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The World | |
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Bohemia |
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Czech Republic,
Bohemia Bohemia: Southwest of Prague, Plzen, the second-largest city in Bohemia, boasts eclectic architecture from the Gothic to Art Nouveau, interesting museums and galleries like the Brewery Museum and the Západoceské Galérie (one of the best art galleries outside Prague), and the world-famous Pilsner beer to which the town has given its name; beer had been brewed since the town’s foundation in 1295 but it was only in 1842 that the Pilsner style was established. Guided tours of the Plzensky Prazdroj brewery are available. The Trebonsko region of south Bohemia is made up of peat bogs and marshes, with linked fish-farming ponds dating from the 15th century; carp is the traditional Christmas Day dish in the Czech lands and fish farming still dominates the region. Trebon is a perfect medieval spa town right in the middle of the area of fish ponds. The enormous Zamek (Castle) was built by Peter Vok, the last Rozmberk heir, who was fond of alchemy, sex and drugs; its large ‘English park’ now provides walks for the spa patients. Southern Bohemia, with its lakes and woods, has for a long time been a favourite holiday place for families, since it has many recreational facilities and points of historic interest. The country is also famed for its caves: the rock formation of the mountain ranges form underground rivers and chambers decorated above and below with stalactites and stalagmites. Ceske Budejovice (Budweis), whose wealth was founded on silver mines, and the salt route from Linz to Prague boasts one of Europe’s largest town squares. However, it is the local beer, Budvar (Budweiser) which is the town’s main claim to fame. The medieval town of Cesky Krumlov (a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Site) has its enormous castle perched on a ridge above the young River Vltava, and the region to the border is full of castles, monasteries and churches. The Sumava/Bohemian Forest towards the German border is the country’s largest National Park, and with the Bavarian Forest across the border forms the largest forest complex in Europe. The park includes glacial lakes, many areas of virgin forest and important historic monuments. Good wintersports centres include Zelezna Ruda, Spicak, Zadov, Churanov and Kramolin. The northern shore of Lake Lipno has many small popular summer resorts and is a good location for exploring the Sumava. In western Bohemia, the health resorts or spas remain one of the country’s primary attractions, with their many springs, graceful colonnades and parks, spectacular houses and hotels. By the 19th century, the combination of their cures and their position at the meeting point of the two German-speaking empires made them the focal point of central Europe. Beethoven, Wagner, Edward VII and Goethe all admired the resort of Marianske Lazne (Marienbad), whilst the town of Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), the king of the spas, has attracted the crowned heads of Europe to bathe in its sulphurous waters. Frantiskovy Lazne, however, is the most typical spa town, laid out in perfect symmetry with delightful parks and 24 springs used to cure heart disease and infertility. There is also a nature reserve near the town. |