, the Cistercians did not give up the monastery, but instead brought residents from other areas – especially from German-speaking countries – back into it. The courtyards of the residents are bricked in baroque style and in the middle of the village there is a fish pond and the chapel from 1755, which is dedicated to St. Nepomuk.
The historic village of Holasovice was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998.
Kromeríz Castle and Park (1998)
This 17th century castle was built on the site of a Gothic castle that was built at the ford over the March on the Criby mountain range.
The palace, the flower garden and the park were built at the end of the 17th century in the late Baroque style. The interior of the palace is luxuriously furnished with a hunting, council, and throne room, as well as a rose and tsar salon, as well as valuable ceiling frescoes and a palace library. Through a colonnade you can enter the garden, in which there are many statues, busts and even some sculptures from Pompeii. To protect these treasures, a crescent-shaped colonnade (portico) was built in the classical style in 1846.
The Kromeríz Castle and Park were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998.
Lytomyšl Castle (Litomysl) (1999)
The town of Litomyšl is located on the Loučná in the East Bohemian region of Pardubice.
Litomyšl Castle was originally a Renaissance arcade castle that was built in the 16th century and later Baroque elements were added.
The Renaissance style “arcade castle” was taken over from Italy and refined here. In the castle there is a theater in neoclassical style, which was built entirely from wood. The stage decorations are still fully preserved High baroque and neoclassicism was designed as a counterpart to the castle.
Lytomyšl Castle was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1999.
Trinity Column in Olomouc (Olomouc) (2000)
The city of Olomouc is located in the east of the country at the confluence of the March and Feistritz rivers.
It was an important trading and cultural center of Moravia until the 17th century. In this respect the city is significant again today.
The baroque Trinity Column, built between 1716 and 1754, is 35 m high and there is a chapel in its lower part. It was built as thanksgiving for the end of the plague and combines religious ideas with civil traditions. The imperial couple Maria Theresa and Franz I of Lorraine were even present for the inauguration. It is adorned with the gilded statues of the Holy Trinity, 18 sculptures of saints, 6 relief-like figures of the apostles and 12 statues of light bearers, figures depicting the Assumption of Mary – which should contribute to the recovery of the cosmos in the darkest times.
This unique structure has been created entirely by local artists. The Trinity Column in Olomouc was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000.
Villa Tugendhat in Brno (2001)
The Villa Tugendhat was planned and built as a private home by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the years 1929-30.
The owners, the Tugenhat family, were an entrepreneurial family in Brno.
The house is considered a masterpiece of modern architecture. From the street it is quite unspectacular, but on the sloping garden side it is equipped with a huge window front. Two of the windows can be lowered. The house is ideally suited to the landscape, with the terraces on the upper floor and the stairs leading down to the garden adding to this impression unprecedented. The work and living areas are strictly separated.
The interior is planned in detail and coordinated, only the finest materials were used. One wall of the living area is made of onyx from the Atlas Mountains.
Rosewood and macassar wood were used for the doors.
Travertine – a porous limestone of a whitish but also yellowish color – was used for the floors and stairs. Pigskin armchairs with chrome-plated steel construction and glass tables with chrome-plated steel supports complete the furnishings.
In 1939 the Gestapo took possession of the house, fortunately the Jewish Tugendhat family had fled beforehand. In later years the orthopedic department of the children’s hospital was admitted to the house and gymnastic equipment was attached to the beautiful walls.
In 1992, the agreement on the partition of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia was signed in Villa Tugendhat. The rightful heirs have not got the house back to this day. The Tugendhat House in Brno was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2001.
Jewish Quarter and Basilica of St. Prokop in Trebic (2003)
The town of Třebíč is located in western Moravia, with the Jewish quarter north of the Jihlava River. The Jewish quarter includes the cemetery and the basilica on a hill. It was built in Romanesque and Gothic styles in the 13th century. Despite the reign of terror by the Nazis, the social system with schools, synagogues, hospitals and the leather factory has been preserved – although most of the Jews were murdered.
Furthermore, over 100 residential buildings have been preserved. For centuries, Christians and Jews who settled here as traders, moneylenders and tanners have lived relatively peacefully side by side in the city.
The Jews even received full civil rights in 1848 and then moved from the town to larger cities. The Jewish quarter became a mixed quarter for workers and the remaining Jews. At the entrance to the quarter there is a Renaissance-style house with an arcade supported by three columns. Typical of the residential buildings are corner arbors with supporting pillars following the houses and shops or craft workshops on the ground floors of the houses.
There was a Jewish bath in the town hall, the mikva. The poor house with entrances on several levels was a charitable institution in the 19th century, unfortunately it has not yet been restored. In 1669 the “rear” synagogue was built. It has mighty walls and pillars and inside are wall paintings from the 18th century and a women’s gallery on the upper floor. The Jewish Quarter and the Basilica of St. Prokop in Třebíč were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2003.
Ore Mountains/Krušnohoří Mining Region (2019)
Ore has been mined in the Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains since the Middle Ages. From 1460 to 1560, the region had developed into the largest silver ore mining area in Europe and formed the origin of numerous technological innovations, including mines, new water management systems, new ore processing plants, smelters and entire mining towns.
These monuments, natural and cultural landscapes lead into an 800-year history of the most important mining areas and epochs of the Saxon-Bohemian ore mining. The region comprises 17 plants on the Saxon side and five on the Czech side. The Ore Mountains/Krušnohoří mining region crosses the border with Germany and was entered on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2019.
Landscape for the breeding and dressage of chariot horses in Kladruby nad Labem (2019).
The flat, sandy landscape in the Elbe lowlands with its numerous forests testifies to a time when horses still played an indispensable role in transport, agriculture and the military.
The cultural landscape of Kladruby nad Labem includes breeding and dressage facilities for the old Kladruber horses. This breed, especially bred as chariot horses, was often used, for example, in ceremonies at the Habsburg Imperial Court in Vienna.
The imperial stud, founded in 1579, is still a national stud and is still dedicated to breeding this breed of horse and is one of the most important institutions of its kind in Europe. Kladruby nad Labem is a municipality in the Pardubice district with around 650 residents. The landscape was inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2019.