Beautiful, mediaeval and Baroque town that time has apparently stopped - Historic Centre of Český Krumlov 617; Puppetry in Slovakia and Czechia 01202
What and Why
Our road trip took us to Czechia and what a sight we are treated with our first stop!
Considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Crumlaw (Czech: Český Krumlov) is an absolute gem and the highlight during our trip. With the unusually large and imposing castle literally crowning the town, the former feudal city is an exceptional town oozing culture, heritage and art.
Walking around the town literally takes you back to Renaissance and the city appearance has changed little since the 18th century CE and the buildings have all been well maintained and restored.
Toponymy
Krumlov came from the German word 'Krumme Aue' meaning crooked meadow, describing the river bend around the town. The word 'Český' simply means Czech, to differentiate from Moravský Krumlov in Czechia. The English name for the town comes from its transliteration of the Latin name Crumlovia.
See
Old Town Square (Náměstí Svornosti) and Inner Town (Vnitřní Město)
The town is a pleasure to stroll around, brimming with a Central European flavour. The city is surrounded by the river Vltava almost like a circle with a connexion to the mainland only at the east side.
Panoramic view of the Old Town Square
View of the church.
A view of the castle from the town.
Shops around the city.
View of the multi-storey bridge of the castle from the town.
Český Krumlov Castle (Hrad a Zámek Český Krumlov)
The mighty jewel of the crown of the city, the Český Krumlov Castle (Hrad a Zámek Český Krumlov) dates back to 1240 CE when the first part of the castle was built by the Vítkovci family, the main branch of the powerful Rosenberg (Rožmberkové) family.
The entire Baroque styled castle sits on the main cliff that flanks the town across the river. This is one of those rare castles that houses a dry moat without water but bears! Legend has it that the Rosenberg family were related to the noble Italian family of Orsini. 'Orsa' means she-bear in Italian, and it is this animal motif which especially the last Rosenberg rulers used to demonstrate their relationship with the house of Orsini, even in their coat-of-arms.
The plan of the castle is available at the entrance. The castle features Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements.
The first main feature of the castle is to brave the castle tower, which after a long winding spiral five-storey staircase, you are treated with an absolutely stunning panoramic view of the city with the orange-brown roof-tops.
Across another moat a brick bridge leads to the Upper Castle. This is a unique five-storey cloak bridge over a deep moat over various gardens.
Another view from the cloak bridge.
Another view.
There is a mini-cinema inside the castle for private use at te Upper Palace.
View from the Upper Palace.
Another main draw at the Upper Palace, upon paying an extra entrance fee is the Baroque Theatre which is as grand as you can get for a private opera house. We just visited the Margravial Opera House we just visited in Bayreuth and we had to say they were comparable!.
The entire castle will take you around two to three hours of walk, if you explore everything; but it was worth every minute.
Egon Schiele Art Centrum (Městský Pivovar Egon Schiele)
Egon Schiele, one of the world’s most famous Austrian artists, set up his atelier in Crumlaw for a short time, making his name here. The atelier has now become Egon Schiele Art Centrum (Městský Pivovar Egon Schiele). However during his stay people labelled him a pervert and drove him out. We could not find time to visit this gallery.
Buy and Do
Puppet theatre is an integral part of Slovak and Czech local theatre and literary tradition and Crumlaw has a puppetry museum just outside the town centre, although we did not visit it. The art of Czech puppetry will be detailed in the blog of Telč.
Czech puppetry is recently enlisted as one of the ICHs.
Eat and Drink
Trdelník
One will find a large number of bakeries or street food-trucks selling this sweet pastry roll called trdelník. Made from rolled dough wrapped around a rod, the dough is then grilled and sprinkled with icing sugar and walnut mix. This is apparently not a traditional Czech food but a Slovak food and only came to the region fairly recently. Even the restauranteurs claimed that hamburgers were more traditional than trdelník in Czechia!
We had a not so good dinner in U Bejka, which is considered one of the best brewery-restaurants in town. The restaurant has a good European attic atmosphere, but food is really so so. Instead of having a beer, I took the Czech version of cola in Kofola.
Stay
We stayed in The Old Inn (Hotel Mestak), a very classical 'old inn' in the smack of the action of the Town Square. Every rooms brim with a Renaissance smell.
An interesting 'tourist prayer' at the hotel counter...
Getting There and Around
The entrance fee to the castle is CZK 300 Kč. The entire town is within a 30-min walk. Parking can be quite an issue within the town, especially in the Old Town Square, but we were assisted by the valet parking of the hotel. The town deserves a few day of stay.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Situated on the banks of the Vltava river, the town was built around a 13th-century castle with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. It is an outstanding example of a small central European medieval town whose architectural heritage has remained intact thanks to its peaceful evolution over more than five centuries.
Puppet theatre for communities in Slovakia and Czechia is not only a popular form of traditional entertainment but also a way of conveying a vision of the world, and an educational tool with messages on moral values. The puppets, whose characters are real or imaginary, are mostly made of wood and animated using various methods. Initial bearers of the practice were families of travelling puppeteers whose works later absorbed local influences in language and themes using namely comical figures with distinct characteristics. Puppet theatre is an integral part of Slovak and Czech local theatre and literary tradition. It also plays an important role in socialization, helping performers to develop as creative thinkers and learn about cooperation, communication and to strengthen their sense of identity in society. Featuring with other traditional rituals and festive events like feast days, markets and fairs, puppet shows today come in many different forms but still draw from tradition. Practice bearers include performers, playwrights, puppet and costume makers, as well as stage designers. Skills are transmitted by imitation and practice within performer communities, while in Slovakia also transmission takes place in traditional puppetry dynasties, as well as through workshops run by not-for-profit organizations and music and arts schools.
References
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