Cesky Krumlov is a three hour bus ride from Prague but worth the time and effort to get there. It is one of the best preserved Medieval towns in Europe with structures dating back to the early 1200s. The castle complex is second only to Prague Castle and is the second largest complex in central Europe. The Vltava River begins here and wraps all the way around the castle complex. The castle belonged not to kings but the Dukes of Bohemia. Three powerful families owned the castle over the past 800 years, the Rosenbergs (to 1602), Eggenbergs (to 1719), and Schwarzenbergs (until 1950s). These powerful families had the right to mint their own money.
Cesky Krumlov is located in Sudetenland, close to the border of Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Hitler used the predominantly German population of this region as a pretext for seizing the region in the days leading up to WWII. During the Communist period the castle complex fell into disrepair but it was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1992 and has been significantly restored.
central square with plague column from 1714
