Czech Republic

The Czech Republic lies in the heart of Europe, which also means that its history has been everything if not peaceful. It has always been situated at the point of contention between the East and the West. The Byzantine and Roman empires once fought for the Czech lands, and not much changed until the fall of communism twenty years ago. The Gothic castle and border fortifications from World War Two are remnants of those turbulent times. Jewish monuments also have a story to tell and the best of the cultural heritage is captured by museums and open-air museums and above all the UNESCO monuments.

Whereas castles are a reminder of the turbulent Middle Ages, Czech chateaux are a monument to the ostentatious life of the local aristocratic families. The first amaze visitors with their majestic nature and functionality, the second with their luxuriousness and often very grandiose design. If you would like to visit them all, one holiday will not be enough as we have a total of around 2,000 castles and chateau in the Czech Republic.

At the most popular, you can expect to see examples of life at that time, sword fighting displays, exhibitions of birds of prey and from time to time also medieval fairs with the possibility of buying traditional Czech products.

If the castles and chateaux do not seem lively enough for you and if you would like more tangible evidence of how people used to live in the Czech lands, it will interest you to know that more than one living history project successfully functions here. Groups of enthusiasts are again building Slavonic fortifications (e.g. in Chotěbuz-Podobora and in Netolice in Šumava) in a traditional manner in places where building work was carried out at some point in the past.

Seeing as we are already talking about living history, we should not forget to mention the open-air museums in Bohemia and Moravia, which ensure that our customs and traditions survive in the 21^st century. This concerns monument zones, in which you can find traditional housing from times a hundred or more years ago. It is precisely here that you can learn how people celebrated Christmas and Easter in the individual regions; you can try out traditional dishes here and have a look at how people used to live in the countryside in our country long ago. Maybe you will take such a liking to some of the customs demonstrated, for example in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm or in Strážnice,which you will even take them home with you.

Further traces of history can be found in various museums, of which there are hundreds in the Czech Republic. We have a museum of toys and dolls, a museum of sugar and alcohol as well as various technical and modern military museums. Fans of culture will certainly appreciate the museum of music and possibly the monuments to the famous Czech composers, where you will learn everything about their life. Museums in fortresses built before World War Two represent a specific type. Their system was unique throughout the world and a visit to them will thrill boys young and old.

Tips for Czech museums

Not many nations leave a cultural footprint with such deep imprints. The Jewish community was large in the Czech lands from the Middle Ages until after World War Two. Although Jewish culture is not very perceptible in the Czech Republic at present, we can find reminders of its in many places. Be these museums, synagogues, magical cemeteries or whole Jewish quarters, this always concerns monuments, which are worth visiting for their picturesque appearance and originality, which never fitted completely into the context of Central Europe.

The most famous Jewish settlement was in Prague, where Rabbi Judah Löw ben Becalel was supposed to have created the legendary Golem, which is hidden here in a secret place. But other places linked with Jewish history are also interesting. It is well worth visiting Mikulov, Břeclav or the Jewish quarter in Třebíč, which is included in the UNESCO list.

Tips for Jewish monuments

You will not find as many UNESCO monuments in such a small area as the Czech Republic anywhere else in the world. You will find a total of 12 buildings and intangible monuments here. One of these is Verbuňk, a men’s dance from Southeast Moravia, which is maintained here as authentic national heritage. Another is the traditional Shrovetide door-to-door processions and masks in the villages of the Hlinecko area, which have been included in the list since 2010.

Tangible monuments for example include the historical centre of Prague, but also the no-less-beautiful, although smaller, centre of Kutná Hora. The historically youngest monument is the Functionalist Villa Tugendhat in Brno, dating back to 1930.