DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 79
CZECHIA
49.^18
41°^ N,^15.^4541 °
EIF YOU LIKEWHY
GO NOW
Become
charmed
by a
fairytale
settingWith resplendent Italian Renaissance
architecture, it’s no wonder the southern
Czechia (Czech Republic) town of Telč
is sometimes called the Czech Florence.
Positioned midway between Prague
to the north and Vienna to the south,
the storybook town got its official start
in the 14th century as a crossroads on
the well-trodden trading routes among
Bohemia, Moravia, and Austria.
International travelers to Czechia
typically tend to flock to the capital city,
Prague, and the historic town of Český
Krumlov, in Bohemia. But you’re more
likely to meet Czech travelers if you visit
Telč, on the border between Moravia
and Bohemia.
Stone walls and a system of man-
made fish ponds helped protect Telč’s
historic town center, a UNESCO World
Heritage site. The triangular market-
place is bordered by a rainbow of
pastel-hued burgher houses, originally
constructed from wood and rebuilt with
stone after fire decimated the town in- From the square, walk to the Telč
Chateau. The former Gothic castle was
transformed into a Renaissance jewel
by nobleman Zachariáš of Hradec and
his wife, Kateřina, whose Italianate taste
inspired Telč’s ornate style.
COOL CASTLES
VISITTELČ
CITIESHOW TO GO
Tour the Telč castle
to see the sumptuous
stucco chapel, built
about 1580, as the
final resting place of
Zachariáš and Kateřina.
zamek-telc.cz/enWHEN
TO GOA
TL. (^) O
CE
AN
A
TL
. (^) O
CE
AN
EURO
PE
MAY-
SEP
A herd of several
hundred elephants
heads toward a
watering hole in
Chad’s Zakouma
National Park.