After having visited the beautiful Kutna Hora, the next destination of the Prague-Bratislava road trip is Litomysl, a nice town located in the Eastern Bohemia, for sure off the beaten path and known for the Renaissance castle, part of the Unesco sites, and its historical centre.
Ready to explore it? You will find the map at the end of the post
I got to Litomysl by taking the train from Kutna Hora and from the railway station I started to visit this beautiful town. Located close to the border with Moravia, in the 13th Century an old fortified settlement grew on an important trade route between Bohemia and Moravia.
Litomysl, despite the size, displays many interesting things to the visitor:
1) The Smetana House (Smetanuv Dum)
The Smetana House is the house of the composer Bedrich Smetana, born in this town. This beautiful Neorenaissance building is now the theatre and the cultural centre of the city. You can also visit the nice interior. You can check opening times and events here (watch out: only in Czech!)
2) Smetana Square (Smetanovo Namesti) – the main square
The Smetana Square is the main square of the town and it is particularly beautiful for the pastel colorful facades of the buildings. It is particularly one that caught my eye and it is the Knights House (Dum u Rytiru), built in 1540 in Renaissance style and for sure one of the most beautiful facades in town.
3) Piarist church and college (Piaristicky kostel a kolej)
Ready to explore it? You will find the map at the end of the post
I got to Litomysl by taking the train from Kutna Hora and from the railway station I started to visit this beautiful town. Located close to the border with Moravia, in the 13th Century an old fortified settlement grew on an important trade route between Bohemia and Moravia.
Litomysl, despite the size, displays many interesting things to the visitor:
1) The Smetana House (Smetanuv Dum)
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| Smetana House, theatre of Litomysl |
2) Smetana Square (Smetanovo Namesti) – the main square
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| Smetana Square, the main square of Litomysl |
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| The Knights House – gallery |
3) Piarist church and college (Piaristicky kostel a kolej)
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| Piarist church and college |
On the way from the main square to the castle, you can find this nice church, built by Piarist monks in 1644. In particular, I recommend to visit behind the church the Monastery gardens with the sculptures of Olbram Zoubek.
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4) The Renaissance Litomysl Castle
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| The Unesco World Heritage site – pic byMichal Louč / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) |
Finally I got to the main landmark: the Renaissance Litomysl Castle (Zamek, built on top of the hill that dominates the town. It was built in the period 1568-1581. It has become part of the Unesco World Heritage sites as ‘a Renaissance arcade-castle of the type first developed in Italy and modified in the Czech Lands to create an evolved form of special architecture quality’.
I recommend in particular the beautiful rooms with Baroque decorations and stucco, the 18th century theater with preserved classical scenes and the English Park. I will write a dedicated post about this beautiful building, as I am fond of castles :-).
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| Litomysl castle decorations |
The guided visit lasts approx. 1 hour and you can info about opening times and tickets here. When I was there, the only possible visit was in Czech and I received a translated English booklet to follow what was told by the guide.
5) Church of the Raising of the Holy Cross
You find this church on the way back to the main square. It was first built in 1356 and then during the history renovated with Baroque style, the church regained its importance after the renovation of Monastery gardens and thanks to its position.
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| Church of the Raising of the Holy Cross |
Map: Click on the top left to see the days and/or on the top right to enlarge the map.
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Travel tips
– How to get to Litomysl: if you are coming from Prague, it will take you two hours by car or by train. I came from Kutna Hora and it took one hour. As I was then heading to Brno, I took the bus (another great experience).
– Do you want to visit it? You can either book a guide or if you travel by yourself, please note that not everywhere they speak English! Especially to me, I had to order dish from a Czech menu in the restaurant and when I took the bus, the driver did not speak English. So take a small dictionary with you.
– Do not miss when you visit it: the Monastery Gardens with sculptures of Zoubeck and the street art close to the Piarist church.
– If you are into art, you can also the Portmoneum museum
– Best time to visit Litomysl: spring, summer and beginning of autumn
– It takes no more than one day to visit Litomysl, even half a day if you are in a hurry!
Where to eat
– I only tested and therefore recommed the Restaurant Zlatá Hveda. My experience was quite funny as at that time I had to order a goulash from a Czech menu and it was particularly tasty!
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Where to sleep:
Next stop: I took the bus on the way to Brno!
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nice place to visit .. thanks for the information
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