Telč

For the Romanian commune called Teltsch in German, see Telciu.
Telč
Town
The main square in Telč, with the famous 16th-century houses
Flag
Coat of arms
Country Czech Republic
Region Vysočina
District Jihlava
Commune Telč
Elevation 514 m (1,686 ft)
Coordinates 49°11′04″N 15°28′11″E / 49.18444°N 15.46972°ECoordinates: 49°11′04″N 15°28′11″E / 49.18444°N 15.46972°E
Area 24.86 km2 (9.6 sq mi)
Population 5,812 (2006-10-02)
Density 234 / km2 (606 / sq mi)
First mentioned 1315
Mayor Roman Fabeš
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 588 56
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Name Historic Centre of Telč
Year 1992 (#16)
Number 621
Region Europe and North America
Criteria i, iv
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Telč
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.telc-etc.cz/telc/

Telč (Czech pronunciation: [tɛltʃ]; German: Teltsch) is a town in southern Moravia, near Jihlava, in the Czech Republic. The town was founded in the 13th century as a royal water fort on the crossroads of busy merchant routes between Bohemia, Moravia and Austria.

Besides the monumental 17th century Renaissance chateau with an English-style park (a rebuilding of original Gothic castle), the most significant sight is the town square, a unique complex of long urban plaza with well-conserved Renaissance and Baroque houses with high gables and arcades; since 1992 all of this has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Gothic castle was built in the second half of the 14th century. At the end of the 15th century the castle fortifications were strengthened and a new gate-tower built. In the middle of the 16th century the medieval castle no longer satisfied Renaissance nobleman Zachariáš of Hradec, who had the castle altered in the Renaissance style. The ground floor was vaulted anew, the façade decorated with sgraffito, and the state apartments and living quarters received stucco ornamentation together with trompe l'oeil and chiaroscuro paintings in 1553. The counter-reformation brought the Jesuits to the town, who built the church of Name of Jesus in 1666-1667, according to the plans of Domenico Orsi. The column of the Virgin and the fountain in the centre of the square date from the 18th century.

Film location

In 1963 Vojtěch Jasný made the film Az prijde kocour ('When the Cat Comes' or 'The Cassandra Cat') in Telč.

In 1979 Werner Herzog filmed the movie Woyzeck in Telč.

The Main Square

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Telč.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Telč.