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The Rough Guide to Czech Republic 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) PDF

462 Pages·2009·12.5 MB·English
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The book is divided into the following sections, and you should be able to find whatever you need in one of them. The introductory colour section is designed to give you a feel for the Czech Republic, suggesting when to go and what not to miss, and includes a full list of contents. Then comes basics, for pre-departure information and other practicalities. Theguide chapters cover the country in depth, each starting with a highlights panel, introduction and a map to help you plan your route. Thecontexts section fills you in on history and books, while individual colour sections introduce the country’s castles and chateaux and its superlative beer. The book concludes with all the small print, including details of how to send in updates and corrections, and a comprehensive index. This first edition published May 2009. 9 IS 78 BN 1 9 U 848 78-1-8 S$21 36 483 .99 0365 6-036-5 CAN$ 2 52 4.99 Tanhde cpuurbrleisnhceyr osf a anldl tahuet hinofrosr mhaavteio dno inne T thhee Riro buegsht tGou eidnes utore t hthee C azceccuhr acy 1 Republic, however, they can accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or 9 inconvenience sustained by any traveller as a result of information or advice 9 contained in the guide. The Rough Guide to The Czech Republic written and researched by Rob Humphreys with additional contributions from Jonathan Bousfield and Steven Horak NEW YORK • LONDON • DELHI www.roughguides.com 00 Czech colour intro.indd 1 12/15/08 5:08:31 PM 00 Czech colour intro.indd 2 12/15/08 5:08:40 PM Contents | C O N T E N T S | Colour section 1 Language 413 Introduction.................................5 Pronunciation..........................415 Where to go.................................6 Basic words and phrases........416 When to go..................................9 Food and drink glossary..........419 Things not to miss.....................12 An A–Z of street names...........422 A glossary of words Basics 25 and terms.............................424 An architectural glossary.........425 Getting there .............................27 Historical and political terms...425 Getting around..........................33 Abbreviations..........................426 Accommodation........................37 Eating and drinking ..................38 Travel store 427 The media..................................42 Festivals ...................................43 Travel essentials .......................45 Small print & Index 437 Guide 51 Czech beer colour 1 Prague and around...............53 section following p.152 2 South Bohemia...................157 3 West Bohemia....................201 4 North Bohemia ..................233 5 East Bohemia ....................265 Castles and chateaux 6 South Moravia ...................301 colour section following 7 North Moravia ....................353 p.280 Contexts 383 History.....................................385 Books......................................406 3 (cid:2)(cid:2) Telč (cid:2) Malá Strana, Prague 00 Czech colour intro.indd 3 12/15/08 5:08:44 PM (cid:56)(cid:66)(cid:83)(cid:84)(cid:66)(cid:88)(cid:1)(cid:7)(cid:1)(cid:44)(cid:83)(cid:66)(cid:76)(cid:216)(cid:88) INTRODUCTION| 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(cid:44)(cid:80)(cid:78)(cid:200)(cid:83)(cid:79)(cid:80)(cid:13)(cid:1)(cid:35)(cid:86)(cid:69)(cid:66)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:84)(cid:85)(cid:13)(cid:1)(cid:55)(cid:74)(cid:70)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:66)(cid:1)(cid:7)(cid:1)(cid:35)(cid:83)(cid:66)(cid:85)(cid:74)(cid:84)(cid:77)(cid:66)(cid:87)(cid:66)(cid:35)(cid:86)(cid:69)(cid:66)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:84)(cid:85) (cid:73)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:70)(cid:83)(cid:90)(cid:66)(cid:35) (cid:72)(cid:83)(cid:70)(cid:67)(cid:78)(cid:70)(cid:83)(cid:86)(cid:47) (cid:73)(cid:68)(cid:74)(cid:79)(cid:86)(cid:46) (cid:73)(cid:68)(cid:74)(cid:79)(cid:86)(cid:46) 00 Czech colour intro.indd 4 12/15/08 5:08:45 PM Introduction to The Czech | I N T R O D U C T Republic IO N | W H E R E T O G O | W The Czech Republic is famous for two things: the stunning H E N beauty of its capital, Prague, and the outstanding quality T O of its beer. Few visitors, however, realize that the G O magnificence of the capital’s buildings is also echoed in countless other towns and cities all across the country. For, in contrast to the political upheavals that have plagued the region, the Czech Republic has suffered very little physical damage over the centuries. Gothic castles and Baroque chateaux have been preserved in abundance, town after town in Bohemia and Moravia has retained its old medieval quarter, and even the wooden folk architecture of the rural regions has survived beyond all expectations. In fact, it’s easy to forget that the Czech Republic was once part of Communist Eastern Europe. Posters no longer exhort the country’s citizens to fulfil the next five-year plan, and apart from the ubiquitous high-rise suburbs and the odd Soviet war memorial, you’d be hard pushed to envisage the bad old days. In 2004, there were genuine national celebrations at the country’s acces- sion to the European Union; putting aside their natural apathy towards politics, the Czechs rejoiced in the fact that they’d returned to the fold, and shed their old Eastern Bloc identity. That said, the political and economic upheavals in the country have been bewildering for those who lived through the Communist era, and along with the new-found freedom have 5 come the usual suspects: multinational takeovers, the rise of the mafia and 00 Czech colour intro.indd 5 12/15/08 5:08:47 PM all the other sundry vices that plague the capitalist world. Few Czechs would want to turn the clock right back, but when the Communist Party | I can still garner over half a million votes, and the president is a confirmed N T R Eurosceptic, it’s clear that not everybody’s happy with the changes in the O D new Republic. U C T I O N | W H Where to go E R E T O B G efore the fall of Communism, a staggering ninety percent of O foreign tourists visiting the country never strayed from the | W environs of the Czech capital, Prague. While that no longer holds H E true, Prague is still the main focus of most people’s trips to the N T Czech Republic, certainly English-speaking tourists. Of course, much of O G the attention heaped on Prague is perfectly justified. It is one of the most O remarkable cities in Europe, having emerged virtually unscathed from two Trains The most relaxing way to travel round the Czech Republic is by train. The system, bequeathed by the Habsburgs in 1918, is one of the densest in Europe, and has changed little since those days, with less than ten percent of lines allowing train speeds of over 120kph. In addition, many are wonderfully scenic, such as the single-track one that winds its way through the Šumava. Heritage railways are well established now, too, with several old forest railways running steam-train excursions on summer weekends. 6 00 Czech colour intro.indd 6 12/15/08 5:08:49 PM (cid:3) Fact file C e rvena Lho •la nTdhleo cCkzeedc hc oRuenpturyb ilnic tihse a INTR| ta O geographicalcentre of Europe, D U roughly equidistant from the C T Baltic and Adriatic seas, with I O a total area of 78,866 square N kilometres. | W • More than one-third of the H E country is made up of forest, R E mostly coniferous, while two- T O thirds of the land lies at an G altitude below 500m. The O highest point is Sněžka (1602m) | W in the Krkonoše on the Polish H E border, and the lowest point is N Hřensko (115m) at the border T O with Germany on the River Labe G (Elbe). O • The population is 10.2 million, world wars. Baroque palaces and of whom roughly 95 percent are churches shout out from the cobbles, Czech, with significant Roma, Gothic pinnacles spike the skyline, Slovak, Polish, Vietnamese and and Art Nouveau and function- German minorities. The largest alist edifices line the boulevards. group of foreigners residing in the country is Ukrainian, with However, it’s also mobbed for much more than 125,000 nationals of the year, whereas elsewhere the officially registered. country can be enjoyed in relative •The Czech nation is one of peace and quiet. the least religious in Europe, The rest of the Czech Republic with nearly 60 percent declaring divides neatly into two: Bohemia themselves agnostic, 27 percent to the west and Moravia to the east. Roman Catholic and 2.5 percent Protestant. Prague is the perfect launching pad • Total earnings from tourism from which to explore the rolling make up 6 percent of GNP hills and forests of Bohemia, at their and the industry employs over most unspoilt in South Bohemia, 1 percent of the population. whose capital is (cid:7)eské Bud(cid:33)jo- • Since 2000, the country has vice, a grid-plan medieval city and been divided into thirteen admin- home to the original Budweiser istrative regions or kraje (not beer. The real gem of the region including Prague) the borders of which totally ignore all historical is (cid:7)eský Krumlov, arguably the and cultural identities. Each kraj most stunning medieval town in has its own elected regional the country, beautifully preserved assembly and a hejtman or 7 in a narrow U-bend of the River president. 00 Czech colour intro.indd 7 12/15/08 5:08:51 PM (cid:4) W e INTR| nceslas S O qu D a UC re, P T ra IO gu N e | W H E R E T O G O | W H E N T O G O Vltava. The region also boasts other less well-known “Rose Towns”, such as Jind(cid:33)ich(cid:30)v Hradec and Prachatice, which have preserved their Renais- sance riches intact. To the west, Plze(cid:26) produces the most famous of all 8 Czech beers, Pilsner Urquell, the original golden nectar from which all other lagers derive. Meanwhile, along the German border, a triangle of 00 Czech colour intro.indd 8 12/15/08 5:08:58 PM

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