Exploring Česky Krumlov

So today we traveled all the way from Brno to Česky Krumlov, a city located in south Bohemia, and I don’t think they could be any more different. From a hugely populated city to a small historic town with 500 townies and only 13,000 total residents. Česky Krumlov was wonderful. It is a beautiful town, nearly entirely made up of cobblestone and amazing views wherever you turn. We were guided through the town on a tour and boy did we learn a lot. There are many special aspects of Čhesky Krumlov, one being it’s infamous castle.

This castle is the second largest castle in all of the Czech Republic and only misses first place by one square meter. It was first constructed in the year 1240  by the Witigonen family, who was a part of the famous Rosenberg family, a noble family of Bohemia. They occupied the castle for upwards of three hundred years, until the seventeenth century. By this time, the entire family line had died out and the castle needed new inhabitants. It was then sold to the Eggenberg family who then made the castle famous for its baroque style architecture and look. Inside the quarters of the castle you will find the Česky Krumlov Baroque Theatre. It is one of only two fully preserved baroque theatres left in the entire world. When the line of Eggenbergs ended in the mid 1700’s, the castle was passed down to the Schwarzenbergs. And in 1947 was Čespy Krumlov was declared as part of the Czech provincial properties and along with it went the castle. Today it is considered one of the greatest tourist attractions in town.

The next biggest architectural historical landmark in Česky Krumlov is the Saint Vitus Churh.

This church was built at around the year 1400 by Hostislav of Bílsko. It was then renovated in the year 1500 during the Baroque period so the church had many gothic stylistic designs added to it, including high vaulted ceilings, pointy windows and much more. It is still used by the four percent of practicing Christians in Česky Krumlov and is available for viewing by the public.

One last thing that’s unique about Česky Krumlov is that they have a local town bear moat.

This bear moat has been used since the early 1700’s. The legend is that the powerful Rosenberg family was somehow related to the Italian family the Orsini’s. Orsa is supposed to mean bear in Italian. The rosenbergs later found out that they were never connected to the Orsini’s but they kept the bears there ever since. Till this day they still have one bear living at the castle and her name is Marie Terezie. Every year there is a bear festival so it’s safe to say that bears have become a big part of the Czech culture here.

Now after all that, if I could give one recommendation for anyone interested in going to this wonderful little town, I would say bring a good pair of walking shoes.

While staying here, I have yet to find a street that isn’t made of cobblestone. In addition, the cobblestone can be quite uneven and steep at points so it’s hard to imagine living on them every single day of your life, but hey, people do it. I would highly recommend going to Česky Krumlov if you ever find yourself in the Czech Republic, you won’t regret it. The beauty of this historic town is something you don’t want to miss.