This was the first morning we were in Cesky Krumlov, referred to by some as " the Pearl of Bohemia", a pretty little town in the Czech Republic.
We started our day early in the morning walking to the town's main square.
We arrived at the beautiful medieval Main Square of Cesky Krumlov.
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| Main Square, Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic |
We had breakfast at one of the restaurants at the square.
After breakfast, we joined a tour in front of the INFO Centrum office where the man with the umbrella was waiting for interested tourists.
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| Our tour guide in Cesky Krumlov |
His name was Yan and he took us for a tour that lasted for one and a half tour of the town and the castle.
From our guide, we learned about the powerful Rosenberg family and the town's history.
The town of Cesky Krumlov, with its medieval castle tower in the background.
This little town receives millions of tourists every year as it has been designated as a UNESCO heritage site.
During a period of 40 years when Czech was under the communist regime, there was no building or construction going on and the houses fell in disrepair.
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After Czech gained independence, all Germans were ordered to leave this town; about 3 million people left.
The houses could be bought for 2 - 3 thousand dollars each since it was in bad shape.
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However, the value of the houses skyrocketed since the Czech Republic separated from Russia in 1989.
Cesky Krumlov was declared a UNESCO heritage site in 1992.
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| Cesky Krumlov - " the Pearl of Bohemia' |
Since then, tourism has been bringing in tons of tourists and business for the town.
Though with a population of only 14,000 this little town receives about a million tourists every year!
The houses now are worth between half a million to more than 4 million US dollars.
Residents of Cesky Krumlov who did not sell their houses are doing quite well economically.
Nowadays, most Czech citizens are non religious.
It is a sharp contrast to Poland where 97% of Polish people are religious.
On the day we visited the church, there was a group of Korean tourists attending a special service.
Our tour guide also took us to the castle which was built in the 12th century.
We had a close look at the castle tower which is a symbol of Cesky Krumlov.
The tower is a six storied building with some remarkable architectural details.
It has been referred to as "the towerest of all towers".
We got to see some paintings on the walls resembling real stone work on some of the castle buildings.
We learned about some cost saving techniques utilized by castle builders at this castle.
Instead of building the entire buildings with real bricks, people painted brick designs on some of the walls.
To maintain balance and aesthetics on the exterior of some of the buildings, painters utilized their artistic and painting skills.
For example, one of the windows on this building was painted on only.
It was not easy to see.
Can you?
Cesky Krumlov is a very pretty medieval town!
I was glad that we joint the tour and learned a lot of about this interesting town in Czech Republic!
R.T.
Cesky Krumlov
Czech Republic
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