Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is situated in Central Europe landlocked between Poland, Germany, the Slovak Republic and Austria. With Prague as its fairytale capital this country offers a landscape of hillsides and picturesque sites.

The official language is Czech, English and German are also spoken throughout the country. Although its surface area is quite small, this country is a treasure trove of history, teeming with enchanting mediaeval castles and towns, magnificent national parks, elegant spa resorts, museums and art galleries.

Some of the sites not to miss are the historic towns of Melnik and Kutna Hora, and castles like Karlstejn and Konopiste as well as the spa resort of Karlovy Vary. The country also boasts 11 UNESCO World Heritage sites, notably the picturesque town of Cesky Krumlov, the chateaux and landscaped gardens of Lednice-Valtice, and the Renaissance architecture of Telc.

For nature lovers the Sumava National Park offers forested mountains and lakes, rock pinnacles, gorges, spectacular caves and underground rivers at the sites of Adrspach-Teplice Rocks and Moravian Karst. The wooded hills and vineyards of Moravia boast majestic castles, folk art and of course wine.

The climate is hot in summer and cold in winter, with rainfall during spring and summer.

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    Archbishop’s Chateau, Kromeriz

    The first residence on the site was founded by bishop Stanislas Thurzo in 1497. The building was in a Late Gothic style, with a modicum of Renaissance detail. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was sacked by the Swedish army (1643).

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    Breclav Castle

    In the 11th century a border castle was established by Duke Bretislaus I which took his name. The castle served as one of the ducal administrative centres in medieval Moravia, later becoming a manor house.

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    Buchlovice Palace (Castle)

    Buchlovice castle is a castle situated about 10 km to the west of Uherske Hradiste, in south-east Moravia, Czech Republic. Its history is closely connected with nearby Buchlov Castle which grew more and more uncomfortable in the late 17th century, and that is why Jan Detrich of Petrwald decided to build a new castle.

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    Bzenec Chateau (Palace)

    Bzenec Chateau (Palace). The present appearance of the castle is already the third in its history. Originally, there used to be a fortress which was converted into a mansion for the aristocracy after the Old Bzenec Castle was ruined.

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    Castle (Palace), Zlin

    Initially a Gothic fort rebuilt in the second half of the 16th century in a Renaissance castle. Again rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century in Baroque style. Castle (Palace), Zlin.

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    Castle of Hranice (Hranice Castle)

    Castle of Hranice in Hranice in Moravia, the eastern Czech Republic. It is often called Hranice na Morave to distinguish it from another town called Hranice in Bohemia.

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    Castle, Veseli nad Moravou

    A former medieval water castle from the 13th century was rebuilt in the 16th century into a Renaissance chateau. In 1621 was the Chateau heavily damaged, riddled and set on fire. In the 2nd half of the 17th century was Castle reconstructed.

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    Cejkovice Castle (Chateau)

    The renaissance castle with historical wine cellars from 13th century originally belonged to the Templar order. After the Order had been abolished the castle came to one of the noble families and after the Thirty-years War came to Jesuit order.

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    Cesky Krumlov

    Cesky Krumlov (Český Krumlov) is a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic where Cesky Krumlov Castle is located. Old Cesky Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was given this status along with the historic Prague castle district.

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    Chateau, Museum, Hustopece nad Becvou

    Four-wing two-storey Renaissance chateau with a square layout, which was built by the Zerotins in place of the original 16th century fortress. Chateau, Museum, Hustopece nad Becvou.

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    Chateau, Velky Tynec

    Chateau (Baroque Chateau) in village Velky Tynec in Olomouc District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic, Europe.

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    Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist

    The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is a Gothic and Baroque Gothic church north-east of Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic and is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Chapel of All Saints and its ossuary and other monuments in Kutna Hora.

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    Cimburk Castle (Ruins)

    Ruins of a castle founded at the turn of the 13th century. The castle was built as the residence of the Lords of Cimburk. Over the centuries the castle changed owners numerous times.

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    Drevohostice Chateau

    Drevohostice Chateau. The chateau was built in the 16th century, adaptations were made in the 2nd half of the 17th and early 19th centuries.

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    Drinov Castle (Chateau)

    Drinov Castle (Chateau). The main attraction of Drinov is the castle with its distinctive towers with bevelled edges. In 18th century chateau acquired its present form.

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    Ferdinandsko Palace

    Ferdinandsko mansion, the current assets of the Defense Ministry. Ferdinandsko palace was build in the mid 18th century.

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    Holasovice

    Holasovice (Holaschowitz) is a small historic village located in the south of the Czech Republic, 15 kilometres west of Ceske Budejovice. Village belongs to the municipality Jankov. To the south lies the protected landscape area of Blanský Forest.

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    Holesov Chateau (Palace)

    Holesov Chateau (Palace). The early Baroque chateau in Holesov attracts visitors for tours of its observatory, where you will be guided by an astronomer in Baroque costume.

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    Holy Trinity Column, Olomouc

    The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc is a Baroque monument in the Czech Republic, built in 1716–1754 in honour of God. The main purpose was a spectacular celebration of Catholic Church and faith, partly caused by feeling of gratitude for ending a plague, which struck Moravia (now in the Czech Republic) between 1714 and 1716.

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    Jewish cemetery, Trebic

    The Jewish Cemetery was established behind the town, over the Tynsky Brook, probably in the early 17th century (the first written document mentioning the cemetery dates from 1636), and was extended in 1888 by adding a new area. With its size of almost twelve thousand square metres it ranks among the largest Jewish cemeteries in the country.

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    Kutna Hora

    Kutna Hora is a city situated in the Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic.

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    Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape

    The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape (also Lednice-Valtice Area or Lednice-Valtice Complex) is a cultural-natural landscape complex of 283.09 square kilometres in the Lednice and Valtice areas of the South Moravian Region, near Breclav in the Czech Republic.

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    Litomysl Castle (Chateau of Litomysl)

    The dominant feature of Litomysl is the monumental Renaissance castle dating from the years 1568–1581. The buildings of the castle precincts are not only exceptional for their architectural refinement, but have also inscribed themselves in history as the birthplace of the Czech composer, Bedrich Smetana.

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    Malenovice Castle

    Malenovice Castle. Malenovice is a castle located in the Malenovice part of the city of Zlin in the Czech Republic. It was built in the second half of the 14th century.

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    Masaryk's Museum and Chateau, Hodonin

    Masaryk's Museum and Chateau, Hodonin. The chateau acquired its present day look after the fire in 1746, when the high baroque style was rebuilt into a one-storey building and has remained as such until the present.