Fires have reshaped many Bohemian towns and the South Moravian town of Telc is no exception. After a devaststing fire in 1530, a compact and unified Renaissance and early Baroque ensemble emerged around the main square. I know I keep jabbering on about Baroque architecture but I really love this style and here in Telc are some cracking examples. When I saw this town I immediately fell in love with it although the main street is the important feature. One and two storey houses, each with three arcades, adjoin each other like pearls on a necklace with only the gables taking on different forms. Each house is painted in a different pastel colour.
We stayed in one of these houses for a night to break our journey through the Czech Republic and I will always have fond memories of it. The owners lived on the bottom floor and upstairs was one of the biggest flats I have ever been in. The decor was in old fashioned Czech hunting style but very attractive if a little twee. Through the gabled window you had a view of the whole street and in the morning, breakfast was served in a seperate kitchen where portraits of Vaclav Havel and the Virgin Mary looked down on us as we ate our bread rolls and salami.. The price cost very little - about the equivalent of £10.
Once you have walked around the main street, park and viewed the castle there isn't much else to do except order a beer or a coffee at a pavement cafe and enjoy the splendid facades in peace.
The castle, another Renaissance building, can be found to the north west of the square. Only when seen from the other side does it become clear that it was once surrounded by water. In fact the town itself is bordered on three sides by lakes. The owner of the castle had a passion for coffered ceilings and their shape and colour provided the name for each of the castle's rooms. Within the chapel in a white marble sarcophagus lie the remains of Zacharias z Hradec and his wife Katharina Valdstejn. According to legend, the young wife was implicated in her own death. She allowed her portrait to be painted while she was pregnant - despite warnings that this meant she would die within a year of her birth.
Another story concerns Berta Rozmberk, the 'White Lady'. This noblewoman was forced to marry Count Lichenstein, so after her husband's death she only ever appeared wearing a white widow's robe - like a bride waiting for the return of her true beloved. Lichenstein never forgave her lack of affection, so Berta did not find peace in death. The ghost of this woman still haunts the castle, and her picture hangs in the Hunting Room.
When I visited this castle and the art gallery within the walls I think I must have been the only person there. I was definitely the only person in the gallery and it was a litlle strange. I knew of the legend before I entered the castle so the strange feelings could have been psychsomatic but on a dewy morning with peacocks shrieking in the grounds and a deadly silence everywhere, I was a little spooked.
In the gallery is mainly a collection of paintings by the famous Czech artist, Jan Zrzavy (1890-1977). I am a great admirer of his work as he uses vivid colours and bold strokes, sometimes on wood. His work is quite modern but there is a touch of Impressionism in some of his paintings especially works depicting the life of the miners in the surrounding areas. The gallery is open mornings only and costs around £1 admission fee.
Telc is a little way off the beaten track but is worth a detour as this is a very special town with beautiful architecture and has a very laid back atmosphere. The town can be reached by bus from Ceske Budejovice.
From journal Over the Hills from Prague