DAY 19: Trebic and Telc

Wednesday, 17 SEPTEMBER 2014 [Trip outside Praha, to Moravian towns Třebíč and Telč]

Prior to this day, it had been 6 consecutive days of admiring sights in the historic centre of Praha, sampling different foods at numerous restaurants and cafes, and spending time in museums and gardens. Day 19 was a highly anticipated one, I would be travelling to two towns in Moravia - Třebíč and Telč. Both towns received UNESCO Heritage listings, Telč in 1992 for its beautiful historic town centre and Třebíč in 2003 for its Saint Procopius Basilica and Jewish Quarter.

I had again engaged Nina and David, as guides to these two towns. 

Map Source: www.welt-atlas.de

Moravia is essentially the eastern part of the Czech Republic. For about a century, over a millenium ago, it was a strong central European empire (Great Moravian empire) encompassing the present day Czech Republic, Slovakia and small parts of Germany and Poland. After this Moravian kingdom, it came under rule by a succession of empires from Bohemian to Austro-Hungarian and back to Czech rule during independence in 1918.

The population of Moravia is about 3 million with almost a third living in the main cities of Brno, Olomouc and Zlín. Key industries in the region include manufacturing (machinery, electrical, light aircraft), mining, steel and various light industries. It is also the wine producing region of the country, providing supplies of most of the Czech wines. Some famous people have origins in Moravia, including Tomáš Baťa (yep, Bat'a shoes), Alfons Mucha, Jan Ámos Komenský (Comenius), Oskar Schindler, Joseph Schumpeter  and a few contemporary personages Ivan Lendl (tennis) and Ivana Trump.

Třebíč

The first stop was Třebíč, which lies 160km south east of Praha and the journey there was quite smooth, with moderate traffic on the D1 highway (the main highway in Czech Republic connecting the two largest cities Praha and Brno) and quite free once off the highway and on 'country' roads to Třebíč.

As with previous occasions, travelling through the Czech country roads was a pleasure as there was so much nature - different species of trees and plants, plains, woods, fields of crops, farm animals to look at (of course helped that I didn't have to drive...). We arrived in just under 2 hours.

Třebíč, with a population of about 40,000 lies in the Vysočina Region which straddles both Bohemia and Moravia. The first documented mention of the town is in the late 13th century but its establishment goes back further to the 1100s, with the establishment of a Benedictine Monastery. 

With its strategic location and influence of the Monastery, the town became an important religious and education centre in medieval times. Today it is also one of the important administrative, economic and cultural towns in south western Moravia. A proper timeline and concise history of the town can be found here. 

The primary reason for my journey to this town was to visit the Bazilika sv. Prokopa (Saint Procopious Basilica). The Basilica, belonging to the Benedictine Monastery, was constructed in the first half of the 13th century as part of the expansion of the Monastery. The Basilica was built during a transition period from Romanesque to early Gothic style of architecture and thus is a unique combination of both styles. It is said that architecture experts consider the Basilica a gem of medieval European construction. 

The Monastery building was eventually converted into a Renaissance style residence (palace/castle) for aristocrats in the 16th century with the last owners being the Wallensteins who resided at the palace from the 17th century until the end of WWII. The Basilica generally remained a place of worship but there were periods where it was used for non-religious purposes (stables, brewery) or was heavily damaged in wars. By the 18th century, it was in great need of repairs. Repairs and enhancements were carried out in the 1720-30s by the famous Czech Baroque architect František Maxmilián Kanka, financed by the Wallensteins. I had seen some of his works in prior days - the Hall of Mirrors in the Clementinum and the Vrtba Garden in Little Quarter, but these were only a fraction of his works.

On arriving at the Třebíč palace and Basilica, we entered the information centre there to purchase tickets (60 Czk) for the tour. And of course, there was the requisite purchase of postcards. Unfortunately, I omitted to buy souvenirs (fridge magnets) of the Basilica, and said items were only sold in that particular centre. There was another information centre near (or was it in) the historical Jewish quarter, but that one did not sell items relating to the Basilica although they displayed them ...

Entrance to the Třebíč castle/palace

We arrived just in time for the hour long tour commencing with an explanation of a side entrance in the north called the Portal of Paradise, which is one of only two Romanesque church portals in the Czech Republic, the other also located in Moravia. It was covered and hidden for many centuries and only rediscovered in the 19th century and restored in the 1930s.

Photography was not allowed in the interior except in the crypt. Some notable parts of the church interior were, (i) the walls made of blocks of granite with each block bearing the etchings of the stonemasons (about 600 stonemasons it seems), (ii) 700 year old Gothic frescoes in the abbey chapel that still look quite fresh and of course (iii) the crypt.

Portal of Paradise

To the crypt......... The crypt's rib vaulting were made with support of wooden planks, and these planks were specially treated over a long period in limestone, which effectively turned the planks hard as rock and also prevented them from rotting. And those thick rib vaults were quite impressive, linked to about 50 columns.

The crypt

Thick rib vaulting

Centuries old wooden support

On the way out of the crypt - Coat of arms of Wallensteins, a cover of a beer barrel .. ?

We then spent some time looking at the exterior and with that completed the tour of the Basilica came to an end.

Eastern side with rose window

Exterior of Basilica, blocks also bear the marks of stonemasons

The palace/castle section, now a museum

View of the Basilica from a distance. It has the longest nave (about 70m) in Moravia

From the Basilica, we visited the Jewish cemetery and quarter which were nearby. The cemetery comprised an older section with smaller gravestones along the slopes and, a newer section closer to the entrance with this section being very well preserved. The Jewish quarter is considered one of the best preserved in Europe - hence, it's UNESCO listing. I entered the new or rear synagogue which now houses a centre highlighting the history of the community. Today, there is a Jewish community in the main Moravian city of Brno (an hour away) but none in Třebíč.

Narrow streets of Jewish quarter, in front of the rear synagogue

We had lunch at a restaurant in the Jewish quarter facing the Jihlava river. My dish was venison cutlets with mash. The final and very brief stop in Třebíč was the main town square called ... Charles square .... simply to have a look at a corner building with a sgrafitto facade. And then we were on our way to the next destination. 

The drive west from Třebíč to Telč, was through country roads, taking about 40 minutes. 

Telč

Telč is in south western Moravia and has a very small population of about 6,000 people. Information sources defer on the century of its founding, but most likely it was in the 13th.

The town saw its heyday during the second half of the 16th century when Zachariáš of Hradec inherited the town and made many improvements and projects that helped bring prosperity to the town. Zachariáš of Hradec was related to the Wallensteins by his first marriage to Kateřina of Wallenstein.

Zachariáš also rebuilt the existing Telč chateau from a Gothic to a Renaissance style one, inspired by his sojourn to Italy. Following a major fire in the town, buildings on the town square were also rebuilt in the Renaissance style inspired by the rebuilt chateau and as the town was still quite prosperous. The buildings seen today have remained largely somewhat unchanged since the 16th century with some Baroque and later era additions in subsequent centuries. 

Most tourists who come to Telč invariably turn up to simply view the town area called Náměstí Zachariáše z Hradce (Zachariáš of Hradec square) where the two rows of buildings/houses with Renaissance and Baroque style facades are located, and perhaps a quick excursion into the chateau. It was no different for us. The town square isn't really a square but more an elongated almost triangular area.  

Nothing to do with the town per se, just a cool top-down roadster - no idea what car make & model

First up, thought I might get a good aerial view of the rows of buildings/houses from the Věž sv. Ducha (Tower of the Holy Spirit) located along the street Palackého which connects to the Zachariáš of Hradec square. There was a very small entry fee of 15 Czk and the climb was about 100 odd steps not too bad except that each step was a little sloped.  

Tower of the Holy Spirit - oldest structure in the town

In the tower: Did not have vertigo thank goodness

Unfortunately, all windows in the tower had wiring attached and covered with plastic, thus marring the view.



On a building nearby the tower ..

On to the highlight of the town - a close up look at the buildings/houses on Náměstí Zachariáše z Hradce (Zachariáš of Hradec square). I should have taken photos from better angles capturing the fountains and the Marian column but I suppose something is better than nothing. 

Buildings on the eastern side, towards the Telč chateau

Gorgeous - one could just spend the entire day here doing nothing but admiring the houses

House #61: Sgraffito facade with 11 generals depicted at the top. Used to be house of Michal, a baker who later became town mayor. Facade was created in 1555 - of course with relatively recent restoration to its present vibrant state

Western side towards the chateau

Looking toward the 'square' from in front of the chateau

Made a short visit into the chateau grounds but not in the interior and thereafter, climbed another tower, tower of the Church of Saint Jacob which was next to the chateau.

 Chateau grounds

Věže Kostela sv. Jakuba (Church of Saint Jacob tower)

From the church tower: Aerial view of buildings on the east (towards the chateau)

Beautiful! View of the chateau and another part of the town in the distance

We ended the tour by walking through the chateau and in the English-style garden and then to where David was waiting for us to take us back to Praha.

The chateau and town square are surrounded by man-made lakes

In the English-style gardens.

Probably the best times to be at Telč to capture the 'romantic' elements of the town square are in the evenings around sunset (or just after) or at sunrise. For this, one would need to stay the night here and why not, to enjoy the night scenery as well. There are very nice photos of Telč here. The slight grouse I had was that the air was somewhat smoky and persisted for the few hours that we spent there.

The return journey to Praha took longer than the normal 2 hours as there were roadworks on the highway, reducing the 3 to 4 lane highway to 1 lane along certain stretches.  

One more highlight of the day was my dinner at Lokál U Bílé kuželky a pub and restaurant located on Míšeňská street, just 3 minutes from the Charles Bridge. I turned up at peak dinner hour and the place was packed with locals and tourists. However, the manager assured me that a table would be made available and sure enough I got my seat in 5 minutes. In spite of an endless stream of diners, the waiters were fast to take orders serve and all done with a smile. Top level service. Food was tasty and I had Smažený sýr (fried cheese) and, goulash of course. I missed out completely on the Pilsner served fresh from the tanks, apparently some of the best Pilsner in Praha. 

Down to the dungeon-like basement for dinner

Fresh Pilsner

NEXT: Day 20, Returning to New Town and Old Town for places and eateries missed in almost three weeks of touring