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Which of us in childhood did not dream of getting into a fairy tale? But what if even now from time to time you really want to drop everything and at least for a week go to a place where it’s quiet and calm, where you can take a leisurely stroll through the narrow streets of a small cozy town with “gingerbread” houses; admire from the high tower of the local ancient castle at a scattering of red tiled roofs below; inhale the fragrance of beautiful flowers in the castle park?
Or stand on a huge crowded square surrounded by chic palaces and medieval temples with high towers and spiers, listening with pleasure to the multilingual hubbub of people scurrying around and feeling “out of time and space”. Tempting? Then you definitely need to visit the Czech Republic.
Here you will find everything you want – and the solemn grandeur of the once royal city, generously seasoned with real magic, literally spilled in the air (this is the beauty of Prague), and a real cozy and bright medieval fairy tale (in Cesky Krumlov), and gloomy a reminder of the frailty of our existence and the transience of life (on the outskirts of Sedlec in Kutná Hora), and real natural “living water” to improve your health (of course, in Karlovy Vary). In any case, you will be surrounded by BEAUTY all the way, a lot of beauty.
When you get to know the Czech Republic well enough (falling in love with it even more in every new place you manage to go), it becomes very difficult to choose only the 10 most beautiful cities in this country. But we’ll still try.
10 Karlovy Vary
According to legend, this, perhaps, the most aristocratic city in the Czech Republic was founded by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles I of Luxembourg (he is also the King of the Czech Republic, Charles IV).
The king hunted in the local forests, and when (in the pursuit of a deer) his horse injured his leg, water from an accidentally found spring that spouted from the ground helped to heal it. Charles IV ordered to build a hunting lodge here and began to often run into these places to rest and heal.
By the beginning of the XNUMXth century, Karlovy Vary was very popular among the European aristocracy. Well, after our Peter I visited here, the Russian nobility also reached out to the resort. It is always quiet and calm in a very picturesque town, through which the shallow but transparent river Tepla flows.
Life moves as if in slow motion – thoughtfully and leisurely. Peaceful vacationers stroll between the bright colonnades, in the depths of which there are 12 springs with mineral water of different temperatures (from 30 to 72 degrees), which can treat a variety of diseases.
And after going to the end of the main street, past the beautiful houses in the Baroque style, decorated with stucco and bas-reliefs, you can take the funicular to the Diana Tower, from where you can see the whole city and the dense forest around it.
Don’t forget to try the local round waffles. And buy yourself (as a souvenir) a bottle of the famous “Becherovka” – a liquor with 20 herbs.
9. Brno
Brno is the second largest (and also most important) city in the Czech Republic. It is located in a very picturesque place – where the rivers Svratka and Svitava merge together – and is the capital of the historical region of Moravia. By the way, Moravians consider Brno to be the true capital of the Czech Republic. So, Brno became a royal city before Prague (back in the XNUMXth century) – it was here that the legendary Přemyslid dynasty ruled.
And since Prague and Brno have long been constantly competing for the title of the main city of the country, then, not even trying to “catch up and overtake” the official capital in terms of crowds and beauty, the inhabitants of Brno decided to get ahead of it culturally. Here are the best theaters and galleries of the Czech Republic, a variety of music and art festivals. Student life is in full swing in Brno – there are several large universities here.
The city has many beautiful architectural monuments (in the Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance and Art Nouveau styles), amazing and unusual sculptures. You should definitely take a look at the city hall of the XNUMXth century, the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul (founded in the XNUMXth century), climb the hill to the huge Spilberk fortress, etc.
8. Plzeň
Even if you’ve never heard the name of this city before, it seems vaguely familiar to you, doesn’t it? Naturally! After all, it is here, at one of the oldest breweries in Europe, that Pilsner Urquell, one of the most popular beers in the world, is brewed.
Of course, now the whole process takes place using modern technologies and new equipment. But they will be happy to show you and tell you how it was in the old days (and they will let you taste the freshly brewed unfiltered beer). Just sign up for a tour. Not only that, there are also beer spa resorts in the city where you can bathe in a whole barrel of beer.
But, of course, it is worth coming to Pilsen not only for the sake of a foamy drink. The town is very picturesque, especially its old center. Take a look at the Renaissance (the largest in Europe) town hall built in the XNUMXth century, admire the beautiful Krzhikov gardens, climb the highest tower in the Czech Republic of St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral (XIII century, Gothic) to see the whole city at once in all its glory. And take the children to the Dinopark to see the giant dinosaurs.
7. Litomyšl
In 2008, the magazine “Travel in the Czech Republic” named Litomysl the most beautiful city in the Czech Republic after Prague. First of all, this small town surprises with the fact that here the ancient and ancient buildings perfectly “get along” next to almost new buildings (and this does not seem to be something wrong or dissonant).
The most beautiful building in the city is the XNUMXth-century Renaissance castle, decorated with sgraffito ornaments. Moreover, the pattern never repeats itself: here you can see not only twigs, leaves and flowers, but also many animals – from dragons and elephants to ordinary hedgehogs, as well as people in ancient costumes.
The interiors of the castle are just as beautiful, and in its courtyard, which has excellent acoustics, theatrical performances, music festivals and competitions, etc. take place. By the way, Litomysl is the birthplace of the most famous Czech composer Bedrich Smetana.
Another city attraction is the house of the philanthropist Josef Portman, painted with drawings of mythical characters: from gnomes to angels.
6. České Budejovice (České Budejovice)
Book lovers know the town of České Budějovice from The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk – it was here that the battalion in which this character of Jaroslav Hasek served during the war was located. By the way, today in Budejovice there are a lot of “reminders” about Schweik – this is the name of restaurants and pubs, you can buy Schweik figurines in souvenir shops, etc.
To see all the main attractions of the town, you will not need to go far – they are all located on (and near) its main square. In its center, you cannot fail to notice the magnificent Samson Fountain, and nearby – the blue and white Baroque Town Hall and the Cathedral of St. Nicholas with the Black Tower.
Almost all the houses standing on this square, which bears the name of King Přemysl Ottokar II (the founder of Budejovice in the XNUMXth century), were built in the XNUMXth century or a little later – the fact is that the city suffered from a terrible fire and was rebuilt.
And in Budejovice there is the famous Budweiser Budvar brewery, which has been “butting” for the historical right to the name of this brand with the American company Anheuser-Busch for almost 80 years (!) (so far to no avail).
5. Olomouc
In the beautiful Moravian Olomouc – once a royal and episcopal, and now a university city, you can walk for hours. “In terms of density” of architectural masterpieces per square kilometer, it will yield only to Prague.
The city with almost two thousand years of history (it was founded on the site of a Roman military camp of the XNUMXnd century) absorbed all European architectural styles from early Gothic to Baroque, Renaissance and Art Nouveau.
You should definitely walk through the three large squares of the old center: from the Lower to the Upper, and then to the square in front of the Archbishop’s Palace and the huge magnificent Cathedral of St. Wenceslas, admiring the beautiful fountains along the way, the Town Hall with an astronomical clock (by the way, they were already made in ” soviet” period, that’s why they are unique – on them you will see not the usual saints and angels, but scientists, workers and peasants engaged in creative work) and a 25-meter plague column dedicated to the Holy Trinity and lavishly decorated with bizarre statues.
And try to look at at least one of the several city gardens – they are beautiful.
4. Telč
The small town of Telč, whose center is surrounded on one side by the remains of ancient walls and a deep moat, and on the other by picturesque ponds with huge carps and well-fed tame ducks, is absolutely charming.
This is exactly the place where you will feel as if you “fell in time” by 400 years. In fact, the old city consists of one huge square and several short streets extending from it with numerous souvenir shops and “pubs”.
Most of the houses (as well as the city castle) were built in the Baroque and Renaissance styles. They are painted in pleasant pastel colors and compete with each other with rich decorations, stucco, paintings, etc.
In the summer, a real medieval fair is held in Telc – artisans sell handmade goods, actors and minstrels show colorful performances, and knights find out who is the coolest at the tournament.
3. Kutna Hora
Kutná Hora is a city with a rich history dating back to the XNUMXth century, and was once the second most important city after the capital. The thing is that in its vicinity there were rich silver mines, and therefore the royal mint worked here. Silver literally flowed like a river, the city grew rich and grew. On many old buildings, you can still see bas-reliefs with miners. But, alas, by the middle of the XIV century, the mines dried up. Now only the local Silver Museum in Hradek Castle remains from their former glory. But Kutna Hora is still picturesque.
The tallest (and most beautiful) buildings in the city are the Cathedral of St. Barbara (Barbora), standing on an elevated place and trying to reach the sky with its Gothic spiers (it was built from the end of the XNUMXth to the middle of the XNUMXth centuries) and the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist (late XNUMXth century).
And in Sedlec (a suburb of Kutná Hora) there is the darkest, but at the same time the most visited by tourists, attraction – the Ossuary. This is an old church in an even older cemetery, which strikes with a terrible sight – its entire interior consists of human bones (they say that there are “only” 40 thousand of them). Just imagine: crosses, chandeliers, decorations of arches and vaults, coats of arms on the walls, “pyramids” on the floor – all made of skulls and bones. Indeed, “Memento mori” (“Remember death”) …
2. Česky Krumlov
Do you want to visit a real fairy tale? The small town of Český Krumlov in South Moravia is all one continuous scenery for a knight’s film. The streets of Krumlov have not changed at all since the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, when this city was especially “on the rise”. Its entire magnificent old center is surrounded by a wide loop of the Vltava River (not yet so majestic in these places), along which Czech rafters love to raft.
And above the city rises a huge (and noticeable from afar) Krumlov Castle. It was built from the 11th to the XNUMXth centuries, gradually expanding (now the castle occupies – imagine! – XNUMX hectares) and therefore you can find Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance elements in it. From the castle, across the Cloak Bridge (an unusual three-tiered structure), you can go to the castle park.
In the beautiful little Krumlov, where only 14 thousand people live, there are as many as 8 museums. Hundreds of thousands of tourists come here every year – especially a lot of people come every year on the last weekend of June, when the Five Petal Rose Festival sings and dances in the city.
On these wonderful days, all the inhabitants of Krumlov (almost without exception!) dress up in old costumes and recklessly play scenes from the life of medieval Czechs – from commoners to nobility and knights. It is very authentic and cool – believe those who have seen it in person!
1. Prague
Well, here we have reached the most beautiful city in the Czech Republic – the “hundred-towered” Prague, Golden Prague, magnificent Prague … You can talk about it for hours, sometimes really “hovering” from the brightness of memories and light sadness from the fact that right now you are not there.
Prague is a separate wonderful topic, you can’t tell about this city in a nutshell. So just go and admire it for yourself.