Archive: Travel | Towns and municipalities Towns and municipalities
Varnsdorf, a north Bohemian town in the path of Buddha
A town surrounded by deep pine forests, dotted with old timbered
German-style villas and occasional Communist-era prefab houses, a town
boasting many parks, a river, two churches – and the country’s first
Buddhist temple. This is Varnsdorf, a town of 16,000 in the northernmost
part of the Czech Republic. More
Jilemnice - the cradle of Czech skiing
It is early on a Friday morning, the air is freezing and there is no sign
of the sun in the sky. Yet, the creaky old Karosa bus heading towards
Krkonoše or Giant Mountains is almost full when I arrive at the bus
station. Many people from Prague have taken their day off in order to enjoy
some snow. Unlike most of my fellow travellers, I am not heading towards
the ski slopes and racing tracks. My destination is the little town of
Jilemnice, crouching at the foothills of the Giant Mountains in north
Bohemia. Jilemnice was one of the very first skiing centres in the country
and it proudly calls itself the Cradle of Czech skiing. Petra Pohůnkova
from the local Town Hall has promised to give me a tour through the town.
We meet on the central square, right in front of the Town Hall building: More
Litoměřice
The North Bohemian town of Litoměřice has long enjoyed the reputation of
being one of the Czech Republic's most beautiful towns. Founded roughly
1,000 years ago, Litoměřice lies in one of the Czech Republic's hilliest
ranges on the confluence of the Elbe and Ohře Rivers. The town's
beginnings was originally a Slavonic fort overseeing a number of small
municipalities, later replaced by a castle and emerging town in the 11th
century. More
Svitavy – the birthplace of Oskar Schindler
You are not very likely to wander into Svitavy by chance. Located on both
the major road and railway line connecting Moravia and eastern Bohemia, for
most people Svitavy is just a name on their itinerary. But if you do come
and take a closer look, you’ll find a little town proud of its past and
working for a better future. Once an important town for Moravia’s textile
industry, re-populated after the expulsion of Svitavy’s German speaking
inhabitants, it only recently showed its pride in perhaps its most famous
native personality – Oskar Schindler. More
The Fort above the Black Forests - Kostelec nad Černými Lesy
This week’s spotlight focuses on one of the main centres of forestry in
the Czech Republic and an oft overlooked pearl of Bohemian cultural
heritage. Christian Falvey gives us his impressions of the town of Kostelec
nad Černými lesy. More
Kutná Hora's Italian Courtyard and silver-mining history
Without question the town of Kutná Hora in central Bohemia is a must-see
destination for anyone visiting the Czech Republic, a town with a long and
fascinating history. In the 13th and 14th centuries the site became
increasingly famous for silver deposits which drew miners and production
that would eventually account for as much as a third of all the silver
production in Europe. More
Zlín - the town that Baťa built
In this edition of Spotlight,we visit the south-east Moravian town of Zlín,
a city famous for its footwear and film industries as well as for its rich
heritage of folk culture and traditional music. More
Nepomuk and environs - some facts and lots of fiction
If there were a capital city of legendry in the Czech Republic, the town of
Nepomuk would be a hot contestant for the honour. There are said to be
graves that glow when someone’s about to die, a landscape littered with
the petrified cattle of a greedy pagan and the ghost of an evil musketeer
who walks the earth with the still-ferocious spectre of his dog. The
official population of Nepomuk may be 3,700, but that’s only if you count
the living. More
Žatec – the home of hops
For centuries, the northern Bohemian town of Žatec has been the centre of
hops growing in the country. Known as the home of hops and beer, the town
is now trying to cope with a decline in its traditional industry. It
recently launched a multi-million euro tourism project called Temple of
Hops and Beer – but it is also slowly coming to terms with recent history
that saw the town’s original German population replaced by Czechs in the
aftermath of WWII. More
The 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.
More
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