A few days ago, I had a chance to visit Český Krumlov which is a rather small town in the south of Czech Republic and which is around 3 hours away from Prague. The name of the city originates from German and means “crooked plane” because of the shape of its land. Vltava river divides the city in two parts and earlier in the days, it was serving as one of the main means to bring goods to the city.
When walking through the city Český Krumlov, you can find there both traces of the Austrian and Czech Renaissance – every building around city center has elegant details in its architecture.
One of the parts of the city is mostly a plane that allowed its inhabitants to build a square in the middle of the city center that you can come across quite often in Czech towns. Another part of the city has a castle complex which was built somewhere before the 13th century by a family of Czech aristocrats Witigonen (there is more information on the official website of the castle). From century to century, the castle passed between several aristocratic families and is now included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As you stroll around, you can also visit small stores with handmade ceramics and puppets or row a boat on the Vltava and enjoy the landscape. Although the entrance to the castle is not free, you can always take advantage of almost-fairytale-views from the top of the castle complex. Český Krumlov is a tiny town but it is definitely worth spending an afternoon in – it is a hidden gem in the south of the Czech Republic.
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