Jindřichův Hradec - a loving town
The town of Jindřichův Hradec is one of the rarest historical settlements, where even in the present time the past glory of its inhabitants breathes on the visitor.
Accessibility
Year-round
Entrance fee
Free
How to get there
You can use one of the Hradec car parks
Time needed to visit
2 hours
Additional information
The families of the Lords of Hradec, Slavat and finally the Czernins were among the most important in the Czech kingdom and made the name of Hradec famous not only in Bohemia but also abroad. Thanks to its historical richness, Jindřichův Hradec was awarded the prestigious Historical Town of the Year 2007 award.
The origins of the town are related to the existence of a Slavic hillfort in a favourable position on a promontory of the Nežárky River and the Hamerský Brook. The oldest surviving written record of Hradec dates back to 1220, when the founder of the Lords of Hradec, Henry I, owned the Jindřichův Hradec estate. He built a Gothic castle on the site of an earlier hillfort, in the foreground of which the town was founded in the middle of the 13th century, which is named after Henry. The current name of the town was first recorded in 1410. The coat of arms of the Lords of Hradec, a golden rose in a blue field, supplemented by the privilege of King Vladislav II from 1483 with two golden royal lions and the initial W with a crown, is still in the coat of arms of Henry's Hradec today.
The town is dominated by the large Vajgar pond, in the centre of which is an artificial island built in 1858-1860 by Count Jaromír Evžen Černín for his beloved wife Karolína.
Among other landmarks of Jindřichův Hradec is definitely the complex of the state castle and chateau, which is the third largest monument in the Czech Republic. The monumental complex of buildings was declared a national cultural monument in 1996.
The 20-metre high stone sculpture of the Holy Trinity dominates the landscaped town centre with its Peace Square and Renaissance façades. Langr's house decorated with sgraffiti and the Old Town Hall are also unmissable.
Personalities
- Adam Václav Michna of Otradovice (1600-1676) - organist, music and singing teacher. You must know his Christmas song Chtíc, aby spal, which has been humanized.
- Tomáš Krýza (1838-1918) - a native of Jindřichův Hradec and a master stocking maker; for more than 60 years he created the largest folk mechanical nativity scene in the world containing 1398 figures of people and animals. You can admire Krýza's crib in the Museum of Jindřichův Hradec Králové.
Our tip
In the former Jesuit college, the current home of the Museum of Photography and Modern Visual Media, there is a unique ceiling painting of an autopsy, which is all the more interesting because the Jesuits were forbidden to treat human bodies in this way.
Do you know that...
...in 1888 a power plant was put into operation in the building of the castle mill according to the project of František Křižík, and thanks to this Jindřichův Hradec became the first town after Prague to light up? Křižík's hydroelectric power station is still in operation. The entire building is a national cultural monument.
...tapestries have their tradition in Jindřichův Hradec, where they are still woven and restored today?
...the 15th meridian of north latitude passes through the town, but its marking at the corner of the Church of the Assumption is not accurate? The meridian does indeed pass through Jindřichův Hradec, but much closer to the river Nežárka.
