Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beyond the end of Prague's metro lines rural Bohemia begins, the tourist crowds thin
to a trickle and life slows into a timeless rhythm in tune with the seasons. Most of the
Czechpopulationdwellsintraditionalprovincialtowns,shunningthecapital'spolluted
airandcloggedstreetsfortheunspoilttractsofforest,meanderingrivervalleysandfer-
tileplainsofBohemia.Manytownsandvillagesstillhuddlebelowthegrandresidences
of their former lords, their street layouts little changed since medieval times. These are
linked by nineteenth-century railways that take travellers across Bohemia's fairytale
landscapes,throughthehighgrassofsummerandthethicksnowofthewintermonths,
a world away from Prague's urban sprawl.
TothenorthofthecapitalseveralchateauxgracethebanksoftheVltava,includingthewine-
producing town of
Mělník
, on the Labe (Elbe) plain. Further north is
Terezín
, the wartime
Jewish ghetto that is a living testament to the Holocaust. One of the most popular day-trip
destinations is to the east of Prague:
Kutná Hora
, a medieval silver-mining town with one
of the most beautiful Gothic churches in the country, and a macabre gallery of bones in the
suburb of Sedlec.
To the south, the
Konopiště
chateau boasts exceptionally beautiful and expansive grounds.
Southwest of Prague, a similar mix of woods and rolling hills cups the popular castle of
Karlštejn
, a gem of Gothic architecture, dramatically situated above the River Berounka.
West of Prague,
Lidice
, razed to the ground by the SS, is another location that recalls the
horror of Nazi occupation.
Mělník
Occupying a spectacular, commanding site at the confluence of the Vltava and Labe rivers,
MĚLNÍK
, 33km north of Prague, lies at the heart of Bohemia's tiny
wine-growing
region.
Thetown'shistorygoesbacktotheninthcentury,whenitwashandedovertothePřemyslids
