Czechia

With its location at the heart of Europe, the Czech lands were confronted with various cultural influences and constructional styles during the course of history. Because the country was one of a few that were only slightly touched by both the last war and the clearance projects of modernism, its rich cultural inheritance was preserved.

A charming, undulating landscape with mountains and upland plains, forests and smaller ranges of hills, mineral formations and bizarre, sandstone cliffs - all of this awaits the visitor. Lakes and lochs form the profile of Southern Bohemia.

The glacial Cerne and Cerovo lakes are amongst the most beautiful parts of the Sumava National Park, in which there are to be found wild, woodland streams with crystal clear water, tranquil valleys, and expansive forests containing unique flora and fauna. Moravia in the north features wooded highlands, in the south fertile lowlands and the wine growing regions. The mineral-based land is interesting for its secret caves. Four national parks (the Krkonose, Sumava, Podyji and Ceske Svycarsko), many protected scenic regions and natural reserves, including the most strictly protected, are accessible to visitors without charge or special permission.

Not only Holasovice, the renowned Southern Bohemian village recorded in the UNESCO list of cultural monuments, captures the attention of the visitor. A large number of beautiful wooden brick or half-timbered buildings can be seen in the Krkonose mountain range, in the surroundings of Sobeslav or in South Moravia.

Open air museums - skanzen or museums of folk architecture - display them to full effect. We encounter living folk traditions in fairs and folk festivities, harvests, and feasts, vintage festivities in South Moravian vineyards or in the South Bohemian bagpipe band festival. The museums of folk architecture are certainly worth a visit.

The silhouettes of castles and chateaux are frequently a dominant feature of the Czech landscape. The oldest often only as mediaeval ruins adjoin wild forests or bizarre rock formations. Hunting lodges, romantic palaces, or the residences of later times adorn the meadows of the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic has over two thousand castles, ruins, chateaux and fortresses, which are open to visitors from April to September.

The Czech Republic is noted for its extraordinary number of mineral and thermal springs. Thanks to their abundance and our knowledge of their advantageous medical effects a unique spa tradition has been created. The most famous spa towns - Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne and Frantiskovy Lazne - with their hotels, dance halls and promenades, in the past became places where the European aristocracy frequently gathered.