My plans include a trip to Telč. I always wake up early and usually go out first for breakfast. The owner of the hotel surrounded me with care and attention. She showed me everything, offered everything, gave everything… I knew how to go to the bus station (approximately), but in order to practice Czech, I asked about it, as well as about the weather in Telč. Pani immediately handed me a map of Jihlava and looked online for the weather. Armed with the necessary knowledge, I reached the bus station in 15 minutes.
Trip to Telč. First Impressions
The city of Telč is an hour away by bus. The bus station is combined with the railway station. It is located on the outskirts of the city, but the city is small, so walking to the center is not a problem. The first thing that caught my eye was a building with a historical painting on the wall.
Having already returned home, I was able to find out that this is the patron saint of the Czech land, St. Wenceslas, with his army - the Blanic knights,
who, according to legend, will come out of Mount Blanik in the most difficult hour and protect the country from the enemy.
The picture immediately tuned in to the fact that ahead was not Khukhr-Mukhr, but a historical object included in the UNESCO list. After 10 minutes of walking along a deserted street, which is typical for the cities of the Czech Republic, I approached the old town. The first sign is the clock tower of the Church of the Holy Spirit. 
On this day, despite the holiday (May 1 in the Czech Republic is the day of spring and love), the facade of the church was actively restored by workers. For old times' sake, it's also Labor Day. Then everything is logical. When else to work, if not on Labor Day?
The next building was a gift shop. 
This gave hope that they would not have to scour the city in search of souvenirs, which is a problem for a visitor almost everywhere in the Czech Republic, except for Prague and Cesky Krumlov, where you definitely won’t pass by souvenirs.
Trip to Telč. main square
Further on is the main square of the city - the square of Zaharias iz Grad. The square is named after a person who did a lot for the development of Telč. 
Here, however, I used a filter, but then I decided to shoot without it. Why embellish what is already so beautiful? 
Trip to Telč. My favorite house
The houses are all different, all beautiful, but this one is my favorite! 
In every house on the square there is either a restaurant, or a souvenir shop, or such a gallery. 
Confectionery "Haas". Trip to Telč
At the very end is the castle. But on the way to it there was a banner inviting for a cup of coffee in the cafe-confectionery “Haas”. And he pointed towards the side of the church.
And the weather that day was such that I wanted to put on a jacket and drink coffee, then take off my jacket and drink beer. At that moment I was in a jacket and moved in the indicated direction. And now I'm already sitting in the patio with a cup of coffee and dessert, surrounded by the same people who are not in a hurry. 
Castle and dungeons. Trip to Telč
After taking an invigorating drink, one could storm the castle. There were several assault options. Since neither the cellars of Tabor nor the catacombs of Jihlava submitted to me, I decided to take revenge on the castle. In anticipation of the assault, he surveyed the courtyards. 
It's time for the tour. A large crowd went to inspect the chambers, and until the last moment I was afraid that I would have to go down into the cellars of the castle alone. But in the end, a few more brave men pulled up. And our small detachment - about ten people - was led by a young guy who spoke very quickly. Even if I was a Czech, I would not have understood what he was saying. Finally, after a long introduction, we moved down the stairs. 
In the dungeon, I thought bringing a jacket with me was a great idea. Maybe the best of all my thoughts for the whole week in the Czech Republic. While the others were shivering in the cold, I felt great. We were shown the location where the film about Dracula, played by Klaus Kinski, was filmed, with his photograph on the wall. 
The tour went pretty quickly, anyway, I wanted to see something else. 
Restaurant “Na Kopecku”. Trip to Telč
But we came out into the light, and I thought it was time to eat. For some reason, I certainly wanted “svichkov”. And I also decided to find a restaurant where there are no tourists, where only locals, to become one of them. Walking around the castle 
I began to explore places where no tourist had gone before. 
And I was unexpectedly lucky. I saw a restaurant without a sign.
I went. The small room was half filled with people. I sat down at a free table, and the waiter immediately approached me. Young guy. On the menu, I found both “svičková” and my favorite “smeared cheese”. And beer "Bernard". All this was soon brought. 
Svichkova was a little different from what she had eaten before. The dish was not served with sour cream.
But it was still delicious. I asked the waiter what the name of the place was. It turned out to be “Na Kopecku”, which means: “On the hill”. The restaurant left a good impression. Fast service and inexpensive.
Telc. Views from the tower and panorama
There was still plenty of time before my bus, and I returned to the castle. There was a tower that you could climb up and see the city from above. 
Having admired, he went to the rear. I like to go where tourists don't go. As a result, I went to one of the ponds, bypassing which you can admire the panorama of Telč. 
Nice city Telč. As they say, if you visit us in the Czech Republic, you are welcome to Telč.
Back in Jihlava. Hradek
After returning from Telč to , I went in search of a place that was simply called “Hradek” on the maps. No matter how much I tried to find out something about this structure, I could not find anything. And only with the help of a Czech acquaintance on the Internet did we manage to find an article in Czech. This Gradek is located very close to my place of deployment. You just need to go around the zoo, which is located in a hollow, and a gradek stands behind it on a hill in the middle of either a park or a forest. From the other side there is a very interesting view of the St. Jacob's Cathedral. 
Hradek seemed to me ancient, similar to English castles. 
But, according to an article on the Czech Internet, it was built in 1941 by a German architect as a youth hostel. But in 1943, a Hitler Youth school was opened here and Adolf Hitler became the owner of the castle. And now there (again, according to information from the Internet) is the police department.
Jihlava. Pizzeria "Venice"
Walking around the castle with a young Czech couple who appeared, I went in search of dinner. As a result of wandering around the evening Jihlava came to the pizzeria "Venice". Why not eat something Italian? There were tables both outside and inside. I (naturally) sat down in the room, in the evening it was not to say that it was hot. Two amazing girls served the visitors. I understand that it is impossible to fall in love with me at first sight, especially for two at once. So they loved me as their client. Otherwise, how can you explain the fact that they looked at me with loving eyes? I ordered risotto and salad. The beer was Staropramen. 
When I started my meal, I discovered that there was no bread. Of course, I immediately called out to one of the girls (an excellent opportunity to chat) with a request to bring “neyake pechivo” (some kind of bread). It turned out that there is no bread in the establishment at all, but there is a very simple pizza, you can eat it like bread. The amazing thing is that during this trip I more than once understood the meaning of what was said, not knowing the meaning of specific words. I agreed to this option, and they brought me a pizza of such a size that I would not have fit in any way. I tried my best to stay longer in the company of these ... catering workers. The stomach experienced a feeling of deep satisfaction.
It was good that it was not far from the hotel, because the pleasant heaviness inside somewhat hampered movement.
And then there was night. Next morning. I asked the hostess what time to check out, to which she cordially replied: “When it’s convenient for me.” I said that I had a bus to Prague at ten. We parted very warmly, almost in a kindred way. Ahead was Prague - the last place of residence. And Jihlava remained in my memory as a pleasant city with pleasant people.
Continuation in the story
Telc(Czech Telč) is a museum city in the Czech Republic, the country's first World Heritage Site.
Story
According to legend, the founding of the city of Telc is connected with the victory of the Olomouc prince Ota II over the Czech prince Bretislav II in 1099. In memory of the victory, Prince Ota founded a Romanesque chapel on the site of the current Old Town, and then founded a church and a settlement here. In documentary sources, the city was first mentioned in 1333, when the Moravian margrave Karel of Luxembourg acquired Telč Castle. In 1339, the castle was acquired by Oldřich III of Hradec, from the Vitković family of Hradec. A city has already grown around the castle, and a large trading square, surrounded by merchants' houses, is located near the castle walls. The unique form of Telč was due to the fact that on the one hand the expansion of the quarters was limited by a moat and a fortress wall, on the other hand by ponds.
In the 16th century, the castle and the town were owned by the Vitkovičs from Hradec. The main (market) square of the city is named in honor of Zachariasz from Hradec. Under him, the castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style by masters Antonio Vlach and Baldassar Maggi de Ronio. The facades of the houses on the main square were also rebuilt in the Renaissance and Baroque styles.
In 1604, the family of Hradec's seniors was suppressed in the male line, and the city became the property of the Slavat family. The next stage in the development of the city belongs entirely to the Jesuit order - a Jesuit college and several schools, an astronomical observatory, and a music school were built in the city. The Jesuits also own one of the most beautiful city churches. In the 17th century, Telcz passed into the possession of the Liechtenstein family and remains a quiet provincial town to this day.
In 1971, the city was declared an architectural reserve, and since 1992 it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Since 1995, the Telc State Castle has also been a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic.
Attractions
- Telč castle in Renaissance style.
- Namesti Zahariashe (Zahariash Square). Initially, the Old Town of Telč was built of wood and in 1386 burned down in one night. The houses were rebuilt in stone, and after the castle was rebuilt, the facades of the houses were also rebuilt in the Renaissance and Baroque styles. All houses on the square are united by common arcade galleries and have retained their appearance from the Middle Ages. Houses No. 15 and 61 are decorated with especially valuable sgraffito frescoes.
- Fragments of the fortress wall of the XIII-XIV centuries. Upper (near the tower of the Holy Spirit, 1629) and Lower (near the castle, 1579) gates of the city.
- Church of the Holy Spirit (XIII century), later rebuilt in the Romanesque style, 49 meters high. From the 17th century bells, only 2 remained.
- Marian column. It was created by the sculptor D. Lipart with the help of the local bricklayer F. Neuwirt in 1718 at the expense of the wife of the burgomaster Z. Hodova.
- Fountains in the square.
- City Hall (nowadays there is a travel agency inside).
- Church of St. James (1360-1370), rebuilt in the 15th century. In the church, the ashes of Zahariasz from Hradec are kept in a large tomb, and the townspeople who died during the First World War are buried in the vestibule. Above the 60-meter bell tower rise two bells of rare beauty.
- Church of the Name of Christ, Jesuit, 1669. Near the Jesuit college and the Jesuit monastery.
- The old city on the lake 15 minutes walk from Zacharias Square: Our Lady Square, Madonna (1673), Our Lady Chapel (1572, Rococo). A path called "On the Tiles" leads from the castle and name Zaharias to the Old Town. Along it are statues of saints, made in the Baroque style in the XVIII century.
- Church of St. Anne at the cemetery. Baroque, XVI-XVII century.
By tradition, I will tell you how I got there. I had to buy a ticket for the train, it took a long time to go and many transfers.
A train ticket cost about 160 crowns one way per person. We went in the morning, but there is nothing special to photograph on the trains - everything is familiar.
But still, adventures happened 🙂
The first train was 20 minutes late. We were already starting to worry, but it turned out that all the trains were waiting for us. By the way, we rode one of the segments standing up - there were no seats. This is how it happens.
Then we had an unscheduled stop at point D - Kostelec u Jihlavy. They announced something on the speakerphone, but we did not understand (there were only 1 month in the Czech Republic then). The train did not go further, we decided to take a walk and wait for the next one.
This is the village that was waiting for us. I think it's very nice and quiet.
The roads are straight flat, smooth, as if they had just been laid.
Guess which museum?
And this is not a museum, this is a bus stop.
Just do not think that this is the Czech Republic.
And there are old houses here.
The Czech language, as always, pleases. And this is just a grocery store. Normal, unspoilt.
And I don’t even want to go back to the station 🙂
But it has to.
In the meantime, you go - the water is noisy on the left.
To the right is a clear field. Reminds me of windows XP.
Some tricky tree
Beautiful, in general, nature. But the station is a quiet horror.
Just like at home 🙂
In general, we got tired of waiting. We went to the man to ask how to get to Telchi. Well, he laughed, said that the paths were broken further, it was necessary to transfer to a free bus (provided by Czech railways). It turns out that it was on the speakerphone and spoke. It was necessary, by the way, to read the information on the flight on the website - it was also said there. But we did not pay attention to the details then.
RZD - take an example. I remember when something was closed for repairs in Moscow - alternatives were rarely offered. Like, go on foot, serf. Literally in the summer of 2013 at VDNKh I was running around and around - the usual exit from the metro was closed, but it is not known where they moved it. I probably spent half an hour, I was all furious.
But, in the end, we got to Telci. More than 5 hours (and planned for 3), but that's okay.
It is immediately clear that everything here is historical. This, for example, as it is written on the sign - the historical core.
Jokes are jokes, and autumn in the Czech Republic is beautiful. True, only when it is sunny - on cloudy days - not very much.
The city is not located at all on a plain.
The houses are typical Czech.
And there are rivers.
In fact - 1 main street that goes around the city. Everything interesting is in the center.
And we began to approach the house, the room in which we had booked.
By the way, we found the hotel. The owners of the house are a couple of Czechs, 50 years old, funny 🙂 They try to speak Russian, but it doesn’t matter - we tried to speak Czech 🙂
If you suddenly ever go to Telc - I think you can contact them - we really liked it there.
We had a beautiful room under the roof. Always wanted to visit this one.
The hostess immediately brought homemade cakes. Everything else is ours, bought on the way to Tesco.
But it was still early, so we went for a walk around the famous city.
At this time of the year, the city ceases to be touristic, so the square is empty. Play as much as you want.
Regular blog readers already know what it is 🙂
It has always been interesting how the achievements of civilization and ancient objects should coexist. Here somehow you don’t ask a question, but in the same Moscow, beauty is often disfigured in the name of convenience.
This is easier here. Parking near such objects is not a sin.
The building is low, but the head rises to look at the traditionally beautiful buildings from above
And if you look closely, you can see funny details - for example, a drainpipe with a hole above it. By the way, it is not visible from afar.
It starts to get dark. By the way, pay attention to the device in the middle - there is a handle that needs to be turned very quickly. When you turn it, you can see through a special window what the city was and what it has become. You won’t believe it, but I didn’t have the strength to turn it to the desired speed 🙂
And then we went to see how, in fact, people live. Typical Czech badge with hat and bow. In reality, Czechs do not wear hats or bows.
Czech haloes are not the first time that strike the mind 🙂
The city went into the distance, but there was no strength to go there.
And I always liked these kind of inscriptions above the shops. It is customary for us to change them with fashionable, plastic ones, which all look the same.
And the Czechs, here, love amateur performances. Bypass about the animal, for example.
Or this beauty.
In the dark, the city seems different.
So we went home. We sat on the Internet (rather weak), watched Czech TV for the first time and went to bed. The plans for the next day were to visit a couple of sights and go home in the afternoon.
In the morning we were waiting for such a breakfast from the hostess. Dense 🙂
Still, sometimes it's funny to see how foreigners write in Russian. It's funny until you don't try to say something in another language 🙂
By the way, I'll tell you about a cool Czech fact, alien to Russia. Everywhere there are very large cobwebs, and there are considerable spiders in them. Weave cobwebs, mainly where the wind blows - to catch insects. Wherever I am, in a place where the wind blows, there is always a web, and there is a huge spider in it. In Podebrady, for example, the entire bridge is in it. Seriously, all right.
In the morning we found a certain branch of the ChVUT.
Some piece of Masaryk University was also found.
This watch is famous for something. In reality, it's just a watch.
I love beautiful doors.
We went into an inner courtyard. By the way, the climate in the Czech Republic in autumn is quite humid, so in the morning such dew is not uncommon.
And in the morning, oddly enough, people appeared in the city.
We wanted to go up and take a couple of shots - but hell, you can only visit in the summer.
And the time was early, we went for a walk to the river.
Lovers of various swan ducks have a direct road to the Czech Republic - in my opinion, they are everywhere here.
And spiders too.
In the end, we went on an excursion to the local castle.
It was impossible to take pictures there! Only in the transitions between the parties, i.e. only the street. The insides are absolutely impossible, the legacy is great.
And outside - just everything, a hundred times already seen.
This is the heritage of UNESCO.
With a fountain and goldfish.
The tour, of course, was boring. Time was running out, so we went to the station.
Is it a stream?
But everything ended well. As usual, we boarded a yellow two-car train, did not forget about the bus crossing (still not fixed), and after 3 hours we were at home.
I really enjoyed my trip to Telc. There was something to see, nothing bothered. We bought a lot of postcards and souvenirs (fortunately, it all cost a penny, the city is not Prague). We ate tasty and cheap (without exaggeration, we took the famous knee for two). The hotel was also very good (look for the link in the article, for a night for two it turned out about 900 kroons). The total budget for two (for 2 days and 1 night) is a little less than 2000 crowns (about 3500 rubles). I definitely advise. The main disadvantage is the difficult transport accessibility, but this is also a plus - there are no extra annoying tourists there.
Why is this city so popular with tourists? Why is the whole Czech Republic proud of this city? What is the secret? You will find answers to all questions in this article.
The Czech Republic has this town on the very border, in the very south of the country. Small lakes located in the city center reflect the beauty of the main square with extraordinary architecture in the daylight. Here is the famous Town Hall, which has not undergone any changes over its 4 centuries and now appears before us in its pristine beauty.
For pilgrims, the Czech Republic has few such places to offer, but Telč comes to the rescue. It is here, among the sights, that you can find a beautiful temple-church named after Christ towering over the entire city center. Its majestic Gothic architecture fascinates at first sight, and there really is something to see. If you like it there, we also recommend not to miss two churches - St. James and the Holy Spirit, built back in the 13th century.
The central square of the city of Telc.
The central attraction is the historic center of the city, which the Czech Republic has rightfully declared to be the first city-museum of the World Heritage. The restored square can include about 30 monuments, and each will have its own history. And if you're lucky, you will be able to get to a folklore festival or festival, which is held here almost every month, confirming pride in your noble city.
In the northwest of the city, you cannot miss the Telč Castle. Built in the Renaissance style, it catches its future visitor at first sight. The ambiguous interior inside creates the impression that each room in it corresponds to the mood of a person. And the number of historical and cultural exhibits further increases the attendance of the castle. Do not forget to also take a walk in the castle park (those who were in the Vorontsov Palace in the Crimea will understand me).
Telc Castle. More about Telč Castle .
In conclusion, let's pay tribute to the Church of St. James, which has been standing here for 500 years. Many wars and cataclysms have passed, but, nevertheless, she still retained that initial painting. With a height of 60 meters and built in the traditional Gothic style, this church attracts attention with two bells with an extraordinary consonance that sound every day. It is also a mass grave of those people, citizens, soldiers who were killed in Telc during the First World War.
This is where our story comes to an end, so if you have not managed to book tickets and book a hotel yet, it's time to do it. The Czech Republic is a country ready to receive you at any time of the year, and Telc is no exception!
Central square of Telč
Toy Museum.
Amazing video of Telč city
http://youtu.be/keywOBJd5xE
Since childhood, I have loved the wonderful Czech fairy tale "Three Nuts for Cinderella", and every time we come to the Czech Republic, I turn my head in small towns - and if a familiar landscape flashes outside the window, if Cinderella and the prince fly by on a white horse :) It's strange, but I never found an exact indication of exactly where the film was filmed: some say that it was in the Lednice castle, others give a head for cutting off that it is in the Sychrov castle (although we were there, and no traces of Cinderella's habitation were found), still others - that the shooting of landscapes and castles was generally carried out on the territory of the GDR.
And recently I read that part of the film was filmed in the magical town of Telc. This is what I believe in! Yes, and you will believe when you find yourself there ...
Note. At the time of this writing (November 2006) it has not yet been widely announced that the film was filmed at two locations - Moritzburg Castle in Saxony and Švihov Castle in the Czech Republic. We have already visited both places since then, but more on that in due time.
How to go
By bus from the Florenc bus station with a transfer in Jihlava. Travel time is approximately 2.5 hours. Round-trip departure times, ticket prices and other details can be found, for example, at http://idos.datis.cdrail.cz. From the bus station Telča to the city center on foot 10 minutes.
A bit of history
Surprisingly, but unrealistically beautiful and cute town of Telč, included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1992, is not at all a fabulous decoration, but a place rich in history. The exact date of the founding of the city remains a mystery, although Czech historians express opinions on this matter: someone believes that Telc was founded in 1099, when the local lord Margrave Otto built a Romanesque chapel here, dedicating it to the Virgin Mary and his victory over the sworn enemy; someone - that the foundation happened a good hundred years later, someone relies on confirmed data and nods to written sources in which Telc is mentioned in 1333, when Margrave Karel (later the Czech king and German emperor Charles IV) acquired the Telc castle built by his father. It is also known that back in ancient times there was a Slavic settlement here (and let's demand that Telch be annexed to the Russian Federation).
In 1339 Oldrich Witkovic from Hradec acquired the castle from the king. A city has already grown around the castle, and a large trading square, surrounded by merchants' houses, is located near the castle walls. The unique form of Telč was due to the fact that on the one hand the expansion of the quarters was limited by a moat and a fortress wall, and on the other hand by ponds. They also defended the city.
The main square of the town bears the name of Zachariasz from Hradec, an influential, noble and very rich nobleman, for many years. He played the same role in the history of the small Moravian town as the Medici did in Florence, developing arts and crafts and making Telč the way we see it. Like the Medicis, Zacharias had the means, influence and zeal to turn the town into a gem. The philanthropist was from a more than decent family - Zahariasz's mother, Anna, was a relative of the Czech king, who granted Telch the privilege of brewing beer and selling salt - it was difficult to imagine more profitable activities in those days. Zahariasz's father, Adam, was a royal favorite and head of the anti-Habsburg coalition in Bohemia. During the coronation of Ferdinand, Adam held the royal power, and later became the godfather of the heir to the throne, Maximilian.
After returning from an expedition to Genoa, Zaharias, impressed by Italian culture, decides to rebuild his Gothic castle in the Renaissance style. The matter is costly and troublesome, but thanks to the family fortune and marriage to the rich heiress Katerina Waldstein, problems are resolved quickly. Masters Antonio Vlach and Baldassar Maggi de Ronio are discharged from Italy, who create that majestic structure that stands on the shore of the pond to this day. So that the view from the window would also please the owner of the castle, the facades of the buildings on the central city square were also rebuilt in the Renaissance style, and have retained their appearance to this day, that is, tourists who have arrived here can imagine what Count Zaharias saw from the window every morning ...
In 1604, the family of Hradec's seniors was suppressed in the male line, and the city became the property of the Slavat family. It is thanks to Frantisek Slavata that the Jesuits come to Telc. The next stage in the development of the city belongs entirely to the Jesuit order - a Jesuit college and several schools, an astronomical observatory, and a music school were built in the city. The Jesuits also own one of the most beautiful city churches. In the 17th century, Telcz passed into the possession of the Liechtenstein family and has remained a quiet provincial town to this day.
Telč… City of dreams. Time has stopped in him.
Houses stood, stand and will stand there in all their glory.
There were no wars, no revolutions - only silence,
peace and quiet life. Few people
German tourists don't come here anymore,
and we were never seen there. Shops all
open until 18.00, sellers - they are also the owners - are happy to chat.
We speak a mixture of Russian and German, because the owner studied Russian at school,
but over the past 20 years I have not met a single Russian.
Boring, says the owner. I work, then I drink beer and sleep.
In the morning I work again, I drink beer ...
This is the city in which for the first time I wanted to stay.
We are always drawn to our homeland, to Russia. And here…
I wanted to buy a small house from a note,
open a restaurant and boarding house and spend fun evenings
for those who are bored. And so that houses from the 16th century would stand
around, and nothing has changed for at least another 200 years ...
© Tata
The bus station met us with a snow-covered platform and three schoolchildren sadly waiting for their bus home. When we returned here a couple of hours later, the composition of the schoolchildren had changed, but there were still three of them ... Looking at the bus schedule, we were unpleasantly surprised: the bus to Trebic, which we clearly saw in the schedule at http://idos.datis.cdrail .cz and other useful transport sites were not. That is absolutely. And since the Telč bus station, like a real province where tourists rarely wander, consisted of three sheds and an unidentified purpose of a shed, and there was no one to express their indignation, it was decided not to spoil their nerves and refuse Trebic. Having estimated when the next bus to Jihlava, we went to explore the city. True, it later turned out that the bus, indicated in the schedule at the bus station, did not deign to come, and we, together with three sad schoolchildren (the composition had already changed, the number and expression of faces remained the same), together picking the snow with the toe of our boots, wandered along the platform ... then we left, only such gouging, more typical of Italians, knocked us down. Therefore, the grandiose plans for the conquest of the Czech Republic had to be quickly revised and, in order to avoid overlaps, not strive to inspect 2-3 cities daily. Oh, I need to go for the fourth time ...
If you are still imbued with our adventurism, and decide to go to Telch, despite the overlays in the schedule, then you need to go from the bus station like this: from the platform, past the boards with the schedule, there is a kind of path leading from which the spiers of churches are visible, follow it to the end ( 20 meters), then to the right, another hundred meters to the main road, and go left all the way, in a few minutes you will see the cemetery and Anna's church, it is already clear where to go. At the crossroads of a large road in the middle of a large flower bed sprinkled with snow, a monument stuck out alone, which I unmistakably classified as a monument to Soviet soldiers. If you look closely, you can see a golden five-pointed star at the top of the monument.
On the outskirts of the Old Town, we saw a small deserted cemetery with a baroque church - that's what it is called - the Church of St. Anne at the cemetery. We walked along the paved path along the city canal and the fortress wall, along which glorious bourgeois houses lined up, heading straight for the tall tower of the church (Holy Spirit). We crossed the bridge, and found ourselves on a good four hundred years ago, as if the film had been unwound ...
The Moravian city of Telč is often referred to as a legendary place.
There have never been historical battles here, but about each
house, bell tower or church local residents from time immemorial
made stories and legends. By the medieval castle here
the mysterious White Maiden in a dress wanders at night
with colorful sleeves, and in every family they tell
their stories of lovers and rejected ghosts.
A huge area of an extraordinary triangular shape. Rows of immaculately fabulous gingerbread houses. Not a soul, silence and silence. Suddenly a blizzard hits, which climbs under the hat, covers the lens with snow, and pours handfuls of snow into the hood. Probably some evil fairy (although since childhood I have been tormented by the question - how can fairies be evil?) decided to test us for endurance and perseverance in achieving the goal. But we actively resisted and trampled the entire area, even taking photos, hiding cameras from bad weather. The blizzard surrendered to the castle, and suddenly stopped, the sky became bright blue and clear in a matter of minutes ...
Initially, the Old Town of Telč was built of wood and in 1386 burned down in one night. By that tragic moment, the trade in salt and brewing allowed the townspeople to fill their egg capsules to capacity, and money for the construction of a new city - in stone - was quickly found. Gothic dominated in architecture, in taxation - a tax on the width of the facade, so the central square was built up with houses in the same style, closely standing side by side. And if you look at the city from a bird's eye view, it is noticeable that behind the Renaissance facades built later, real merchant houses are hidden - long, spacious - so that the family can fit in it, and the shop, and even warehouses. And you can never tell from the facades that the houses are so big.
We observed almost the same thing in Tallinn - the houses, which seem small and almost toy-like, look like that only from the side of the facade, but if you climb Toompea, you are amazed at how big they are. In some houses in a high roof, up to 4 floors of attic rooms are placed! Probably, the tax inspectors of that time were not up to admiring the city from above, otherwise they would have very quickly come up with the idea of taxing not facades, but squares. By the way, if you carefully consider the Renaissance facades of Telc, you will see that most of the houses are still subtly similar to Gothic prototypes: the facade is crowned with a triangle, a lonely window under the roof itself. In Gothic houses that have been preserved offhand - in the same Tallinn, in Flanders, or in the Swiss Chur, such a window was additionally equipped with a sort of crossbar, and at first I even suggested that this defensive structure was to pour something hot on the enemies. Only later did I realize that the top floor of merchant buildings was usually a warehouse (so that neither rats, nor thieves, nor floods could get in), and the crossbar served as a lever for lowering / raising goods.
After the rebuilding of the castle by Italian craftsmen, Count Zacharias probably did not like that the buildings of the town square did not fit well with the new castle, and the facades were also rebuilt - somewhere the Gothic triangle of the facade is elusively visible, somewhere the facades turned into jagged rectangles. Perhaps, in the whole rather big area you will not find two similar houses! Some are painted in bright colors, others are decorated with stucco or sgraffito, some are higher, others are lower, but in general, all the houses on the square are about the same height (lower buildings “get” growth with the help of turrets). And surprisingly - all together creates that unique ensemble, for which tourists come here, and which was appreciated by the UNESCO committee. The bright solid wall of facades is interrupted in four places, where the streets flow into the square. Some neighboring houses even have joint support pillars! But all these are trifles in comparison with the main one - all the buildings of the square are united into a whole by an extended arcade gallery.
Telč is often referred to as the Bohemian/Moravian Venice because of the ponds that surround the city center. Oh, those inventive comparisons, ready to give the name "Venice" to any place where houses stand near the water, or stick "Switzerland" to all areas where there are mountains! So both Venice and Switzerland ended up in the Czech Republic ... If I were the Czechs, I would be offended: each country and locality is unique, and such labels seem to emphasize inferiority - something like “we know where the real Venice is, but we have what something vaguely similar. I have never heard that something in Europe was called Italian Prague or French Moravia, or maybe in vain?
And if we compare Telc with Italian cities (whatever one may say, the masters were Italians), then the comparison should be correct, because no Telc is Moravian Venice, but the most Moravian Bologna! Why? Yes, because of the arcades, through which you can go around the entire area around the perimeter. The gallery covers the entire area and, although the total length is not as significant as in Bologna (35 km), it still looks very impressive and beautiful. The right side of the square, if you stand facing the castle, is single and is not interrupted by lanes, which is why it is called the Great Arcade. On the left side there is, respectively, the Small Arcade. Maybe the masters were from Bologna and yearned for their native city? By the way, we saw arcades in Czech Budějovice, Třeboň and Hradec Králové. Probably, the Italian masters worked hard there too.
If in Bologna the arcades appeared thanks to the students of the oldest university in the world (this audience was not rich at all times, they needed cheap housing - the owners of the houses expanded the second floor above the sidewalks and equipped rooms on top), then in Telc the arcades built by the Italians were used in a peculiar way: in the room above the gallery poured beer and traded it in the warm months, and in the underground floor of many houses there are cellars hollowed out underground, where beer was brewed and stored at a certain temperature.
In the south-east of the city, a fair piece of the fortress wall of the 13th-14th centuries has been preserved. And if you look closely, it is noticeable that the foundations of some houses (for example, Nos. 38, 74) are fragments of this same wall. From the defensive fortifications today there are only two gates: Small (Lower) and Upper. The first (1579) are located near the chateau, the second (No. 114) are located near the tower of the Holy Spirit, decorated with sgraffito, dated 1629.
On the side of the square opposite the chateau, there is the Church of the Holy Spirit - we went to its high tower from the bus station. Known even before the 13th century, the Romanesque church was later rebuilt in the Gothic style. The tower of the church stands on the highest point of the city and reaches a height of 49 meters. It is built from carefully processed massive blocks, and the stonework of the base reaches 2 meters thick! In troubled times, the tower was used as an observation post and was several meters higher, but after a fire in 1655, the top with bells collapsed, and the tower was shortened, a neo-Gothic roof was built and new bells were hung. The largest of the new bells, cast with the money of wealthy merchants and weighing a good half a ton, was requisitioned during the First World War, and now only a couple of bells from the 17th century remain - those that strike a quarter of an hour and an hour.
In the center of the square, in the middle of a flowerbed square, attention is drawn to a pillar, which is often mistaken for a plague. In fact, this is a Marian column, decorated with statues of saints, it was created by the sculptor D. Lipart with the help of the local stonemason F. Neuwirt in 1718 at the expense of the wife of the burgomaster Chodova (Z. Hodova). Behind the column is a fountain with a statue of St. Margaret, remade by the same Lipart in 1717 (the original wooden one has stood here since the 16th century), in front - a drinking column (it was not possible to check whether the water was tasty there, due to cold weather). The second fountain (1827) stands closer to the center of the square. A couple more fountains are located inside the chateau.
On the left side of the square, as you go to the castle, a green house with a corner tower, number 15, attracts attention. Once it belonged to the wife of the burgomaster. In the lower part, the house is painted in the sgraffito technique, in the upper part - with frescoes of the 16th century: "The Crucifixion", "Saul and David", "Saint Christopher", "Faith and Justice", and this same house is depicted on the part of the facade facing the square. , only without paintings. It is also said about him that salt warehouses were located in the basement of the house for many decades. The flood that occurred in the 17th century turned the house into a large jar of brine, and the salt soaked into the walls, so much so that no matter how much the house is restored, the salt after some time begins to appear through the stones, and tries to destroy the murals, which is why the house is often restored ( remember the palazzo on the square in front of Santa Croce in Florence, the frescoes of the facade of which are restored every year?:)
Across the square from house number 15 stands house number 61. In 1532, the baker Mikal, who later became the mayor of the city, bought it and rebuilt it, decorating it with sgraffito paintings depicting scenes from the Old Testament. You will not pass by it: on the black and white facade between two yellow houses, it looks like they made an engraving.
On the left side of the square, the Town Hall protrudes a little forward from a series of houses, decorated with a jagged edge and an onion tower. There are four arches on the ground floor (the rest of the buildings have three each). The courtyard once housed a prison, and now the building houses a travel agency where you can get hold of a map of the city or buy an illustrated city guide. The old travel agency door with an authentic lock is especially good.
In addition to the Church of the Holy Spirit, there are a couple more on the square: the Church of St. James and the Jesuit Church of the Name of Christ. The first was founded in 1360-1370. 16 years after the construction, the church burned down (at the same time the entire city center, built of wood, was destroyed), and lay in ruins for almost a century. Only in the 15th century it was rebuilt, and was repeatedly completed and rebuilt in subsequent years. The ashes of Zachariasz from Hradec are kept in the church with a large tomb, and the townspeople who died during the First World War are buried in the vestibule. Above the 60-meter bell tower rise two bells of rare beauty.
Nearby is the Baroque Jesuit Church of the Name of Christ, built in 1669 in the image and likeness of the famous Roman Il Gesu, which has become the standard for Jesuit churches around the world. Around it is a Jesuit monastery and a Jesuit college.
Old city
Usually the Old Town is called the central part of the medieval city, where the main church, the Town Hall, and retail outlets are located. In Telča, this is the part of the city on the bank of the pond – the square of Our Lady, where the figurine of the Madonna, erected here by František Sławata in 1673, stands on a dais. Nearby is a small rococo chapel founded in 1572 by Zachariaš from Hradec. A path called "On the Tiles" leads from the castle and Zacharias to the Old Town. Along it are statues of saints, made in the Baroque style in the 18th century.
“In fact, in Telce, the feeling of a certain “toylike”ness of everything around does not leave. It seems that everything is like everywhere else, but at the same time the sizes are smaller, the rhythm of life is not at all Prague, some kind of popular print. The ponds around the old city once served as a defensive moat, but now they are more suitable for lovers' walks. The paths are sprinkled with small stone chips, every ten to fifteen meters there are twisted benches. Crossing one of the bridges, I looked down. There were some fish in the water. And no one, which is typical, did not catch them. Not like in Moscow, where a whole army with fishing rods gathers in the evening on Chistye, Patriarch's and in general - any ponds. Even though no one has seen fish there for a long time.” © Andrey Krainov
Lock
At the beginning of 2007, the results of a study were published in the Czech Republic: “Which of the Czech castles do you consider the most fabulous?”. Telč Castle was the winner, followed by Perštejn Castle. The three winners are completed by the Chervena Lhota castle. As it turned out, two Czech fairy tales were filmed in Telch at once - "The Proud Princess" with Alena Vranov in the title role and "The Tales of Pan Troshka". Oh, I didn’t guess with “Three Nuts for Cinderella” ... Nevertheless, I fully approve the choice of the judges - the Telch chateau looks like an outlandish box, in which there is something to see both outside and inside.
Unfortunately, the castle is closed in November (you can check the opening hours on the website of the castle), and we limited ourselves to just a walk around its walls and in the park, where, like in a fairy tale, ducks swam on an unfrozen pond, bright green grass was powdered with snow, and the bright tiles of the tower roofs stood out especially fabulously against the background of the bright blue sky. Weeping willows leaned over the water...
For those who are going to visit the castle in the summer, I will still give a little information that caught my eye while preparing the trip - it will not hurt to complete the picture. And I will reread it, and then we will gather in the Czech Republic again much faster.
So, the castle in Telc is unique in that it was built in the Renaissance style, and is perfectly preserved both inside and out. The interiors were created mainly in the XV-XVIII century, and almost every owner of that time left a memory of himself in the castle.
Only guided tours are allowed into the castle, it is better to check the time in advance. According to the latest data, there are two routes - “Renaissance Interiors” and “Medieval Life” - they do not intersect with each other and there is an interval of 3 hours between them, you can just have time to explore the city and have lunch.
Worth seeing:
1. Golden Hall (stucco ceiling with gilding on a blue background, many paintings, the most interesting are portraits of Zahariasz's parents and a series of paintings depicting the history of the Vitkovits family).
2. Treasury decorated using the sgraffito technique.
3. The Marble Hall, also known as the Knight's Hall, is located not far from the funerary chapel of All Saints. The floor is made in an unusual geometric design of multi-colored marble, the ceilings are vividly painted on a blue background with scenes from mythology (12 Labors of Hercules). A fine collection of knightly armor and weapons. On one of the walls of the hall there are portraits from 1570 depicting Zahariasz of Hradca and his wife Katerina Wallenstein. On the opposite wall is the White Lady - Perchta Rozhmberk, who entered the legends (see Krumlov) and her consort husband Jan Liechtenstein.
4. Theater hall, where concerts were held and performances were staged. The walls are decorated with coats of arms, paintings on Biblical and mythological themes. The walls are painted with illustrations for the works of Petrarch.
5. Blue Hall. It is called according to the color prevailing here, and not for the reason that you thought In the center of the hall is the coat of arms of the Hradec family, surrounded by images of the four elements. The walls are decorated with tapestries, on which scenes from mythology are woven. It was nice to read that the tapestries were created in the 17th century in the Flemish Oudenarde (we were there in May). The paintings in the window openings depict the battles in which Wilem Slavata participated.
6. The African Hall contains a collection of hunting trophies and curiosities brought from ethnographic expeditions. The collection was collected by Karel Podstatzky, the uncle of the owner of the castle, who from 1903 to 1914. made five trips to Africa. There are exhibits such as the ear of an elephant or huge tusks, antelope horns and, they say, rhino heads and tiger skins.
7. Imperial Hall. It owes its name to the image of the heads of Roman emperors on the ceiling. Imitations of tapestries depict Ovid's Metamorphoses.
8. Patio-garden with trimmed bushes and fountains and the park of the castle, made in the English park style. In the western part of the park there is a green garden created by Benedikt Roezl, a famous traveler and discoverer of many types of orchids, which are named after him. He also began to publish the first gardening magazine in the Czech Republic.
9. Chapel of All Saints. In the 70-80s. In the 16th century, the old castle chapel did not escape reconstruction at the behest of Zachariasz from Hradec. There he ordered that he and his wife be buried. The walls of the chapel are amazingly decorated. Above the sarcophagus is a marble canopy, a characteristic feature of Italian churches. The sarcophagus is surrounded by a skillfully forged lattice of the 17th century, this is one of the greatest blacksmith works of the Middle Ages, its author is the master Jiri Schmidthamer, his work is the lattice of the royal tomb of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague and the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I in Innsbruck.
10. Gallery of local artist Jan Zrzavý (permanent exhibition is located in the Prague National Gallery).
11. Apartments of the owners from the Liechtenstein family, who owned the castle until 1945.
12. Castle Museum, where documents are kept that tell about the history of the castle and the city, and about individuals. Household items, interiors. The sword used to administer justice from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Model of the city, made in 1895. Moving model of the "Procession of the Magi".
Infocentre Telč:
square Zacharise z Hradce, 10
Opening hours 01.05-30.09 Mon-Fri 8-17, Sat-Sun 10-17
01.10-30.04 Mon-Fri 8-15
