Why is this city so visited by tourists? Why is the whole Czech Republic proud of this city? What's 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 beauty in daylight main square with extraordinary architecture. This is where the famous Town Hall is located, 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 attractions, that you can find the beautiful temple-church named after Christ, towering over the entire city center. Its majestic Gothic architecture is captivating at first sight, and there really is a lot to see. If you like it there, we also recommend not to miss the two churches - St. James and the Holy Spirit, built in the 13th century.
central square Telč city.
The central attraction is historical Center city, which the Czech Republic rightfully declared the first city-museum of the World Heritage. The restored square can count about 30 monuments, and each will have its own history. And if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to attend a folklore festival or festival, which are held here almost every month, confirming your pride in your noble city.
In the northwest of the city, you can't miss Telč Castle. Built in the Renaissance style, it captivates its future visitor at first sight. The ambiguous interior creates the impression that each room corresponds to a person’s mood. And the number of historical and cultural exhibits further increases the number of visitors to the castle. Don’t forget to also take a walk through the castle park (those who have been to the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea will understand what I mean).
Telč Castle. Read more about Telč Castle .
In conclusion, let's pay tribute to the Church of St. James, which has stood here for 500 years. Many wars and disasters passed, but, nevertheless, she still retained that initial painting. 60 meters high and made in the traditional Gothic style, this church attracts attention with two bells with extraordinary consonance, sounding every day. Also is mass grave those people, townspeople, soldiers who were killed in Telc during the First World War.
This is where our story comes to an end, so if you haven’t already booked tickets and booked a hotel, it’s time to do so. The Czech Republic is a country ready to welcome you at any time of the year, and Telc is no exception!
Central square of Telc
Toy Museum.
Amazing video of the city Telc
http://youtu.be/keywOBJd5xE
Another evening visit in the Czech Republic was to one of the most beautiful cities in Moravia - the city of Telč (or Telč). The city is not the oldest; it is believed that its foundation occurred in 1099, when the chapel of St. Mary was built here. Subsequently, a fortified castle grew around the chapel, which passed from owner to owner, along with all the local residents and their houses. This was customary in the Middle Ages, nothing special.
The city center was limited by natural reservoirs around and it is to this fact that Telč owes its uniqueness. Squeezed into a narrow space, houses, churches and fortress walls formed a harmonious combination, which to this day pleases the eyes of tourists and gives scope to the imagination of photographers.
The evening city is completely deserted, but still beautiful. The low falling sunlight made it impossible to do nice photos, but that didn't stop me. Gingerbread houses in Baroque and Renaissance style seem to have come here from Holland. Central Square (Zakhariev Square) is a fabulous, beautiful place, every house on which is worthy of attention and admiration.
Church of the Holy Spirit (13th century) in Romanesque style. The height of the bell towers is 49 meters. In the background is the chapel of St. Joakov (14th century) 60 meters high.
The fountains did not work, there was no one in the square
The most outstanding (literally and figuratively) building on the square is the town hall. Now it houses a tourist office.
The houses are bright and colorful
This is the house I liked the most; it is decorated with unique frescoes in the sgraffito style.
In the Middle Ages, the Czech Republic, like most of Europe, was struck by a plague epidemic. A lot of people died, there was no salvation except religion. These “plague” pillars or “Marian columns” were erected in gratitude for salvation from the pestilence. The very first such column was installed in Marienplatz.
An ancient water pump right on the square
We wandered around the square a little and decided to go to the Old Town, to which a road called “on the tiles” led.
Along the way we kept seeing mysterious Masonic symbols
On the way to the old town there is a stunning view of Zachariah Square and the adjacent houses and churches. The buildings were delightfully reflected in the lake, on which swans and ducks swam.
The "Tile Road" is decorated with sculptures of saints from the 18th century in the Baroque style.
Road signs seem to suggest who should walk here :)
Old city Almost destroyed and little remains of it. The first thing we saw was the Chapel of Our Lady.
It is located, as you might imagine, on the Square of Our Lady with a sculpture right in the center of the square.
The walk to the old town was quite long, about 15-20 minutes, and we went there solely to see the old water mill, which was located nearby.
The mill turned out to be colorful, but rather abandoned. Obviously, tourists do not spoil her with their attention.
On the way back, we began to notice unusual and interesting things, like a conveniently designed mailbox.
And residential buildings, extremely acidic colors
Magic sunset and beautiful stream
I was also very amused by the store, which still hasn’t decided on its orientation and dimensions.
And this product for 340 crowns per kilogram, which had clearly decided on its orientation, did not at all evoke the desire to purchase it.
We left with a feeling of deep satisfaction, satisfied and tired. Telc is simply beautiful, especially in the evening and when there are no tourists around.
We spent the night in a very pleasant hotel, in which the kitchen was located on the second floor. The house was old and the mood inherent in small and cozy hotels was very well felt in it.
This story is one of a series of stories about our road trip to the Czech Republic in March 2011 .
All photos can be viewed at larger size, just click on any photo and view at your convenience.
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 - will a familiar landscape flash outside the window, will Cinderella and the prince fly by on a white horse :) It’s strange, but I never found an exact indication of where exactly the film was filmed: some say that in the Lednice castle, others give the head for cutting off, that in the Sychrov castle (although we were there and found no traces of Cinderella’s habitation), still others - that the filming 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 readily believe! And you will believe it when you find yourself there...
Note. At the time of writing (November 2006), it has not yet been widely announced that the film was filmed in two locations - Moritzburg Castle in Saxony and Svihov Castle in the Czech Republic. We have already visited both places since then, but more about that in due time.
How to go
By bus from Florenc bus station with a transfer in Jihlava. Travel time is approximately 2.5 hours. Return departure times, ticket prices and other details can be found, for example, at http://idos.datis.cdrail.cz. From Telča bus station to the city center is a 10-minute walk.
A little history
The surprisingly, but unrealistically beautiful and cute town of Telc, included in the list of world cities in 1992 cultural heritage UNESCO is not a fairy-tale decoration at all, but rich in history place. The exact date of the founding of the city remains a mystery, although Czech historians have expressed opinions on this matter: some believe 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 his sworn enemy; someone - that the foundation occurred 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 Telc Castle , built by his father. It is also known that in ancient times there was a Slavic settlement here (and let’s demand that Telč be annexed to the Russian Federation).
In 1339, Oldrich Vitkovic from Hradec acquired the castle from the king. A city has already grown up around the castle, and near the castle walls there is a large trading area, surrounded by merchant houses. The unique shape of Telč was due to the fact that on one side the growth of neighborhoods was limited by a moat and a fortress wall, and on the other by ponds. They also defended the city.
For many years the main square of the town has been named after Zacharias of Hradec, an influential, noble and very rich nobleman. 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 Telc what we see it as. Like the Medici, Zacharias had enough money, influence and zeal to turn the town into a pearl. The patron was from a more than decent family - Zacharias's mother, Anna, was a relative of the Czech king, who granted Telch the privileges of brewing beer and trading salt - it was difficult to imagine more profitable occupations in those distant times. Zacharias's father, Adam, was a royal favorite and head of the anti-Habsburg coalition in the Czech Republic. During Ferdinand's coronation, Adam held the royal ordination and later became godfather to the heir to the throne, Maximilian.
Returning from an expedition to Genoa, impressed by Italian culture, Zacharias 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 wealthy heiress Katerina Waldstein, the problems are resolved quickly. From Italy came the masters Antonio Vlach and Baldassar Maggi de Ronio, who created the majestic structure that stands on the shore of the pond to this day. To ensure that the view from the window also pleases 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 the present day, that is, tourists who came here can imagine what Count Zacharias saw every morning from the window...
In 1604, the line of lords of Hradec was terminated in the male line, and the city became the property of the Slavat family. It is thanks to František Slavate that the Jesuits come to Telč. The next stage in the development of the city belongs entirely to the Jesuit order - a Jesuit college and several schools were built in the city, astronomical observatory, School of Music. The Jesuits also own one of the most beautiful churches in the city. In the 17th century, Telc came into the possession of the Liechtenstein family and remains a quiet provincial town to this day.
Telc... City of dreams. Time stopped in him.
The houses stood, stand and will stand there in all their glory.
There were no wars or revolutions there - only silence,
calmness and leisurely life. There are few people
German tourists they don't get here anymore
but we were never seen there. All shops
open until 18.00, the sellers - who 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.
It's boring, says the owner. I work, then drink beer and sleep.
In the morning I work again, drink beer...
This is the city where I first wanted to stay.
We are always drawn to our homeland, to Russia. And here…
I wanted to buy small house at the note,
open a restaurant and guesthouse and spend fun evenings
for those who are bored. And so that houses have stood like this since the 16th century
around, and nothing has changed for at least another 200 years...
© Tata
The bus station greeted 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: a bus to Třebíč, which we clearly saw in the schedule on http://idos.datis.cdrail .cz and other useful transport sites were not there. That is, absolutely. And since the bus station of Telc, as a real province where tourists rarely wander, consisted of three sheds and an unidentified shed, and there was no one to express their indignation, it was decided not to spoil their nerves and abandon Třebíč. Having figured out when the next bus to Jihlava would be, we headed out to explore the city. True, it later turned out that the bus indicated on 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 up a snowball with the toe of a boot, wandered around the platform... Leave- then we left, only such carelessness, more typical of Italians, brought us down. Therefore, grandiose plans for the conquest of the Czech Republic had to be quickly revised and, in order to avoid problems, we did not try to explore 2-3 cities every day. Eh, I have to go for the fourth time...
If you are nevertheless imbued with our adventurism and decide to go to Telc, despite the discrepancies 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 you can see the spiers of churches, along it to the end ( 20 meters), then right, another hundred meters to the high road, and go left all the way, after a few minutes you will see the cemetery and Anna’s Church, it’s already clear where to go. At the crossroads of a high road, in the middle of a large flower bed sprinkled with snow, a monument stood 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 approaches to the Old Town we saw a small deserted cemetery with a church in the Baroque style - that’s what it’s called - the Church of St. Anne at the cemetery. We walked along a paved path along the city canal and the fortress wall, along which glorious bourgeois houses were lined up, heading straight for the tall tower of the Church (of the Holy Spirit). We crossed the bridge and found ourselves a good four hundred years ago, as if the film had been rewound...
The Moravian town of Telc is often spoken of 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 up stories and legends. Around the medieval castle here
the mysterious White Maiden in a dress wanders at night
with colorful sleeves, and every family tells
their stories about ghosts in love and abandoned.
A huge area of an unusual triangular shape. Rows of immaculately fabulous gingerbread houses. Not a soul, silence and silence. Suddenly a blizzard blows in, gets under the hat, covers the lens with snow, and pours handfuls of snow into the hood. Probably some evil fairy (although since childhood I was tormented by the question - how can fairies be evil?) decided to test our endurance and perseverance in achieving our goals. But we actively resisted and tramped through the entire square, even taking photographs, hiding our cameras from the weather. The snowstorm gave way to the castle and suddenly stopped, the sky became bright blue and clear in a matter of minutes...
Telč's Old Town was originally built of wood and burned down overnight in 1386. By that tragic moment, the trade in salt and brewing allowed the townspeople to fill their water bottles to capacity, and money to build a new city - in stone - was quickly found. In architecture, Gothic dominated, in taxation - a tax on the width of the facade, therefore central square was built up with houses in the same style, closely standing side to side. And if you look at the city from a bird's eye view, it is noticeable that behind the Renaissance facades, built later, hide real merchant houses - long, spacious - so that a family, a shop, and even warehouses could fit in it. But you can never tell from the facades that the houses are so big.
We observed almost the same thing in Tallinn - houses that seem small and almost toy-like only look like that from the facade, but if you climb Toompea, you are amazed at how big they are. In some houses, the high roof can accommodate up to 4 floors of attic space! Probably, the tax inspectors of that time had no time to admire 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 examine 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 single window under the very roof. In the Gothic houses that have survived, off the top of my head - in Tallinn, in Flanders, or in the Swiss Chur, such a window was additionally equipped with a kind of crossbar, and at first I even assumed that this was a defensive structure - to pour something hot on enemies. Only later did I understand that the top floor of merchant buildings was usually a warehouse (so that neither rats, thieves, nor floods could reach it), and the crossbar served as a lever for lowering/raising goods.
After the reconstruction of the castle by Italian masters, Count Zacharias probably did not like that the buildings of the city square did not fit well with the new castle, and the facades were also rebuilt - somewhere the Gothic triangle of the facade is subtly visible, somewhere the facades turned into jagged rectangles. Perhaps, in the entire rather large area, you cannot find two houses that are in any way similar! Some are painted in bright colors, others are decorated with sculpting or using the sgraffito technique, some are taller, others are lower, but in general all the houses on the square are approximately the same height (lower buildings “gain” height with the help of turrets). And it’s amazing - everything together creates that unique ensemble for which tourists come here, and which the UNESCO committee appreciated. The bright, continuous wall of facades is interrupted in four places where streets flow into the square. Some neighboring houses even share end support posts! But all these are minor things compared to the main thing - all the buildings of the square are united into a whole by a long arcade gallery.
Telč is often called the Czech/Moravian Venice because of the ponds surrounding the city center. Oh, those comparative inventors who are ready to give the name “Venice” to any place where houses are near the water, or to stick “Switzerland” to all areas where there are mountains! So 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 what do we have?” “There is something vaguely similar.” I’ve never heard of something in Europe being called Italian Prague or French Moravia, but maybe that’s in vain?
And if we compare Telch with Italian cities(whatever one may say, the masters were Italians), then the comparison should be correct, because Telč is not Moravian Venice, but the most Moravian Bologna! Why? Yes, because of the arcades along which you can walk around the entire perimeter of the area. The gallery covers the entire area and, although the total length is not as significant as in Bologna (35 km), it all still looks very impressive and beautiful. The right side of the square, if you are facing the castle, is single and is not interrupted by alleys, which is why it is called the Great Arcade. On the left side there is, accordingly, the Small Arcade. Maybe the masters were from Bologna and were homesick for hometown? By the way, we saw arcades in Ceske Budejovice, Třebony and Hradec Králové. Probably, the Italian craftsmen worked hard there too.
If in Bologna arcades appeared thanks to students of the oldest university in the world (this population was not rich at all times, they needed cheap housing - the owners of the houses expanded the second floor above the sidewalks and arranged rooms on top), then in Telc the arcades built by the Italians were used in a unique way: in the room above the gallery bottled beer and sold 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 southeast of the city, a large piece of the fortress wall of the 13th-14th centuries has been preserved. And if you look closely, you will notice that the foundations of some houses (for example, Nos. 38, 74) are fragments of this very wall. Today only two gates remain of the defensive fortifications: 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 walked to its high tower from the bus station. The Romanesque church, known even before the 13th century, was later rebuilt in the Gothic style. The church tower stands on the very high point city and reaches a height of 49 meters. It is built from carefully crafted massive blocks, and the base stonework reaches 2 meters thick! During troubled times, the tower was used as an observation post and was several meters higher, but after a fire in 1655, the top with the 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 ton, was requisitioned during the First World War, and now only a pair of bells from the 17th century remain - striking the quarter hour and the 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 mason F. Neuwirt in 1718 at the expense of the wife of the mayor Z. Hodova. Behind the column there is a fountain with a statue of St. Margaret, remade by the same Lipart in 1717 (the wooden original has stood here since the 16th century), in front there is a drinking fountain (it was not possible to check whether the water there was tasty due to the 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, attention is drawn to a green house with a corner turret, number 15. It once belonged to the burgomaster's wife. In the lower part of the house is painted using the sgraffito technique, in the upper part - frescoes of the 16th century: “The Crucifixion”, “Saul and David”, “St. Christopher”, “Faith and Justice”, and on the part of the facade facing the square, this very house is depicted , only without paintings. They also say about him that salt warehouses were located in the basement of the house for many decades. A flood that occurred in the 17th century turned the house into a large jar of brine, and the salt was absorbed into the walls, so much so that no matter how much the house is restored, after some time the salt begins to appear through the stones and tries to destroy the paintings, 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 No. 15 stands house No. 61. In 1532, it was purchased by the baker Mikal, who later became the mayor of the city, and rebuilt, decorating it with sgraffito paintings depicting scenes from the Old Testament. You won’t pass by it: it looks like an engraving was made on the black and white facade between two yellow houses.
On the left side of the square, the Town Hall protrudes slightly forward from a row of houses, decorated with a jagged edge and an onion turret. There are four arches on the ground floor (the other buildings have three). 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 purchase an illustrated guide to the city. The antique door of the travel agency with an authentic lock is especially beautiful.
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 its 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. In the church with a large tomb the ashes of Zacharias of Hradec are kept, and in the vestibule the townspeople who died during the First World War are buried. Above the 60-meter bell tower rise two rare and beautiful sounding bells.
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 there is a Jesuit monastery and a Jesuit college.
Old city
Usually the Old Town is called the central part medieval city, where are located main church, Town Hall, retail outlets. In Telc, this is part of the city on the shore of the pond - the Square of Our Lady, where on a raised platform stands a statue of the Madonna, installed here by Frantisek Slavata in 1673. Nearby there is a small chapel in the Rococo style, founded in 1572 by Zacharias from Hradec. From the castle and Zacharias nameti to the Old Town there is a path called “On the Tiles”. Along it there are statues of saints, made in the Baroque style in the 18th century.
“In fact, in Telč you can’t leave the feeling of a certain “toy” quality of everything around you. It seems like everything is the same as everywhere else, but at the same time the sizes are smaller, the rhythm of life is not Prague at all, some kind of popular print. The ponds around the old city once served as a defensive moat; now they are more suitable for lovers’ walks. The paths are strewn with fine stone chips, and there are twisted benches every ten to fifteen meters. Crossing one of the bridges, I looked down. Some fish were running around in schools in the water. And no one, which is typical, caught them. Not like in Moscow, where in the evening a whole army with fishing rods gathers on Chistye, Patriarch’s and generally 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?” The winner was Telč Castle, followed by Pernštejn Castle. The top three winners are completed by the Cervena Lhota castle. In Telč, as it turned out, two Czech film fairy tales were filmed at once - “The Proud Princess” with Alena Vranova in the title role and “The Tales of Pan Troshka”. Eh, I didn’t get it right with “Three Nuts for Cinderella”... Nevertheless, I fully approve of the judges’ choice - the Telch chateau looks like an outlandish box, in which there is something to look at both outside and inside.
Unfortunately, the castle is closed in November (you can check the opening hours on the castle website), and we limited ourselves to just a walk around its walls and in the park, where, as in a fairy tale, ducks swam on an unfrozen pond, the bright green grass was dusted with snow, and The bright tiles of the tower roofs stood out especially fabulously against the background of the bright blue sky. Weeping willows bent over the water...
For those who are planning to visit the castle in the summer, I will still provide some information that caught my eye while preparing the trip - it will not hurt to complete the picture. And I will re-read this, and then we will get ready for 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 outside. The interiors were created mainly in the 15th-18th centuries, and almost every owner of that time left a memory of themselves 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, just enough time to explore the city and have lunch.
Worth checking out:
1. Golden Hall (stucco ceiling with gilding on a blue background, many paintings, the most interesting are portraits of Zacharias’s parents and a series of paintings depicting the history of the Vitkowitz 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 funeral 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 wonderful collection of knightly armor and weapons. On one of the walls of the hall are portraits from 1570 depicting Zacharias of Gradcai and his wife Katerina Wallenstein. On the opposite wall is the White Lady - Perčta Rožmberk, who went down in legends (see Krumlov) and her consort husband Jan Lichtenstein.
4. Theater hall, where concerts were held and plays were staged. The walls are decorated with coats of arms, paintings on biblical and mythological themes. The walls are painted with illustrations of Petrarch's works.
5. Blue Hall. It is named after the dominant color here, and not for the reason you might think 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 Oudenaarde (we were there in May). The paintings in the window openings depict battles in which Vilem Slavata took part.
6. The African Hall contains a collection of hunting trophies and curiosities brought from ethnographic expeditions. The collection was assembled by Karel Podstatzky, uncle of the castle owner, who from 1903 to 1914. made five trips to Africa. There are such exhibits as elephant ears or huge tusks, antelope horns and, they say, rhinoceros heads and tiger skins.
7. Imperial Hall. It owes its name to the image of the heads of Roman emperors on the ceiling. Imitation tapestries depict Ovid's Metamorphoses.
8. A courtyard garden with trimmed bushes and fountains and a castle park, 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 species of orchids, which bear his name. He also began publishing 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 Zacharias of Hradec. There he ordered to bury himself and his wife. 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 17th-century grille, one of the greatest blacksmith works of the Middle Ages, the author of which is the master Jiri Schmidthamer, who also worked on the grille 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 located in the Prague National Gallery).
11. Apartments of the owners from the Liechtenstein family, which owned the castle until 1945.
12. The castle museum, where documents are kept that tell both about the history of the castle and the city, and about individuals. Household items, interiors. The sword with which justice was administered from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Model of the city, made in 1895. Moving model of the "Procession of the Magi".
Telč Info Center:
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
On the shore of a picturesque lake you will meet one of the most beautiful castles in the Czech Republic in the style of the Italian Renaissance - medieval castle Telc.
STORY
Czech medieval castle Telc was built in the first half of the 14th century as a royal estate on the shores of a small lake. The favorable terrain of the area was complemented by artificially dug ditches, resulting in a Gothic at that time Czech Republic Telc Castle was reliably protected from enemy attacks. Over the next two centuries Czech medieval castle Telc gradually developed, Henry of Hradec at the end of the fifteenth century further expanded and rebuilt this Czech castle in the late Gothic style.
The most famous of the subsequent owners of this Czech medieval castle was Zacharias of Hradec (1527-1589), an outstanding scientist and art connoisseur of the time. Zacharias held the high position of Margrave of Moravia and during his time in this post he carried out a number of important economic reforms. The city of Telc flourished under his leadership, and the Czech medieval castle of Telc was reconstructed in the then fashionable Renaissance style, which Zacharias loved during his travels in Italy.
Further history The Czech medieval castle of Telc was not rich in significant events. Like many Czech castles, it was damaged during the Thirty Years' War, but was immediately restored, changing owners several times, who, fortunately, never made a single more or less significant reconstruction, thanks to which the Czech medieval castle of Telc has brought its pristine Renaissance appearance to our time . In 1945, this castle of the Czech Republic was nationalized, and in the mid-60s it acquired the status of national cultural monument, and since 1992 the Czech medieval castle of Telč has been part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.
LEGENDS
The legend of the founding of the medieval Telč Castle
At the very beginning of the 12th century, on the site where the modern Renaissance castle of the Czech Republic Telč stands, the troops of two Czech nobles - Margrave Otto II and Prince Břetislav - fought in battle. It was a glorious battle, many brave warriors died here. As a result, the margrave's troops gained the upper hand. And so, to celebrate his success, Margrave Otto II ordered the foundation of the chapel of the Virgin Mary at the site of the battle. It is from this chapel that the town and castle of the Czech Republic Telc traces its history - in honor of this event, several years ago, magnificent celebrations were held in Telc dedicated to its 900th anniversary.
WHAT TO SEE
Surrounded on three sides by water barriers, the Czech medieval castle of Telc, together with the ancient Gothic houses located around it, is charming. architectural ensemble, a walk along which will not leave you indifferent. It is not for nothing that the Czechs, who love to assign various titles to their castles, gave the medieval Telč castle the title "most fairytale castle" . A well-deserved title "Moravian Venice" This Czech castle deserves its name thanks to the surrounding lake, river and moat system. The very atmosphere that reigns in this medieval Czech town is so peaceful that many tourists, having once come here on vacation in the Czech Republic, strolled along the ancient streets and enjoyed the Renaissance delights of the Czech medieval castle Telc, subsequently come here again and again to regain that peaceful feeling inside themselves, which this amazing Czech castle gives them.
There are two routes to explore the interiors of this medieval castle - route A with the majestic Golden Hall and carvings on the planes of the coffered ceilings. It contains portraits of representatives of the families - the owners of the Telč Castle in the Czech Republic. Also interesting are the Knight's, Theater, Blue and Imperial halls, decorated with wood carvings and plaster in the sgraffito style, characteristic of the Renaissance style. This medieval castle also contains collections of hunting trophies, collections of paintings, porcelain and earthenware. Entrance ticket price for route A - 110 CZK, for children 6-15 years old - 70 CZK, family ticket - 300 CZK.
Route B includes rooms on the second floor of the palace, called the chambers of the last owners of the Bohemian Telč Castle. The interiors of these rooms date mainly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, although there are some exhibits in the Baroque or Renaissance style. The walls of the rooms are decorated with works of painting, there are collections of earthenware and pewter, a castle library containing more than 8,000 volumes, as well as a collection of historical costumes and accessories. The entrance fee for route B costs 90 CZK for adults, 60 CZK for children and 250 CZK- family.
In the gallery of this medieval castle, which is called "Route C", tickets to visit which cost 65 CZK for adults, 45 CZK for children and 180 CZK- family-run, there is a permanent exhibition “Toys Never Grow Old”. Here is a rich collection of toys from the past century:
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The Czech Telč Castle is open to visitors, like most Czech castles, from April to October every day except Mondays, according to the following schedule:
Last excursion starts 1 hour before closing. Route B, dedicated to the residential premises of the Czech castle Telč, is closed in April and October, in the remaining months it is open according to the same schedule. Route C (castle gallery) is also open in November-December from 10.00 to 15.00 with a lunch break from 12.00 to 13.00.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Telc(Czech Telč) is a city-museum in the Czech Republic, the country's first World Heritage Site.
Story
According to legend, the founding of the city of Telč is associated with the victory of the Olomouc prince Ota II over the Czech prince Břetislav 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. The city was first mentioned in documentary sources in 1333, when the Moravian Margrave Karel of Luxembourg acquired Telč Castle. In 1339, the castle was acquired by Oldrich III of Hradec from the Vitkovic family of Hradec. A city has already grown up around the castle, and near the castle walls there is a large trading area, surrounded by merchant houses. The unique shape of Telch was due to the fact that on the one hand the growth of neighborhoods was limited by a moat and a fortress wall, and on the other by ponds.
In the 16th century, the castle and town were owned by the Vitkovic gentlemen from Hradec. The main (market) square of the city is named after Zacharias of Hradec. During his reign, 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 line of lords of Hradec was terminated in the male line, and the city became the property of the Slavat family. The next stage of the city's development 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 churches in the city. In the 17th century, Telc came into the possession of the Liechtenstein family and remained 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 list world heritage UNESCO. Since 1995, Telč State Castle has also been a national cultural monument of the Czech Republic.
Attractions
- Telč Castle in the Renaissance style.
- Namnesti Zachariasche (Zacharias Square). Telč's Old Town was originally built of wood and burned down overnight in 1386. The houses were rebuilt in stone, and after the castle was rebuilt, the facades of the houses were also rebuilt in Renaissance and Baroque styles. All the houses on the square are united by common arcade galleries and have retained their appearance since the Middle Ages. Houses No. 15 and 61 are decorated with particularly valuable frescoes using the sgraffito technique.
- Fragments of the fortress wall of the XIII-XIV centuries. The 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 Romanesque style, 49 meters high. Only 2 bells from the 17th century remain.
- Marian Column. Created by the sculptor D. Lipart with the help of the local mason F. Neuwirt in 1718 at the expense of the wife of the burgomaster Hodova (Z. Hodova).
- Fountains on the square.
- Town Hall (now there is a travel agency inside).
- The Church of St. James (1360-1370), rebuilt in the 15th century. In the church, the ashes of Zacharias of Hradec are kept in a large tomb, and in the vestibule the townspeople who died during the First World War are buried. Above the 60-meter bell tower rise two rare and beautiful sounding bells.
- Church of the Name of Christ, Jesuit, 1669. Nearby is a Jesuit college and a Jesuit monastery.
- The old town on the lake, 15 minutes walk from Zacharias Square: Square of Our Lady, Madonna (1673), Chapel of Our Lady (1572, Rococo). A path called “On the Tiles” leads from the castle and Zacharias to the Old Town. Along it there are statues of saints, made in the Baroque style in the 18th century.
- Church of St. Anne at the cemetery. Baroque, XVI-XVII century.
