THE HISTORIC CENTRE
OF TELC
Telc is a historic city in the south of the Czech Republic, close
to the Austrian border, and one of the country´s main tourist
attractions. It´s really very small, not much more than the
main square and the castle (the historic part of the town,
anyway), but what there is is very pretty indeed. Since the
whole town was rebuilt at the same time after a fire
destroyed the old wooden buildings, the city boasts a rare
architectural unity and cohesion. Most of the buildings are in
Renaissance style, another rarity in a region full of Baroque
buildings.The Historic Centre of Telc is a medieval planned
town that has preserved its original layout and the castlesettlement relationship very clearly. The quality of its
architecture is high, particularly the Renaissance market
place and chateau.
This town consists of the main square, the adjacent streets of
the old town, the castle and the surrounding fish ponds. The
main square is a coherent complex in the form of an
elongated triangle. All the well-conserved Baroque and
Renaissance houses have high gables and arcades. It’s a great
pleasure to stroll around the square and under the arcades
and to study in detail the graffiti and the colourful decoration
of the façades
The triangular market place possesses great beauty and
harmony as well as great cultural importance, surrounded as
it is by intact and well preserved Renaissance buildings with a
dazzling variety of facades.
HISTORY
The town of Telè, a beautiful town century founded in the
14th that was prosperous especially under Zachariáš of
Hradec. It has a very small centre on a low hill, encircled by
three defensives fishponds (Štěpnický, Ulický and
Staroměstský; there are also remains of the stone walls and
two decorated gates), and consists only in a stunning huge
market square, dedicated in 1990 to Zachariáš of Hradec, in
the form of an elongated triangle, and in the surrounding
streets. The beautiful porticated Gothic and Renaissance
houses on the square are conformed on a standard plan and
have nice Baroque or Rococo or classical façades,
reconstructed also after a fire in the 19th century, decorated
or painted, and all of almost the same height; they were
damaged by a war in 1359 and were wooden until a fire in
1386, when were reconstructed in stone, and then in
Renaissance style after a second fire. The castle is a big
Renaissance masterpiece (originally Gothic, reconstructed in
High Gothic style), constructed by Baldassarre Maggi from
Arogno. The pentagonal main court has protected and
arcaded aerial passages; the chapel of All Saints has vaulting
with stucco and some tombs. On the ground floor there are
four rooms: the Banqueting Hall, with graffiti showing biblical
and mythological scenes, the Treasury, with graffiti
representing architectonic elements, the Chapel of St.
George with ceiling with stucco and walls with relieves, and
the Armoury, with Gothic vaults. On the first floor there are
many rooms. The second and biggest Banqueting Hall, that
was also used as theatre, has a stucco, fresco and graffiti
decoration, a fireplace and an adjacent studying room with a
library; near that are some rooms where are displayed arms,
furniture, portraits, ceramics from Faenza and many African
hunting trophies that belonged to the last owners of the
castle, the family Podstatský. The Hall of the Riders, which
was used for the hearings, has a false marble floor, a
beautiful painted coffered ceiling, portraits and a nice
fireplace. The Golden Hall, that was used for events and balls,
has a stunning ceiling, with octagonal coffers with
mythological relieves, and a fresco representing also some
castles fighting for the inheritance of the family Witkowitz.
The Blue Hall has a coffered ceiling and a tapestry and the
Small Hall has portraits of emperors on the ceiling,
mythological scenes on the walls and displays ceramics from
Delft. A staircase, where is also displayed a Baroque sledge,
brings to the nice garden. There are also the church of St.
James, that was reconstructed after the fire in 1386 and has
two Gothic naves, a tower with a Baroque dome and a
Renaissance choir, the church of the Holy Ghost, with a
beautiful Romanesque tower, the Baroque Jesuitical complex
formed by the church of the Name of Jesus, with two towers,
and the college and the column of the Virgin.
This town is one of the most beautiful places because of the
quality of the architecture and of the decorations also of the
interiors; it's the most picturesque town in Moravia
Zacharia Square
In a country that has plenty of pretty town squares this one
has to take the prize for the prettiest. The town centre is
small and is little more than a square. It is encircled on three
sides by ponds that were used as defensive moats originally
and now are used for rowing boats. Most of the houses on
the square are gabbled and ornately decorated; many have
private rooms to rent, many work out to be quite cheap and
offer a great central location. The chateau at the end of the
square is delightful, with minstrels playing in the gallery
overlooking the courtyard. Beyond were verdant meadows
adjoining the fish ponds. There is a châteaux at one end of
the square that has some immaculately kept gardens and a
clock tower that gives you a good over view of the whole
town. During night the square is dimly lit and feels almost set
like back in time. There is a medieval fair in the main square
so there are many tourists. Usually it’s very quiet, This may
have to do with the fact that it can be quite a hard place to
get to; as the train links are very infrequent, only really two
trains of any use service it a day. The best way to get here is
by bus. It is only 20km along the road from Trebic which is
also a WHS and it is a pretty simple trip to make.
It is one of the prettiest places in Central Europe and a
perfect place to spend some time relaxing.
.