Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Český Krumlov's History
With the natural moat provided by the sharp bend in the Vltava,
it's no wonder this has been a choice spot for eons. Celtic
tribes first settled here a century before Christ. Then came
German tribes. The Slavic tribes arrived in the ninth century.
The Rožmberks—Bohemia's top noble family—ran the city from
1302 to 1602. You'll see their rose symbol all over town. In many
ways, the 16th century was the town's Golden Age, when Český
Krumlov hosted artists, scientists, and alchemists from all over
Europe. In 1588, the town became home to an important Jesuit
college. The Habsburgs bought the region in 1602, ushering in a
more Germanic period. (After that, as many as 75 percent of the
town's people were German—until 1945, when most Germans
were expelled.)
The rich mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque build-
ings is easy to under-appreciate. As you wander, look up...
notice the surviving details in the stonework. Step into shops.
Snoop into back lanes and tiny squares. Gothic buildings curve
with the winding streets. Many precious Gothic and Renaissance
frescoes were whitewashed in Baroque times (when the colorful
trimmings of earlier periods were way out of style). Today, these
precious frescoes are being rediscovered and restored.
With its rich German heritage, it was easy for Hitler to
claim that this region—the Sudetenland—was rightfully part of
Germany, and in 1938, the infamous Munich Agreement made
it his. Americans liberated the town in 1945. Due to Potsdam
Helpful Hints
Internet Access:
Fine Internet cafés are all over town and in many
of the accommodations. The TI on the main square has several
fast, cheap, stand-up stations. Perhaps the best cybercafé is
behind the TI by the castle (tel. 380-725-117).
Pension Teddy
has Internet access in its bar (1 Kč/min, open long hours daily,
Rooseveltova street).
Bookstore:
Shakespeare and Sons
is a good little English-
language bookstore (daily 11:00-20:00, a block below the
main square at Soukenická 44, tel. 380-711-203).
Laundry:
Pension Lobo
runs a self-service launderette under the
castle. Since there are only a few machines, you may have to
wait (200 Kč to wash and dry, includes soap, daily 9:00-20:00,
Latrán 73).
Festivals:
Locals drink oceans of beer and celebrate their medi-
eval roots at big events such as the Celebration of the Rose
(Slavnosti Růže), where blacksmiths mint ancient coins, jug-
glers swallow fire, mead flows generously, and pigs are roasted
on open fires (June 18-22 in 2009). The summer also brings a
