Dudák - Czech Breweries 3.

Location: Strakonice, South Bohemia

Strakonice has a long beer brewing tradition. The town grew from the villages below the castle built in 1230. Beer had been brewed there since before 1308. Bavor IV of Strakonice granted the local people the right to brew beer on 8^th December 1367. 

Due to the hardships of the Thirty Years’ War, the impoverished beer makers agreed with the town authorities to establish a common brewery in house No. 47 in 1649. At that time, there were 158 houses with the right to brew beer in Strakonice. The town brewery was expanding, and the old technology was replaced by new industrial ones. In 1873-74 a steam-driven brewery was built on the bank of the Otava river, and the old house turned into a malt house. The World War I. and II. was a catastrophe for the local beer making too, and in 1948 the brewery was nationalized and incorporated into South Bohemian Breweries. After the Velvet Revolution the life of the brewery has been changed. After a long process of privatization, in 2005 the Strakonice Brewery went to the ownership of the city, and now the town of Strakonice is the only shareholder of this company. Extensive modernization was started and it will completed in 2019. In 2011 the company changed its name to DUDÁK (Bagpiper). The brewery offers various types of beer that are demanded, among others Švanda draught pale ale, Dudák premium pale and dark lager, Klostermann semi-dark lager, or Král Šumavy pale lager. Another popular brand is Sklepák unfiltered lager. The taste of Strakonice beer is strong and popular.

Tourist attractions in Liberec Region 1.

Frýdlant Castle

Czech cuisine in pictures 2.

 Kulajda soup (Šumavská kulajda)

Velké Losiny / Museum of paper - Museums and galleries in the Czech Republic 3.

Location: Velké Losiny, Central Moravia

One of the oldest manufactures for paper production in Europe was founded in Velké Losiny in the mid 90’s of the 16th century by John the younger of Žerotín – first mentioned in the year 1596. Nowadays Classicist appearance with typical mansard shingle roof was obtained in the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The handmade paper factory has still made the paper by the traditional process from cotton and flax. Thanks to its high quality and century-long durability it is mainly used by artists, by firms for their bibliophiles, and also for bookmaking and restoration practice. Handmade paper and the current exclusive product range from these papers have won a standing position and permanent popularity among those who love traditional Czech handmade products. The second, additional visit tour was opened for the season 2007 offering untraditional view of the technical background of paper mill in Velké Losiny.

Paper Museum was founded in the year 1987, it is only one paper museum in the Czech Republic, and is opened for the public all the year. Also Museum gallery and stylish restaurant Losín were opened after the entire premises have undergone several stages of costly repairs in the years 1996-2006. The unique premises of this important technical monument with a history of more than four centuries of continuous traditional production of handmade paper have no match in Central Europe. It was declared National Cultural Monument by the Czech Government in 2002 and is listed in UNESCO tentative World Heritage list. www.rucnipapirna.cz, www.papermuseum.eu

Tourist attractions in East Moravia 1.

Buchlov Castle

The Bozkov Dolomites Caves – Natural and landscape values of the Czech Republic 3.

Location: Bozkov, Bohemian Paradise

The Bozkov Dolomite Caves are situated on the northern slope of the Bozkov village in the hilly landscape of the Krkonoše foothills. The Caves are the longest cave system in the Czech Republic formed in dolomite limestone.

The entrance into the underground space was discovered by dolomite miners in the 1940s, but only in 1957 the underground system of fissure corridors, partly filled with water, was discovered. The Bozkov dolomite caves is a labyrinth of underground corridors and cavities situated not very deep under the surface. Alongside the rare stalactite decoration the walls of the underground corridors and halls are decorated with the unique honeycomb and reticular silica structures formed by so –called selective corrosion. The visit culminates in the Lake Dome with the beautifully lit largest underground lake in Bohemia.

The Bozkov dolomite caves is the only cave system in North Bohemia accessible to the public. The groups are recommended to reserve the guided tour in advance: www.caves.cz. The caves and their surroundings is a protected area conditioned by the nature and landscape protection law.

Dívči Kámen (Girl’s Stone) Castle - Castles, fortresses and chateaux in the Czech Republic 4.

Location: near Křemže, South Bohemia

Monumental and romantical castle built on a high in the beautiful countryside above where the Křemžský stream meets the River Vltava between the towns of České Budějovice and Český Krumlov.

Dívči Kámen is one of the most extensive and well-preserved medieval monuments in the Czech Republic. The are of the castle was declared a natural reservation and is part of the Protected Landscape Area of Blanský les (Blansko Forest). The place is made even more attractive by a nearby Celt oppidum (fortified settlement) whose importance and size make it unique in Europe. The castle was founded by the Rosenberg family in 1349 and abandoned by them in 1506. Five hundred years later it came into the ownership of the village of Křemže. Currently, the castle is open all year round. Concerts, historical presentations, fencing and theatre, medieval markets and fairs, lectures and exhibitions are held within the castle.

Czech cuisine in pictures 1.

Garlic soup

Bat'a Shoe Museum - Museums and galleries in the Czech Republic 2.

Location: Zlín, East Moravia 

The museum is located in the entrance building of the former Tomas Baťa factory in the central part of the Zlín city (the Czech shoemaking capital) centre. The original collection (collected by the Baťa family, and the purchasing agents) was first presented to the public in 1931, so the this collection is one of the oldest shoe collection in the world. In 2012 the shoe exhibition is a part of the Southeast Moravian Museum, and its home, the Baťa Institute Building 14/15 was totally renewed, and modernised.

The Shoe Museum presents over 4000 exhibits and tell the history of shoes from the very beginning to present times. The most extensive and comprehensive collection in the museum deals with shoes manufactured by the Baťa company. The collection includes production from the year 1894 (foundation of the factory), until nationalisation in 1945. Beside that a quite unique collection of footwear from various foreign nations can be seen. It contains different types of footwear coming from all continents. Textile slippers from a feudal China, Ataman boots from 1911, African sandals, footwears from India, and sandals made of emu feather and human hair (used in ritual ceremonies in Australia). 

The collection also reflects footwear development from the earliest periods (shoe replicas) of the Czech history up to the present days. The replicas are made in Baťa modelling department according to original pictures and patterns. They received their names according to the presumed owners, so we can see a replica of a riding boot of King Wenceslas, high boots owned by Albrecht von Waldstein (Wallenstein), Božena Němcová's textile ankle-boots and elastic-sided shoes worn by Bedřich Smetana. The oldest original footwear dates back to the first half of the 17th century. Beside the beautiful shoes the visitors can also get a detailed overwiew about the development of the Baťa company, and city of Zlín.

Cheb – Historical Main Squares in the Czech Republic 2.

Location: Cheb, Karlovy Vary Region 

City of Cheb is located to the north-west corner of the Czech Republic, the last Czech city of any size before reaching the German border. A city full of magnificently preserved historical sites and its unique medieval atmosphere. Cheb is an interesting mix of German and Czech culture, and the bilingual, bicultural heritage can be seen most vividly in the historical main square.

When you walk through the medieval square in Cheb, your eyes will immediately fall on the city's symbol – Špalíček. This picturesque group of eleven medieval merchants’ houses grew up here as early as the 13th century. Several other beautiful houses with historical meanings can be found in the main (market) square too. One of them is Pachelbel House, now the building of the Regional Museum. In 1634, the Pachebel House was the scene of assassination of Albrecht von Wallenstein, one of the most controversial figures in Czech and European history, whose life was frequently interlinked with the city's history. A merchant, politician and military commander who became one of the most powerful personalities in Europe in his time. Because of his betrayal, and his huge power the Habsburg Emperor ordered the murdering of the Wallenstein.

Other houses of the main square: Grüner House, House at Black Bear, Black Eagle, Golden Lion, Unicorn, the Town Hall, Minetti House, Brentano house and so on. Beautiful buildings, full of the history of Cheb.

The Krkonoše (Giant) Mountains National Park - Natural and landscape values of the Czech Republic 2.

Location: Giant Mountains Region 

The Krkonoše (Giant) Mountains are situated in north-eastern Bohemia. The state border with Poland divides the entire mountain range into two different parts. The Czech Krkonoše Mountains over an area of 454 km2, cover about 2/3 of the whole area. Their slopes are more extensive, more broken and milder than those ones in their northern Polish part (with an area of 177 km2).

It was the first national park established in Bohemia in 1963. The national park now covers an area of about 370 km2. The Administrations of the National Park seats in Vrchlabí. The Giant Mountains is an important region of nature, culture and history too. The peaks of the Giant Mountains tower above the alpine treeline, and their surface with residues of Pleistocene glaciation is a unique gallery of wind, frost, and ice shaped landscape. Visitors find here extraordinarily varied mosaic of montane spruce, mixed forests, alpine meadows or sub-Arctic peat bogs. 

It is really an island of the Arctic in the middle of Europe. Due to the unique nature richness, landscape beauty, easy accessibility ehe national park is a traditional, most frequently visited tourist area of Europe. Already in the 18th and the 19th century ascents to the Schneekoppe (Sněžka) were common. So many famous artists, like Johann Wolfgang Goethe, or Caspar David Friedrich hiked through the mountains to find inspiration. The Krkonoše mountains are a traditional winter sports centre in Middle Europe too. The largest mountain resorts are located on the Czech side in Pec pod Sněžkou, Špindlerův Mlýn, Harrachov and Janské Lázně.