Top locations of Carnival Row

Prague

Prachovské skály rocks

More about this place: https://czechwalks.com/guide/bohemian-paradise/

Walking tour here: https://czechwalks.com/tour/bohemian-paradise-selfguided-trek/

Prague – Barrandov movie studios

Liberec

Castles

• Falconry, the ancient art of hunting with the help of birds of prey.
• The Slovácko Verbuňk recruit dances.
• The Ride of the Kings in Vlčnov.
• The Shrovetide door-to-door processions and the masks in the villages of the Hlinecko area

Falconry in the Czech Republic

The art of hunting with birds of prey dates back several millenniums. The Bohemian lands have been meeting with falconry in their territory since the 9th century. Annual celebrations ensure that this ancient art is not forgotten. The greatest development of falconry occurred in the Middle Ages. The history of falconry in the Czech lands dates back hundreds of years. Often you will see demonstrations of falconry in the courtyards of Bohemian and Moravian castles and chateaux, such as Sychrov, Točník, Český Šternberk, Kost, Dobříš, Ohrada and Křivoklát. In the courtyards of one of these historical treasures, you can witness a special bond between these majestic birds and their owners.

Moravian-Slovakian Verbuňk

Moravian Slovakia is a region where folk traditions and folklore are an integral part of life. In this diverse region of colours and flavours, you can immerse yourself in a swirl of dancing, parades and festivals that are hundreds of years old, which people manage to live to the full to this very day. A special place among these is held by the men’s dance Verbuňk.

Ride of the Kings

The Ride of the Kings from Moravian Slovakia is a unique tradition in the Czech Republic. You can experience it during the last weekend in May in several villages and towns in Moravian Slovakia and Haná. However only in Vlčnov, where it has a tradition dating back more than 200 years, is it held every year.

Shrovetide processions from the Hlinecko Region

Every year, during the days when winter slowly gives way to spring, many villages in the Hlinecko Region hold colourful and merry carnival processions that travel from house to house, delivering joy, health and happiness to everyone they visit. Thanks to their strong tradition, which has beeen passed down from generation to generation, reaches their history far back into the past.

A wonderful rest in the open air, beautiful scenery, and the charming corners of national parks – all that can be had from trips in the Czech countryside. Explore caves and rock cities, climb to the tops of mountains and observation points! Places you will never forget and where you will always be happy to go back to – such as the fairy-tale landscape of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, the gorges of the Adršpach Rock City or Punkevní Cave in the Moravian Karst. The cold northern character is exuded from the shadows of Boubín Forest in Šumava, while you will be surprised by the warm, almost Mediterranean character of the landscape in the Dolní Morava Biosphere Reserve. A number of geologically interesting sites can be enjoyed up close in the GeoLoci geopark in Tachovsko region.

Protected areas

National and natural parks, protected landscape areas, and other places are trying to attract visitors with a number of innovations.

Visitor centers, observation towers, marked trails for cyclists and pedestrians, and thematic nature trails are being built. The promise of summer scenery of warm rock walls and floodplain meadows is in the Podyjí National Park, while you can check out the cold world of our highest mountains in Krkonoše National Park. In Bohemian Paradise you will find rock formations and rock cities with romantic lookouts, and stroll through mysterious bottomland forests in the Dolní Morava Biosphere Reserve.

The most visited natural places in the Czech Republic:

Moravian Karst

The largest and most beautiful karst area in central Europe is a place where visitors have their breath taken clean away. The main attraction here is the famous Macocha Abyss, some 138m deep and steeped in terrifying myths and legends. Without doubt the Moravian Karst is one of the natural wonders of the Czech Republic, which will wow every visitor.

Broumovské stěny

From the wooded ridge between Police nad Metují and Broumov you will have the rock city Adršpach, the mysterious table mountain Ostaš, and the monumental Broumovský Baroque monastery at your fingertips. But do not leave too early – all around you lies beautiful virgin nature, romantic rock formations and gorges.

Soos Nature Reserve

The Soos National Nature Reserve lies not far from Františkovy Lázně. The vast peat bogs with lakes, mineral springs and gaseous carbon dioxide springs are reminiscent of a prehistoric landscape. The most interesting places include a nature trail that leads directly above the bogs along meandering wooden walkways. You can see a natural geological park, a museum dedicated to local nature, the history of the Earth and an exhibition of life-size prehistoric animal models.

The Giant Mountains

The Giant Mountains are a mountain range packed with superlatives. The range is the highest and the most visited, and is the only one in the Czech Republic to reach such lofty heights. Glacial corries contrast with bare-stone ridges, large alpine meadows with timber cottages down in the valleys, the murmur of waterfalls with the mysterious silence of peat bogs, while regal Mount Sněžka, queen of the peaks, lords it over her lofty realm. All this awaits you in the Giant Mountains.

Boubín and Boubín Forest

Explore Boubín Forest in Šumava and see how thousands of years ago the forests of Central Europe looked! Boubín (1362 m), together with the neighboring Bobík (1264 m), dominates the southeastern part of Šumava. Even more popular than the actual peak is the nature reserve Boubín Forest, the largest indigenous forest in Central Europe, where several spruces, firs, beeches and maples reach the age of 300-400 years.

Podyjí National Park

Get to know the “Czech Amazon” in the Podyjí National Park. Even though it is the smallest Czech national park, the Podyjí National Park is among the most important natural sites in Central Europe. Here you will find an exceptionally well-preserved river valley in a richly wooded landscape full of breathtaking scenery. Among the meanders of the Dyje (Thaya) River is a unique reserve which will enchant you with its charm, warm climate and the many ways to enjoy its beauty.

Czechwalks.com (brand of Czech travel company HOSKA TOUR) is providing tours to these regions.

The first thing that needs to be understood about the Czech cuisine is that it’s not exactly known for being light… or particularly healthy, for that matter. Czech cuisine consists of a lot of meat, carbs, and sauces that will keep you warm and full during the cold Central European winter (although grilling meat and veggies are popular summer alternatives). If you want to get really authentic Food-wise, you’ve got to go with something hearty and delicious.

Czech cuisine was influenced by its neighbours, primarily the Germans and the Hungarians. Unlike Mediterranean cuisine with its abundance of fresh vegetables and seafood, traditional Czech cuisine was shaped by long cold winters without fresh products and so it is heavier and more demanding of digestion.

It consists of fresh and smoked meats, flour, potatoes, onions, pickled vegetables, all with a lot of animal fat. However, with fresh vegetables, fish and meat now available throughout the year, the situation is changing and healthier trends are emerging.

Czech beer

Beer is the most popular beverage in the Czech Republic. Its production is characterised by top quality and a tradition going back centuries. Small as well as large breweries are to be found throughout the whole country. They produce a unique Czech lager (bottom-fermented beer). The most famous brands of Czech beer are Pilsner Urquell (the original Pils) and Budvar (the original Budweiser). Beer is usually drunk with small bites of meat or cheese. Beer is consumed mainly in special beer halls or pubs, which usually have a limited choice of meals.

Typical Czech specialities

Ingredients of the Czech cuisine

Amongst the most important elements of the Czech cuisine belongs meat: pork, beef, poultry, rabbit and venison. The most common fish is freshwater carp, which is eaten primarily on Christmas Eve. Less common fish include trout, pike, zander and eel. Czech cuisine also utilises vegetables, fruits, beans and pulses, mushrooms, dairy products, grains, baked goods, vegetable and animal fat, spices, herbs and, last but not least, Czech beer.

Main courses

Sirloin in cream sauce (Svíčková na smetaně) – one of the most popular Czech meals, roasted larded beef sirloin in a sauce of cream and root vegetables, served with dumplings.

Roast pork with cabbage and dumplings (Vepřo-knedlo-zelo) – Czech national meal. Roasted pork belly, shoulder or leg, served with stewed pickled red or white cabbage (sauerkraut), or fresh green cabbage, in the warm part of the year, with dumplings.

Basic historical outline followed by more detailed descriptions of individual periods of Czech history – the Great Moravian Empire (9th century), the Premysl Dynasty (9th century – 1306), the Luxembourg Dynasty (1310 – 1437), the Hussite Revolution (1419 – 1436), The Jagiellon Dynasty (1471 – 1526), the Habsburg Dynasty (1526 – 1918), the foundation of the modern Czech nation and Independent state (from 1918).

Back to the Neolithic area, archaeologists have found out human settlements in the country. Germanic tribes of Marcomanni and Quadi settled in most parts of the Czech country in the 3rd century B.C., an advent of the Celtic migrations. Moreover, other tribes had also moved into the country. The Slavic people were also one of the many tribes settled on the lands of the Czech Republic. But then, they had not settled much in one place for they had travelled from Bohemia, Moravia, and to Austria.

Around the 5th century A.D., the Czechs founded the Bohemian Kingdom and the Premyslid dynasty. The dynasty then ruled Bohemia and Moravia from the 10th to 16th century. Furthermore, the kingdom of Bohemia had greatly manifested regional power during the Middle Ages and it was regarded as a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Prague, the capital of the state, was established by one of the Bohemian Kings, Charles IV, a Holy Roman Emperor. Prague was then the centre of Latin scholarship and imperial capital of the country.

As several kings ruled the country, King Přemysl Otakar II and Charles IV had really made their leadership and contributed a great significance to the country’s developments. Czechs had encountered the “Dark Age” and other famines. The Czech Republic was once a unitary state of Czechoslovakia but was later on split into two, through the Velvet Revolution, producing independent states of Czech Republic and Slovakia having economic reforms and privatisations. The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union (since 2004) and NATO (since 1999).

Romanesque art played an important role in the culture of the Czech lands from the year 1100 up to the start of the 13th century.

A well-preserved example of the embossed Romanesque sculpture is the appearance of the windows of the palace in Olomouc, which is probably the work of Italian stonemasons. The triptych of St. George’s cloister on the grounds of Prague Castle with the figures of Přemysl I and the abbess Agnes (Anežka) is also very attractive.

Emperor and the Bohemian king Charles IV stood at the head of an extensive super-state encompassing what is today Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux countries. Charles IV’s court painter was Master Theodoricus, who was given the task of decorating the Chapel of the Holy Cross (kaple sv. Kříže), the most important space of Karlštejn Castle, where the imperial crown jewels, valuable state documents and precious relics of saints were originally meant to be stored.

One of the greatest Baroque masters was Petr Brandl (1668-1735), the author of many large altar pictures. All the characters in his biblical scenes are animated and are often shown in extremely emotional situations, but this is always done convincingly.

Alfons Maria Mucha 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, known best for his distinct style. He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs.

Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language novelist and a short story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists faced by bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible social-bureaucratic powers and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best-known works include “Die Verwandlung” (“The Metamorphosis”), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle). Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, later part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, today part of the Czech Republic.

The trajectory of Czech art over the course of the 20th Century and into the present day has mirrored its turbulent history. The fin-de-siècle saw Prague as a major city within the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire, keen to promote the arts to its greater glory and show its artists free to travel across Europe. After years of persecution and restricted access to the outside world, Czech art is once again making an impact on an international stage, this time as a sovereign nation. Those who fought against the communist system are finally gaining the recognition they deserve.

Valdická gate

The characteristic silhouette of the town is formed by the Valdická gate (a three-storey tower from the late Gothic).
Its height of 52 m guarantees an excellent view.

Jičín´s chateau

Jičín chateau in the north-eastern corner of the square was originally the residence of Mikuláš Trčka of Lípa, and was rebuilt after 1608 by Zikmund Smiřický into a two-storey Renaissance chateau with arcades. In 1620, the chateau was destroyed by an explosion of gunpowder. During the rule of Albrecht of Wallenstein in the years 1624 -1633, a new early Baroque chateau was built. Today it houses the district museum and a gallery. The Church of St. James the Elder standing next to the chateau is the torso of the intended Bishop‘s cathedral, which Albrecht of Wallenstein decided to build in the years 1627-1634. A square with arcades of the ducal Valdická brána (Valdice
Gate).

Valdštejnská lodžie

A summer house called Valdštejnská lodžie is one of the most important cultural and architectural sightseeings of the Jičín Region. This suburb “entertainment centre” was built by Albrecht of Wallenstein between 1630 and 1634. A large preserve and a park invite you to have a walk there.

Boučkův statek farmhouse

A typical display of half-timbered folk architecture of the central Jizera river region. Located here is a permanent exhibition of the history of Malá Skála region, a gallery of creative art, wooden Nativities from the workshop of an academic painter Josef Jíra and a style restaurant.