Places of interest in the Czech Republic

 

Otázka: Travelling and services

Jazyk: Angličtina

Přidal(a): Adéla

 

Famous places

• Charles bridge
  • This oldest and most charming of the many Prague bridges, has become a favourite place for walks and tourist attractions. It is 520 m long and is decorated with 30 sculptures and groups of statues mainly of Baroque origin which together with the bridge towers make it a unique work of architecture.
• Prague castle
  • The seat of the president, is the domination of the city. From the square outside the castle, tourists can admire the city below, with the roofs of ancient (starověký) gothic, renaissance and baroque houses and palaces and hundreds of church spires for which Prague is renowned. The monumental complex of the castle includes three courtyards (dvory) and over 700 rooms, among which the late gothic Vladislav Hall, and the newly redecorated Spanish hall and Rudolph gallery are the most renowned (proslulý). In the Vladislav Hall the election (volba) of the President takes place and both the Spanish hall and Rudolph gallery serve for ceremonial and cultural purposes.
• St. Vitus Cathedral
  • It was completed in 1929, a thousand years after the foundation of the first church on this site. The Gothic cathedral was founded by Charles IV in connection with the establishment (založení) of the Prague Archbishopric (arcibiskupství). The present cathedral is the result of the work of two famous architects, Matthias and Petr Parléř. The most admired parts of the church are the gothic St. Wenceslas chapel decorated partly with semi-precious stones, the coronation chamber where the coronation jewel is kept, and the Royal Crypt which contains the sarcophaguses of Czech king and queens.
• Prague Astronomical clock
  • The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still in operation. The oldest part of the Orloj, the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, dates back to 1410, when it was created by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and Charles University professor of mathematics and astronomy Jan Šindel. There are twelve Apostles, and they move every hour, also we can find there for example skeleton which represents death.
• Karlštejn castle
  • It is a large Gothic castle founded in 1348 by King Charles IV. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Bohemian Crown Jewels, holy relics, and other royal treasures. Karlštejn belongs to the most famous and most frequently visited castles in the country. Karlštejn Castle is located about 16 kilometres southwest of Prague in the Beroun region.

 

Czech UNESCO

• Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region
  • Is in region in south-eastern Germany (Saxony) and north-western Czechia, which contains a wealth (množství) of several metals exploited through mining from the Middle Ages (středověk). The region became the most important source of silver ore in Europe from 1460 to 1560. Mining was the trigger (spoštěčem) for technological and scientific innovations around the world. At the end of the 19th century, the region became a major global producer of uranium.
• Gardens and castle in Kroměříž
  • Originally a summer residence of Olomouc bishops, Kroměříž palace is considered a fine example of baroque architecture. But the gardens received the most praise (pochvala) for being an example of the periods landscaping. The castle houses an impressive art collection, including works by Titian.
• Historic centre of Český Krumlov
  • This popular tourist attraction hides a castle and chateaux complex and well-preserved (zachovalé) historical centre.  The aristocratic families of Vítkovci and Rožmberkové are connected to the town’s history and its renaissance look. The town is also known as a place where Egon Schiele, an expressionist painter of European renown (věhlas), created many if his works.
• Historic centre of Prague
  • The top Czech destination, Prague leads the list with monuments such as Prague castle, st. Vitus Cathedral and Charles bridge.
• Historic centre of Telč
  • The towns square offer a unique combination of Renaissance and baroque houses with characteristic arcades and sgraffiti design. There is also a chateau in the town.
• Holašovice historic village
  • This village in south Bohemia represents a rural (venkovský) style architecture, known as folk baroque, from the mid-19th century.
• Holy trinity column in Olomouc
  • The town of Olomouc is an important medieval (středověký) town and a university centre. The UNESCO attractions is one of the tallest Baroque memorial columns in the Czech Republic (35m). Decorated with copper adornments (měděné ozdoby) and statues, it is a monument to a plague (mor) epidemic between 1714-1716. The town also has its own astrological clock, thought the saints have been replaced by figurines from the socialist period.
• Jewish quarter and St. Procopius Basilica in Třebíč
  • This historical centre includes St. Procopius Romanesque-Gothic Basilica as well as the remains of the Jewish quarter, which is the only Jewish site on the UNESCO list beside Israel. It documents a big Jewish community in the Czech land prior to the WWII.
• Kutná hora: historical town centre with the church of St. Barbara and the cathedral of Our lady (Panny Marie) at Sedlec
  • A medieval (středověk) mining town, which became rich because of its silver deposits (zásoby), is famous for its historical centre and the church of St. Barbara. This eye-catching piece of Gothic architecture was begun in 1388 but wasn’t completed until 1905. The construction was often interrupted as the town suffered from wars, flood and financial collapse following the closure of the mines.
• Landscape for breeding and training of ceremonial carriage horses at Kladruby nad Labem
  • The property is situated on the Elbe (Labe) River. The structure and functional use of plots of land (forests, fields, parks), network of paths, avenues, trees in lines, the network of watercourses, buildings in the farm and the overall composition – all this fully serves the needs of breeding (chování) and training of the Baroque draught (tažných) horses of the Kladruber breed which were used during the ceremonies at the Habsburg Imperial Court. The Imperial Stud Farm was founded in 1579 and its landscape has been used for this purpose since then
• Lednice – Valtice cultural Landscape
  • As every Czech knows „lednice“ means „refrigerator“ but this chateaux complex in South Moravia is unlikely to leave you feeling frosty. This impressive combination of baroque and Neo-Gothic styles stands in the largest park in the Czech Republic and is an important example of English Romantic landscape design.
• Litomyšl castle
  • This unique arcade palace is one of the most important examples of renaissance architecture in the Czech Republic. It is an important place for cultural events, the most notable, being the opera festival Smetanas Litomyšl, named after the famous composer who was born in the town.
• Pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora
  • The star shaped pilgrimage church (poutní kostel) built by Santini-Aichl, a Czech baroque builder of Italian origin, is characteristic of baroque-gothic style. The building includes a lot of complex symbolism based on number five.
• The great Spa towns of Europe
  • This serial property comprises eleven spa towns, located in seven European countries: Austria, Belgium, Františkovy Lázně; Karlovy Vary; Mariánské Lázně (Czechia), France, Germany, Italy and United Kingdom. All of these towns developed around natural mineral water springs. Related facilities include gardens, assembly rooms, casinos, theatres, hotels and villas, as well as spa-specific support infrastructure.
• Tugendhat villa in Brno
  • Brno, the second biggest city in the Czech Republic, has many architectural jewels, among them the fortress Špilberk and the gothic St. Peter and Pauls cathedral. The functionalist Villa Tugendhat (named after its owners) was based on a design of a major modernist architect and furniture designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, made in 1928. The building is divided into three level but gives the impression of a one-storey building. The owners, being of Jewish origin, had to leave Czechoslovakia in 1938 because of persecution by Nazis
• Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
  • This national property includes 94 component parts in 18 countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech (buk) spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides (Dinaridy), Mediterranean (středomoří) and Pyrenees.

 

Heritage sites

• Vyšehrad
• • It was probably built in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul and the Vyšehrad Cemetery, containing the remains of many famous Czechs, such as Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Karel Čapek, and Alphonse Mucha. It also contains Prague’s oldest Rotunda of St. Martin, from the 11th century.
• Old town hall
• • Is one of the city’s most visited monuments. It is located in Old Town Square. The Town Hall is architecturally unusual, because it is constructed from many different smaller houses.
• National Theatre
• • Is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions. Today the National Theatre consists of three artistic ensembles: opera, ballet and drama.
• National museum
• Estates Theatre (Stavovské)