There are 12 UNESCO websites within the Czech Republic…and you need to go to ALL of them on a day journey (or longer) from Prague!
There are a lot of issues to do in Prague, and within the Czech Republic as an entire. Historical past buffs, basically, will discover a practically countless array of actions to partake in. Amongst these actions are discovering and exploring UNESCO World Heritage websites, that are just about the creme dela creme of Czech historical past, design, and structure.
Earlier than we get into it, let’s briefly clarify what UNESCO is, and why these websites are so nice.
In November 1945, the Structure of UNESCO (the United Nations Academic, Scientific and Cultural Group) was signed. UNESCO was based with the objective of selling peace by way of worldwide cooperation in tradition, the sciences, and training. Having seen the devastation of two world wars, the founders have been decided to stop a 3rd.
Now, UNESCO is concerned in lots of initiatives worldwide, fostering tolerance, establishing analysis laboratories, and defending numerous World Heritage Websites.
The Czech Republic is lucky sufficient to have been largely spared the intense architectural havoc wreaked upon a lot of the remainder of Europe through the world wars. Which implies quite a lot of actually outdated and actually superb buildings and websites have been extraordinarily nicely persevered during the last eight centuries. As of this writing, the Czech Republic incorporates 12 World Heritage Websites, as you will notice under.
So let’s get to it. Go to these websites on a day journey from Prague, or spend a few days at each. Both approach, get pleasure from exploring the Czech Republic! If you’re something like us you’ll find it irresistible!
When you guys are on the lookout for a fantastic lodge or hostel ensure that to take a look at our information to the finest locations to remain in Prague!
12 UNESCO World Heritage Websites of the Czech Republic
Prague’s Historic Metropolis Heart
It would come as no shock that Prague’s historic metropolis heart was the primary web site to make the UNESCO World Heritage Checklist.
This space of Prague occupies either side of the Vltava River: Prague Fort, Lesser City, Outdated City, and New City. Průhonice Park, outdoors town, additionally belongs to this itemizing. The town the place Mozart carried out Don Giovanni remains to be right here; the streets Franz Kafka knew stay intact. It’s no surprise that Prague typically doubles for Vienna in motion pictures and TV exhibits.
Prague incorporates an unbroken line of structure, from Romanesque to fashionable. The town’s fashionable look owes a fantastic deal to that everlasting builder, Emperor Charles IV. Charles is answerable for the 14th-century New City, the Charles Bridge, Charles College, and main additions to Prague Fort and St. Vitus’s Cathedral.
Průhonice, the brand new child on the block (comparatively talking) was established in 1885, and represents an vital instance of backyard panorama structure.
Prague’s UNESCO-protected standing is vital within the battle in opposition to builders who would construct monstrously giant constructions within the metropolis heart, spoiling town’s distinctive panorama.
Try our full information to visiting Prague Fort for the whole lot you might want to learn about exploring this superb work of surprise!
Cesky Krumlov
Even much less stunning is the protected standing of Český Krumlov, in South Bohemia. It makes even Prague’s historic heart pale (if solely just a little) by comparability.
Like Prague, Cesky Krumlov is located on each banks of the Vltava River, and its fort sits hilltop. In contrast to Prague, it’s newer. The fort, for example, in distinction to the Tenth-century Prague Fort, was based within the thirteenth century.
Český Krumlov options a variety of buildings from numerous architectural eras and kinds: Baroque, Excessive Gothic, Renaissance, Late Gothic, and extra. The town was owned by one royal and noble household after one other, every of which left a particular architectural mark.
Because it stands now, town is sort of unbelievably beautiful, leaving the customer questioning whether it is an phantasm that may simply vanish unexpectedly. As with Prague, builders have their eyes on the historic heart however thankfully the realm is protected.
Telc
Telč, in Moravia, was the third and final space to be entered on the World Heritage Checklist in 1992.
This pleasant little city dates from roughly the thirteenth century. The city’s historic heart encompasses a beautiful principal sq. that appears as if it should have been constructed as a movie set, and vacationers like to {photograph} it. Telč additionally has a Renaissance-era fort to attract in guests.
The city’s web site has been translated into English – reasonably awkward English, but it surely will get the job carried out; the location lists the city’s points of interest, historical past, issues to do, locations to remain, eating, and extra. The web site additionally incorporates a brief historical past of Perchta of Rosenberg (Perchta z Rožmberka, in Czech), who is claimed to hang-out her household’s former holdings. These embrace Telč and fellow UNESCO web site Český Krumlov, for these fascinated by mixing in just a little ghost searching with their historical past classes.
The Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelena Hora
In 1994, the Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora was added to the record.
John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký, in Czech) is a Catholic saint who was tortured, certain in chains, and thrown from Prague’s Charles Bridge in 1393, on the orders of King Wenceslas IV. He was, nevertheless, canonized in 1729, and as if in anticipation of this occasion, the church was constructed between 1719 and 1727.
Perched on a hill, the church fell sufferer to fireplace in 1784, and underwent two renovations within the late 18th century and the start of the nineteenth. Regardless of all this, it follows the unique design, which is likely one of the causes that it was entered into the World Heritage Checklist.
Zelená Hora, not surprisingly, has its personal web site, with data accessible in English. When you’re within the temper to go to, chances are you’ll wish to mix it with a UNESCO-themed journey to Telč, as they’re in the identical area of the Czech Republic.
Kutna Hora
The following to realize protected standing was Kutná Hora, in 1995. Within the thirteenth century, the invention was made that town contained wealthy silver deposits; these then supplied uncooked materials for cash all through the area. It gained the standing of a royal metropolis within the 14th century.
The town gives a lot, now, in the best way of priceless treasures. One place of curiosity is town’s principal draw: the Church of Our Woman and St. John the Baptist. It’s an extended title for a small, however hanging church. As soon as inside, you will notice wealthy decorations of bones. Human skulls are stacked one on high of one other. A coat of arms adorns one wall, comprised of each bone within the human physique. It’s astounding and greater than just a little unnerving.
Elsewhere within the metropolis, the magnificent St. Barbara’s Cathedral could have you gasping for breath while you look upwards – up and up and up, on the virtually impossibly excessive, fantastically labored ceiling.
For extra data on visiting this superb vacation spot learn our article on taking a day journey from Prague to Kutna Hora.
The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Advanced, in South Moravia
The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Advanced, in South Moravia, was entered within the World Heritage Checklist in 1996.
The panorama was artificially created and is likely one of the largest such complexes in Europe (200 m2). It was owned by the Liechtenstein household, which moved to the realm within the thirteenth century. They then set about creating the spectacular advanced that’s proven as we speak.
Guests can stroll on and on by way of the gardens, viewing a colonnade, an obelisk, and a minaret, amongst many different buildings on websites that have been chosen to point out them off to their finest benefit.
Excursions are given of the actually gigantic Lednice Chateau, giving guests a chance to see how the previous homeowners lived. (Amusingly, the phrase “lednice” can also be the Czech phrase for “fridge”.)
Holasovice Historic Village
The just about unbearably cute Holašovice Historic Village joined the group in 1998.
Courting from across the thirteenth century, it’s situated in South Bohemia, inside straightforward attain by automotive of the beautiful Český Krumlov.
After World Battle II, with the expulsion of the ethnic German inhabitants by President Edvard Beneš, the village was abandoned, and thus remained intact; an ideal consultant of a conventional village in Central Europe.
The architectural type right here is named “People Baroque”. Though a lot of the homes date from the 18th and nineteenth centuries, the format of the village is true to its medieval foundations.
In contrast to most of the different UNESCO websites within the Czech Republic, Holašovice doesn’t have a fantastic deal to supply when it comes to leisure, meals, or lodging. The inhabitants is simply round 140. It’s, merely, a picturesque place, one which lends itself very nicely to pictures, with the homes painted in crisp, vivid colours.
The Gardens and Fort at Kromeriz
The Gardens and Fort at Kroměříž additionally joined the record in 1998.
Along with its place on the World Heritage Checklist, Kroměříž was one of many places utilized by the late Miloš Forman when taking pictures his traditional Oscar successful movie Amadeus.
Constructed within the seventeenth and 18th centuries, the buildings and grounds are actually deserving of their exalted standing. The dominant constructing right here is the Archbishop’s Chateau, in Early Baroque type. It’s as big because the chateau in Lednice, and guests can take guided excursions by way of it (appropriately, it incorporates manuscripts by none aside from Mozart himself).
The gardens, that are open from April by way of October, are freed from cost. The Flower Backyard is named the “Czech Versailles”, with immaculately groomed greenery and a rotunda positioned immediately in the midst of the wonder.
The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc
The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc was added in 1999.
In contrast to the opposite Czech websites beneath UNESCO safety, it’s a single construction that was by no means used as a residence. Its significance, based on the World Heritage Checklist, is that it’s “probably the most excellent instance of the Moravian Baroque type that developed within the 18th century in Central Europe.”
The actual type of the column is named “Olomouc Baroque” (prior to now, town was the capital of Moravia). Happily, as with Holašovice, the column has been stored in strikingly good situation because it was constructed within the early 18th century. The one change has been a vital one; through the last days of World Battle II, combating in Olomouc resulted in harm to one of many statues. This statue was later changed with a replica.
Litomysl Fort
Litomyšl Fort was additionally listed in 1999.
The Czech Republic is stuffed to overflowing with castles, so for one to make the World Heritage Checklist, it needs to be fairly particular. Litomyšl was a rustic property when it was constructed; now, it’s surrounded by the city of the identical title.
The fort was based in 1568, and largely completed by 1580. UNESCO’s description of the constructing goes into rapturous element concerning the architectural particulars. Suffice it to say, it is a giant, beautiful constructing that (as was the customized on the time) was lavishly adorned and furnished.
Certainly one of its distinctive options is the 18th-century theatre, with its stage decorations, equipment, and auditorium decorations nonetheless intact. The remainder of the fort additionally boasts the unique decorations, together with painted ceilings and sculpted plasterwork. Litomyšl, like Kroměříž, was one other location used within the filming of Amadeus.
Villa Tugendhat in Brno
Quite surprisingly, for the nation’s second-largest metropolis, Brno has just one web site beneath UNESCO safety. The Tugendhat Villa was listed in 2001. It’s also the most recent web site, having been inbuilt 1929-1930.
The villa, which appears to be like one thing like a constructing constructed from outsized Lego bricks, was designed by internationally famend architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who (together with such stellar architects as Frank Lloyd Wright) was on the forefront of modernist structure. He even designed the furnishings for the villa, with the objective of putting sure items in particular places.
The villa, which is in excellent situation, is the best-preserved construction created by van der Rohe in Europe. The backyard can also be listed, and the views from the villa over Brno will stay intact; builders are forbidden to assemble any buildings that may, based on UNESCO, “compromise the visible discipline of the villa”. Sure, actually.
The Jewish Quarter and St Procopius’ Basilica in Trebic
The ultimate merchandise on the record – entered in 2003 – is the Jewish Quarter and St Procopius’ Basilica in Třebíč.
Třebíč, like so many different UNESCO websites within the Czech Republic, is situated in Moravia, thus making the realm a superb one for visiting protected websites.
One of many causes that these two elements of town have been listed is that they present how Jews and Christians lived and interacted over the course of centuries. The basilica was based within the thirteenth century; the primary stories of Jews residing in Třebíč dates from the next century.
The Jewish Quarter consists of the cemetery, which counts some 4,000 graves. In contrast to Prague’s Jewish Quarter, the Jewish Quarter in Třebíč has maintained its unique avenue plan. The basilica, for its half, is an early illustration of Western structure in Central Europe.
How To Go to the 12 UNESCO Websites within the Czech Republic
When you’re planning a visit to go to all these websites, it might be wisest to have a automotive. For automotive rental choices within the Czech Republic click on right here.
A number of of the websites are situated in locations which can be simply accessible by practice and bus, however a couple of are more durable to achieve. Most of them are open to the general public, making them that rather more engaging to guests.
So there you might have it guys, that’s our information to the UNESCO websites of the Czech Republic. Go to them on day journeys from Prague, however keep longer in the event you can! As at all times comfortable travels, and we’ll see you guys on the street!
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