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SpotlightSlavonice: a South Bohemian renaissance town off the beaten track
It is a very crisp autumn day here in South Bohemia. And I’m slowly
trundling towards Slavonice, which is in the very far south of this
country, right on the Austrian border. I’m in a modern-looking, but as
you can probably hear, rather shuddery sort of train. And I’m heading
towards this stunningly pretty Czech town, which I hear, in recent years,
has become something of an artists’ colony. So, I’m off to find out
more about that in this week’s Spotlight. More
SpotlightThe royal town of Písek
A well-known 19th century student song sings about Putimská brána - one of
the three historic gates in the town walls around Písek. Only a remnant of
the gate is preserved to this day and the town has long expanded beyond its
medieval defensive walls.
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SpotlightBlatná Castle
The summer months are here and with it tourists visiting many of the
country’s most notable castles and chateaux. But one site you might want
to consider visiting, somewhat off the beaten path, is Blatná Castle in
southern Bohemia, some 95 kilometres south of the capital. It’s not an
understatement to say Blatná Castle is something out of a fairly tale,
overlooking a surrounding moat and deer park. Blatná is the location we
visit in Spotlight today. More
Czech HistoryThe Chods – the king’s frontiersmen
In the Late Middle Ages, a group of Czech frontiersmen were charged with
guarding the kingdom’s western borders. In today’s Czech History we
travel to Domažlice to visit the descendants of the Chods. More
SpotlightBechyně: an idyllic town in southern Bohemia
Southern Bohemia is home to some of the most beautiful and idyllic
destinations in the Czech Republic - from the historic town of Tábor to
the jewel that is Český Krumlov. One destination in the area, somewhat
lesser-known but also attractive that you might consider visiting, is
Bechyně, located around forty kilometres from Tábor. Found on a dramatic
promontory, the town of just 6,000 features an historic monastery, a
fantastic fifty-metre high bridge that spans the nearby Lužnice River, and
the oldest ceramics school in the country. It may not be the most obvious
choice, but Bechyně is a most satisfying visit in the summer or spring. More
PanoramaRespected research institute to get major make-over, focus on brave new projects
The Research Institute of Fish Culture and Hydrobiology in Vodňany, South
Bohemia (a centre with a long and respected history and part of the
University of South Bohemia’s Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of
Waters) will soon get a major make-over to the tune of 370 million crowns.
Roughly two-thirds – allowing the centre to renovate two buildings and
complete a new one – will come from European funds. Once reconstruction
is completed, the institute will be able to focus vigorously on a series of
important new research projects – including rearing of the rare sterlet
sturgeon.
More
SpotlightTýn above the Vltava, and under Temelín
A visit to Týn nad Vltavou offers much of what you would expect of a small
South Bohemian town. The winding streets are full of locals in the
morning,
each one greeting the other, the buildings, mostly farmsteads, have a kind
of rural hominess that whips up the nostalgia in you even if you’ve
never
been there before, the woods are full of aged artefacts - bridges and
crosses in the middle of nowhere, say – and in the absence of any bustle
you get the feeling that the church bell rings almost constantly. More
Current AffairsEarly work by architect Jan Letzel discovered at Brno cemetery
The Czech architect Jan Letzel is remembered today above all for his design
of what later became the Hiroshima A-Bomb Dome, a memorial to victims of
the 1945 bombing. Having spent much of his short career in Japan, Letzel
authored only a few works in Bohemia and Moravia. But recently, a tombstone
designed by the famous architect was recently discovered in a cemetery in
the south Moravian city of Brno.
More
MailboxMailbox
This week we reveal the identity of October’s mystery Czech, quote from
your answers and announce the names of the four winners who will receive
prizes from Radio Prague. Listeners quoted: Jana M. Vaculik, Barbara
Ziemba, Harry Klugel, Krzysztof Borski, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Pier Carlo
Acchino, Colin Law, Ivan Stržínek, Christine Takaguchi-Coates, Charles
Konecny, Yukiko Maki, David Eldridge, Kristina Fallin.
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