Archive: Travel | Towns and municipalities Towns and municipalities
Litomerice
The North Bohemian town of Litomerice has long enjoyed the reputation of
being one of the Czech Republic's most beautiful sites. Founded roughly
1,000 years ago, Litomerice lies in one of the Czech Republic's hilliest
ranges on the confluence of the Elbe and Ohre Rivers. The town's
beginnings were originally a Slavonic fort overseeing a number of small
municipalities, later replaced by a castle and emerging town in the 11th
century. More
Ceska Kamenice named "historic town of the year" for 2005
Every year the Association of Historic Towns and Villages in the Czech
Republic holds a competition, to award the town it feels has done most to
preserve its architectural heritage. Dozens of towns traditionally take
part but only one can win the prize which includes a cheque for 1,000, 000
crowns (around 43,000 US dollars). This year the award went to north
Bohemia's Ceska Kamenice. More
Tabor - a labyrinth of antiquity
An hour and a half's journey south of Prague lies the medieval Hussite town
of Tabor. On first arrival, as you step out onto a busy square from the
packed train station, the place looks nothing out of the ordinary. But
once you pass the bustling high street in the newer area of town, the
cobbled and winding paths of the Old Town lined with their quaint houses
make this a location where you can feel history at every turn. And indeed
history is something of which there is no lack in Tabor.
More
The Giant Mountains - a world of legend
For this week's Spotlight we're in one of the most beautiful regions of the Czech Republic, the Krkonose or Giant Mountains, straddling the Czech-Polish border, a hundred kilometres north-east of Prague. These are the Czech Republic's highest mountains, rising well over a thousand metres, and at this time of year, they are decked with a thick blanket of snow. The Giant Mountains is a wonderfully poetic and evocative name... and indeed Krkonose does have its very own legendary giant, known as "Krakonos" in Czech and "Ruebezahl" in German.
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Jablonec nad Nisou or Appletown?
Situated some 100 kilometres north of Prague, the town Jablonec nad Nisou
has a lot to be proud of - predominantly its glass and jewellery -two
major export articles that have made it renown all over the world. Last
week Jablonec hit the headlines as the first Czech town to get its own
town "anthem" on the occasion of its 140th birthday next year.
Contrary to what you might expect the lyrics are not about glass or
jewellery - they are about apples and love!
More
The Bohemian Paradise
Today we travel to eastern Bohemia where I visited one of the country's
regions that's true to its name - Cesky Raj, which translates as Bohemian
Paradise. It's an area that encompasses sandstone rock formations that
somewhat remind us of Stonehenge
or miniature Grand Canyons, fairy tale hills that hide precious stones,
romantic castles and chateaux with a colourful history, and picturesque
folk architecture - to name just a few of the region's attractions. It is
not hard to see why the Bohemian Paradise was given the honour of being
labelled a UNESCO Geopark last month - there are only twenty others in
Europe and eight in China. More
Znojmo Castle
One of the most beautiful towns in Moravia and historically an important
location in the Czech Republic is Znojmo - a town whose foundations date
back to the 11th century. For centuries Znojmo guarded the regions of
southern Moravia, part of an elaborate chain of defending castles along
the Dyje River and the border with Austrian lands, developing from a
promontory fort to medieval stronghold and local seat of administration
for the Premyslids - the first line of Czech kings. By the mid 1200s
Znojmo was dominant, complementing neighbouring castles at Bitov and
Vranov. More
South Moravian town preparing for annual garlic festival
During the summer season many towns around the Czech Republic compete for
tourists by putting on all kinds of festivals. Some towns have arts
festivals of various kinds, while others celebrate all kinds of Czech folk
traditions. Food and drink are also common themes, with Trebic for instance
holding an annual potato festival. But surely one of the most unusual
events of its kind has to be the "festival cesneku", or garlic
festival, held every year in the town of Buchlovice in south Moravia.
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