Zdar nad Sazavou - Zelena Hora - Litomysl - Litomysl castle

Route: Brno - Zdar nad Sazavou - Zelena Hora - Litomysl - Litomysl castle - Brno
Duration: 9 h
Firstly we will visit to Zdar nad Sazavou which was originally a market town, established on an ancient regional route, and at its inception it was closely linked with the establishment of the Cistercian monastery in 1252. The town was elevated to city status at the beginning of the seventeenth century. There we will visit to the Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora was inscribed in the UNESCO List. The building, which dates from the beginning of the 18th century, is one of the finest projects by the architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichl (1677-¬1723), and is also an example of ‘baroque gothic’. It was built on a five-pointed star plan and is surrounded by a cemetery and cloisters.The church, which is not large in size, defies all description, and this is sufficient reason to make a visit to see it with your own eyes. Next we will visit to Litomysl which was established around the trade route that connected Bohemia and Moravia at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th centuries. The dominant feature of the city is the Italianate Renaissance castle with its more than eight thousand examples of sgrafitto, which has been on the UNESCO World Cultural and Heritage List. Litomyšl is the birthplace of the composer Bedřich Smetana, whose name is commemorated by an annual opera festival. On the 500 metre long square can be found the Gothic town hall and a number of Renaissance and Baroque houses. A walk through the historical streets ending in the monastery gardens is an unforgettable experience. Another interesting sight is the Portmoneum museum with its murals by Josef Váchal. During our visit you will see the arcade of the Knight's Hall, the baroque and Classical buildings on Smetanovo náměstí, the pedestrian zone by the River Loučná, the Church of the Discovery of the Holy Cross , the Monastery Gardens, the Church of the Raising of the Holy Cross, the Church of the Sending of the Holy Apostles, the macabre Váchalova ulička. Next we will visit to Litomysl Castle which is a rare example of Italian Renaissance under the conditions of transalpine countries. It was built in the 1660s to the 1680s by Vratislav of Pernštejn as a gift for his beloved wife Maria Manrique de Lara. The Pernštejn Renaissance estate was extended in the 17th and 18th century with Baroque alterations made by the subsequent owners Trauttmansdorff and Waldstein-Wartenberg, with the participation of leading Baroque artists. The preserved castle family theater from 1797 is a unique feature. In 1999 the castle was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. After free time we return to Brno.
Price: per person