Pension surroundings

There are a lot of beautiful places in the nearest surroundings. For that reason we give you some basic information about some of them.

KOLÍN:

The town of Kolín lies in the fertile lowlands of the Labe valley on boht banks of the river. Ancient documents prove that already in the middle of the 13th century Kolín was a royal town. It received a lof of privilegies during the reign of the Luxembourg dynasty and its position at an intersection of three ancient routes, dating back to the times of the Roman Empire, contributed to the growth of the town. But the Thirty Years´ War brought to Kolín, just as to the whole Bohemia, only poverty and suffering.

The centre of the town is the Charles Square (Karlovo náměstí) which has retained its original shape, and a number of houses with splendid Baroque gabbles. There is a fountain of red sandstone in the square and a plague column from 1682. The corner building on the northern side of the square is the Town Hall built in 1494. The town is dominated by the Gothic Cathedrale of St. Bartholomew, designed by architect Peter Parler. In the Brandl Street in the vicinity of the church there is the regional museum with collections from all known periods of settlement in the town and its environs. Also worth mentioning are the remains of a Jewish ghetto with a bautiful synagogue and the Jewish cementery from the 15th century. There is also a possibility to arrange a guided walk round the town.

Many prominent personalities were born, lived or worked in Kolín. Natives include Jean Gaspard Debureau, the founder of modern pantomime, painters Vincenc Morstadt, Rudolf Kremlička and Václav Radimský, photographers Josef Sudek and Jaromír Funke, the world-known dirigent and composer Rafael Kubelík. Kolín gained international renown thanks the composer and conductor František Kmoch who is commemorated by the annual Festival of brass bands "Kmoch´s Kolín" (in the middle of june) when many orchestras not only from our republic but also from abroad come to performe their music.

KUTNÁ HORA:

The immensely architecturally rich town of Kutná Hora was founded in early Middle Ages in the middle of an extensive silver ore field and in the course of time it became the second most significant town after Prague not only from the cultural point of view, but in ecconomics as well as political aspects, too. The architecture of Kutná Hora comes from various historical periods and together with the town´s greenery it forms a harmonic complex with picturesque lanes and quiet places rich in the unequalled Baroque atmosphere and brathing gently by Gothic. A number of cultural and historical events are set in these surroundings, they represent annual destinations of the Czech as well as foreign tourists.

The most important buildings worth of admire is the St. Barbara´s Cathedral - work on this unique Gothic monument commenced in the late 14th century. The interior of the church contains a unique collection of late Gothic and Renaissance murals dating from the 15th century. The Italian Court - this cultural monument consists of an array of buildings dating back to the turn of the 14th century. It was even the temporary seat of Czech kings at the beginning of the 15th century. King Wenceslas IV stayed there frequently. He had two floors and a chapel built in 1400 to his disposal. His royal palace was directly in the mint.

OTHER PLACES:

Ossuary - (The Bone Church) - this small church of All Saints built in the 14th century is located in Sedlec on the cementery in the vicinity of the grandiose Church of Our Lady decorated entirely with human bones. It is estimated that there might be remains of as many as 40 thousand people there. KAČINA CHATEAU - is the most outstanding example of empire architecture in Bohemia. It was built by Count Chotek between 1802 and 1822. It contains the library and the only Empire theatre in Bohemia. The Agricultural Museum is housed here. ŽLEBY - the mansion at Žleby is one of the district´s most popular tourist attractions. Originally a castle built on this site by Oldřich of Lichtemburk before 1289, its present pseudo-Gorhic appearance dates from 1849-1869. The interior arrangement in pseudo-Gothic and Romantic style follows the English and German pattern of that period. The mansion park was also laid out at that time. There have been screened many historical films as well as fairy-tails in this mansion for its beautiful architecture.