UNESCO cities and monuments

BRNO is an important urban monument reservation and the second largest city in the Czech Republic. There has been continuous settlement since the the 6th century, through the period of the Great Moravian Empire, and to the present day. The greatest and UNESCO attraction is the Tugendhat Villa, which is the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's most important European work.

CESKY KRUMLOV - is located in the southernmost part of the Czech Republic Thanks to its unique medieval buildings it has been rightly protected by UNESCO since 1992. Vibrant not only with history, as over time it has become a city of culture, from museums and galleries to concerts at any of the seven musical festivals or performances laid on as part of the traditional celebrations or special night tours, to events held in the stylish inns. Surrounded by unspoiled natural beauty it attracts all those who want to have an unforgettable, unusual and fascinating time.

HOLASOVICE village was first mentioned in the mid-13th century during the period of the colonising movements in the South Bohemian border region. The town has experienced two crippling blows over the years. The first was in the 16th century, when almost all of the original Czech inhabitants of the village were wiped out through plague, following which it was almost
immediately occupied by German settlers (till 1946). Since 1998 the almost entirely preserved medieval system of houses and grain stores was inscribed in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

KROMERIZ was established as a market town at the crossroads of trading routes. At the time of the church colonisation in the first half of the 12th century it became the property of the Bishops of
Olomouc. The village was elevated to town status in the second half of the 13th century. In 1848 the Constituent Assembly of the Austrian Monarchy was transferred here, and a period of progress began which elevated the town to the highest levels of spiritual culture and art. Each year the city plays host to a number of music festivals, exhibitions, conferences and congresses, and the gardens and château were inscribed in the UNESCO World Cultural and Heritage List in 1998.

KUTNA HORA is, as its name suggests, associated with the mining of silver. In 1142 the first Cistercian monastery in the Czech lands was established in the nearby village of Sedlec and at the end of the 13th century the original mining settlement of Cuthna antiqua - Old Kutna - soon became a wealthy royal city. In 1300 King Václav II issued the mining legislation "Ius regale montanorum" and in the same year he initiated a coinage reform. One century later another king, Václav IV, issued the Kutná Hora Decree, which amended the proportion of votes at Prague University in favour of the Czechs. Its history and uniqueness were recognised in 1995 when the city was inscribed in the UNESCO World Cultural and Heritage List.

LEDNICE-VALTICE area is spread over the site of a mighty 12th century border castle. Today it is the home of a romantic château, a picturesque village and in particular a jewel of landscape architecture of unprecedented proportions. The current area, measuring almost 300 km2, is the result of landscaping based on English parks, and thanks to this baroque architecture meets the neo-gothic château and small follies in the romantic style. The Ledice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, as one of the treasures of UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage, was inscribed in its list in 1996.

LITOMYSL was established around the trade route that connected Bohemia and Moravia at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th centuries. The dominant feature of the city is the Italianate Renaissance castle with its more than eight thousand examples of sgrafitto, which has been on the UNESCO World Cultural and Heritage List since 1999. Litomyšl is the
birthplace of the world famouse composer Bedřich Smetana, whose name is commemorated by an annual opera festival.

OLOMOUC lies at the heart of the Haná region, and is and always has been one of the most important cities in Moravia, where history has gone hand-in-hand with its people, science and progress. The construction of plague columns in Christian countries was instigated by the Trident Council, and at the time of its construction from 1716-1754 the Olomouc monument was one
of the last examples of this fashion wave. The consecration of the 35 metre-high column
on 9th September 1754 was attended in person by the then first couple of the Monarchy, Empress Maria Teresa and her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Lorraine. The Holy Trinity Column was inscribed in the UNESCO list in 2000.

PRAGUE The settlement of Prague and its surroundings was continuous from the early Palaeolithic until the Latenian period. With the arrival of the Celts, oppida began to appear, which were centres of settlement, administration, cults, manufacture, trade and also served as fortified
strongholds. The historic core, 866 hectares in size, encompasses the unique city ensemble of
the Prague Castle and Hradčany, Malá Strana (Lesser Side) including Karlův most (Charles Bridge), Staré Město (Old Town) with Josefov (the preserved section of the former Jewish Town), Nové Město (New Town), Vyšehrad and each of the monuments within these areas. It was inscribed in the UNESCO List in 1992.

TELC is situated at the south-west tip of Moravia, half-way between Prague and Vienna. According to legend the foundation of the city is associated with the victory of the Moravian Prince Otto II over the Bohemian King Břetislav in 1099. The city saw its greatest period of expansion under the rule of Zacharias of Hradec in the 2nd half of the 16th century. At the beginning of the 19th century Telč played an important role in the entire south-west region
of Moravia, which was still growing with the arrival of the railway. Because the historical centre of the city, surrounded by fish ponds and city gates, has retained its unique shape over the centuries, in 1992 it was inscribed in the UNESCO List.

TREBIC dates from 1101 when a Benedictine monastery was established here. Thanks to its position on the banks of the River Jihlava and the munificence of its founders the city became an important centre for religious life and education. The city was once a centre of Jewish culture in Moravia and the uniquely preserved Jewish Quarter bears silent witness to the cohabitation between Jews and Christians in this city. When we take our tour we will go to the Jewish quarter and the Basilica of St. Prokop, which were inscribed in the UNESCO list in 2003.

ZDAR NAD SAZAVOU was originally a market town, established on an ancient regional route, and at its inception it was closely linked with the establishment of the Cistercian monastery in 1252. The town was elevated to city status at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Today the
city plays host to several cultural and social events. The Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora was inscribed in the UNESCO List in 1994. The building, which dates from the beginning of the 18th century, is one of the finest projects by the architect
Jan Blažej Santini-Aichl (1677-¬1723), and is also an example of 'baroque gothic'. The church, which is not large in size, defies all description, and this is sufficient reason to make a visit to see it with your own eyes