There is more to the Czech Republic than just Prague! The country’s smaller towns have plenty to offer visitors, who will be impressed by their well-preserved historical centers and carefully maintained monuments whose importance often transcends regional borders. Some of these towns were declared urban monument reservations or even included on the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage.
One of the most significant places is the historical centre of the capital city of Prague. Prague has numerous charms – it is called Golden Prague, Magic Prague, Prague of hundred spires, Prague – the mother of towns. Prague history dates back to the 9th century. Nowadays it is a lively metropolis, where one can still find strong genius loci. Prague houses numerous government institutions and also...
Český Krumlov is a unique architectural jewel, the importance of which is confirmed by the fact that it is included in the UNESCO List of the World Cultural Heritage since 1992. Above the meanders of the river Vltava a unique complex of municipal housing has developed here, mainly from the 16th century, and an extensive castle and chateau complex, the second largest chateau complex after the Prague...
Olomouc was founded as a royal town near the river Morava in the early 13th century. The history of settlements here is much older. In the mid-11th century is mentioned here a Przemyslid castle and the Moravian bishopric was founded here at that time. There are numerous sacral monuments, such as the Bishop’s Cathedral of St. Wenceslas, surrounded with residential buildings with the former castle and...
The second largest town in the country and Moravia’s traditional capital, Brno was also the historic seat of the Přemyslid dynasty. King Wenceslas I awarded Brno municipal status as early as 1243. The city’s skyline is dominated by the Špilberk castle, where an early-Gothic palace with two chapels is still standing. Later on, the castle was converted into a baroque fortress, and in the 19th century,...
West-Bohemian metropolis with 170 000 inhabitants is the fourth biggest city in the Czech Republic. Its historical predecessor was a former watch castle dated from the 10th century on the place of the recent Starý Plzenec. The pre-Romanesque Rotunda of St. Peter has preserved from that time. In the late 13th century a new royal town ground plan was built on the confluence of four rivers – the river...
České Budějovice was founded in 1265 on the confluence of the Vltava and Malše rivers by King Přemysl Otakar II. The city has a chessboard layout. The 13th-century Dominican monastery with the Cloister Church of the Sacrifice of the Virgin Mary features important Gothic frescoes, which were discovered only recently. Not far from here, the Renaissance-era Butchers‘ Shops (Masné krámy) provide a...
Telč – called Moravian Venetia – is a real pearl of the south-Moravian region. The ancient royal water fort was founded in the 13th century on the crossroad of frequented merchants´ routes. Besides the monumental Renaissance chateau with an English park the most significant sight is the town square – a unique complex of historical houses in the Renaissance and Baroque styles. In the recent cultural...
Hradec Kralove is the oldest originated town in Bohemia. It was built on the place of an old Slavic settlement and the historical sources date it back to 1225. In the Middle Ages it was a dowry town of Czech queens. From the 14th century the brick Cathedral of the Holy Ghost has preserved, the neighbouring White Tower was built in the 16th century. In the period of Rococo the town was changed into...
Litomyšl was raised into the status of a town in the mid-13th century and its importance was strengthened 100 years late by the establishment of the second bishopric in Bohemia. The town is characterized by an elongated street square surrounded by rows of citizen’s houses; the most significant one is the Renaissance house “U rytířů” with valuable stone-carving decoration. The main dominants of the...
Josef II founded this town near Litoměřice in the late 18th century. It is an outstanding exposition of a military fort in the style of Classicist architecture. The complex consists of three parts – the main fort with the garrison town, the so-called Small fort and the Upper and Lower “Water gates”. The garrison town has a regular ground plan with a central town square and a Classicist church built...
Praha
Český Krumlov
Olomouc
Brno
Plzeň
České Budějovice
Telč
Hradec Králové
Litomyšl
Terezín
