The historic centre of Telč in the Vysočina Region consists of a chateau, church buildings and burghers' houses arranged around an elongated square. It has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List since 1992.[1][3]
History
According to legends, the town was founded as early as 1099. In the fourteenth century the Vítkovci, with a five-petalled rose in their coat of arms, came to Telč and built a castle, a church and Gothic houses around the marketplace, which a fire, however, destroyed.[2] The most important figure of the town is considered to be Zachariáš of Hradec, active in the 16th century. In the second half of that century he had the family seat rebuilt into a representative residence.[3] He drew inspiration in Italy, from where he brought the master Baltazar Maggi of Arogno. The chateau thus gained its present form, and 72 houses on the square were gradually built as well.[2] In the 17th century an extensive Jesuit residence was built, which includes the Church of the Name of Jesus, and in the 18th century the town was enriched by sculptures, including the Marian column.[3]
Appearance of the centre
The appearance of the historic core changed over the centuries within an unchanged layout, which is bounded by fortifications consisting of ponds, water moats, walls and gates. The urban foundation is Gothic, while the outer look of the buildings was determined mainly by the Renaissance style.[3] The square is closed by two gates and surrounded by three ponds.[2] The houses have gables and arcades, in many cases richly decorated façades dating from the Renaissance, Baroque or Rococo.[3] House owners take care of the sgraffito on the façades, because Czech conditions are not very favourable to this technique.[2]
The chateau has a complex floor plan. It includes a courtyard with arcades, a Renaissance garden and a younger landscape park in which stands an Empire-style greenhouse.[3] According to the Vysočina Region, it contains halls with decorated coffered ceilings. The underground beneath the burghers' houses and at the chateau has also been opened to the public.[2] Another heritage zone is the Old Town. Telč also has a Jewish cemetery and a synagogue, and on the square stands a former Jesuit college. A Way of the Cross leads to the chapel of St Charles Borromeo.[2]
Protection and inscription on the UNESCO list
The centre became an urban heritage reservation in 1970 and in 1992 was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.[1] The international convention of 1972, which protects the world cultural and natural heritage, obliges the states parties to care for monuments on their territory. Czechoslovakia acceded to the convention in 1991.[1] Together with Prague and Český Krumlov, Telč was among the first three Czech sites inscribed in 1992. The town received the inscription certificate only symbolically in December 2012, when it was handed over by Anna Matoušková, deputy minister of culture. During the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the inscription, the Recognition of the Town of Telč was awarded at the chateau on 10 December 2012 to 24 personalities and six institutions.[1]
Telč in film
According to the Vysočina Region, more than seventy films, series and fairy tales have been made in Telč, for example Z pekla štěstí, Bathory, Až přijde kocour or Jak se budí princezny.[2]