Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape

The Liechtenstein family constructed the largest landscape complex in Europe near their main estate in Valtice in Southern Bohemia during the 18th and 19th centuries. You will find two castles (apart from the Valtice castle, there is the castle in Lednice, which the House of Liechtenstein used as its summer seat), a natural park, ponds, a partially-forested game preserve as well as several smaller buildings covering a surface area of 283 km². You can visit the Appollo Temple, the Belvedere, the Pohansko empire-style hunting lodge, Colonnade - Rajsna, the Rendezvous hunting lodge, Neo-gothic St. Hubert chapel, the aqueduct or the Temple of Three Graces, a peristyle in front of which stands the statue of three Grecian goddesses. You should certainly visit the Minaret on the bank of the pond in the Lednice castle park and John's castle, which was built as a copy of a ruin covered in the forest near Podivín. The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape has been listed as a UNESCO heritage site since 1996 and lies in the middle of wine country - all the more reason to visit!

The Zachariáš of Hradec Square in Telč

Telč is called a fairytale town and with good reason. Its historic centre has looked the same as it did in the times of Zachariáš of Hradec for centuries. He had the old Gothic castle rebuilt into a Renaissance château in the 16th century. Italian craftsmen also altered the houses on the main square into Renaissance style. These historic houses with their colourful façades and romantic archways complemented by the Marian Column, fountains and statues draw thousands of tourist to Telč every year. Apart from the town square, visitors also come to admire the château and its beautiful Renaissance garden together with the castle park as well as the remains of the Gothic fortification wall and gates. These walls and the Štěpnický and Ulický ponds acted as fortification and protected the original town. The Zachariáš of Hradec square is a UNESCO heritage site as well.

The Holy Hill near Olomouc

It looks over the northeastern edge of Olomouc and townsfolk like to come here for walks. You can also visit the ZOO here as well the Basilica of the Virgin Mary Visitation. This Baroque gem stands tall on the traditional pilgrimage spot. It became known as a site where the pleas and prayers of faithful believers are answered already in the 17th century, when Jan Andrýsek built a small chapel devoted to Virgin Mary in the local forest. The church eventually replaced the chapel and additional buildings were added during subsequent years. Pope John Paul II visited Holy Hill in 1995 and elevated it to a Minor Basilica. Annual pilgrimages as well as church services and cathedral concerts take place here to this day.

Benedictine Monastery in Kladruby

The old Benedictine monastery in Kladruby near Stříbro celebrated its 900th birthday three years ago. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the focal point of this large complex. It was rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century in the famous Baroque Gothic style by architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel and is the third largest cathedral in the Czech Republic. It was Santini who was supposedly also the author behind the plan for the three metre gold-plated Marian crown that adorns the alter in the cathedral. You will find an eight-pointed Marian star on the floor of the church. Legend has it that if you stand on it, you will feel a surge of energy! Another famous builder who participated on the construction of this monastery was Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, who designed the new convent building.

Kutná Hora: St. Barbara's Cathedral and the Sedlec Ossuary

St. Barbara's Cathedral and The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist are two sights that have made the town of Kutná Hora famous throughout the world and secured its spot on the UNESCO heritage site. Long ago, a small chapel devoted to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of miners, stood above the Vrchlice river in place of the cathedral. Townsfolk turned the chapel into a Gothic sanctuary at their own expense. Its grandeur was comparable to that of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. It was built up over several centuries and therefore offers an interesting overview of artistic details in various different architectural styles. The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist together with the Roman Catholic Cemetery Church of All Saints and the adjoining Sedlec Ossuary are part of the ancient Cisterian abbey in Sedlec. Famous architect Santini also worked on its reconstruction in the 18th century.

The Sedlec Ossuary Bone Church has many stories to tell. Tens of thousands of victims of the plague epidemic and the Hussite wars were buried in the Sedlec cemetery during the 14th and 15th centuries. When the cemetery closed down at the end of the 15th century, the exhumed bones were stored in the lower chapel beneath the church, where legend has it, that a half-blind monk constructed large pyramids out of the bones. Tens of thousands of visitors come to look at these macabre decorations every year!

Flower Garden in Kroměříž Castle

It is perhaps the most famous garden in the Czech Republic. You will find it next to the Archbishop castle in Kroměříž. The castle grounds, the gardens and the flower gardens (known as "Libosad") comprise another Czech site listed on the UNESCO heritage list. The garden was founded in 1665. Renaissance gardens belonging to French, Italian and German estates were used as inspiration. The style represents the departure from Italian and German Late Renaissance gardens to French Baroque Classicist gardens inspired by Versailles. Apart from flower ornaments and geometrically trimmed greenery, you will find many water features, statues and mazes here. In the garden, you can admire an eight-sided rotunda the interior if which is decorated with motifs from classical mythology as well as a 244 metre long colonnade.

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

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