Telč (; german: Teltsch) is a town in the

Jihlava District Jihlava District is one of the five sub-divisions of Kraj Vysočina in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to ...

in the

Vysočina Region The Vysočina Region (; cs, Kraj Vysočina "Highlands Region", , ) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located partly in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia and partly in the south-west of the hist ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 5,100 inhabitants. The town is well known for its historic centre, which is protected by law as an urban monument reservation and is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Etymology and names

The name evolved from the variant Telcz (1180), Telci (1207), to Telez (1283), Telcz (1315, 1331, 1339), Telsch (1356), Telcz (1367), Thelcz (1392), from Telč (1406) , Telcz (1447), Telecz (1480), from Telč (1481), to Nové Telč (1486), Nowa Telcz (1490), Telczie (1580), Teltsch (1633), Teltzsch (1648), Teltsch (1678, 1718 , 1720, 1751), Teltsch and Telč (1846, 1872) until the form of Telč in 1881 and 1924. The local name was originally Teleč and was created by adding the possessive suffix -jъ to the personal name Telec (meaning young bull) and was masculine. The name Telč is feminine. The Jewish name of the city in Yiddish is טעלטש.

Administrative parts

Telč is made up of town parts of Telč-Podolí, Telč-Staré Město, Telč-Štěpnice and Telč-Vnitřní Město, and of village of Studnice. Studnice forms an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the municipal territory.

Geography

Telč is located about southwest of

Jihlava Jihlava (; german: Iglau) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 50,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihlava i ...

. It lies in the

Křižanov Highlands The Křižanov Highlands ( cs, Křižanovská vrchovina, german: Krischanauer Bergland) is a highland and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Vysočina Region. Geomorphology The Křižanov Highlands i ...

. The highest point is the hill Studnická Ostražka at above sea level, located near Studnice. The Telčský Stream flows through the town and contributes the

Moravian Thaya The Moravian Thaya ( cs, Moravská Dyje, german: Mährische Thaya) is a river in the Czech Republic and in Austria, and a left tributary of the Thaya. Its drainage basin is . The Moravian Thaya originates about southeast of Třešť near the vi ...

River in the south. The Moravian Thaya partly forms the eastern border of the municipal territory. The territory is rich in ponds. The set of ponds Štěpnický, Ulický and Staroměstský is located in the centre of the town.

History

According to local legend, the town was founded in 1099, however the first written mention is from 1335. The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

castle, Gothic houses and water fortification were built in the mid-14th century. The development ended during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

. The town was conquered by the

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hussit ...

but the castle resisted. Telč slowly recovered and another period of prosperity occurred during the rule of Zachariáš of Hradec. In the middle of the 16th century, he had the medieval castle rebuilt in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

. He also had the Gothic houses rebuilt into Renaissance houses with arcades and decorated façades. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, the town was shortly occupied by

Swedish army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

. The counter-reformation brought the Jesuits to the town, who built the Church of the Name of Jesus in 1667, and founded the Jesuit Latin Grammar School. During the 18th century, the town profited from wealthy townspeople who had statues, fountains, chapels and Marian column built. In 1773, the rights of the Jesuit Order were cancelled. From 1785, Telč was

germanised Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...

. During the 19th century, the industry developed. The railway was built in 1898.

Demographics

Sights

The historic town centre is located between the Štěpnický and Ulický ponds and also delimited by town walls. The historic centre is protected as an urban monument reservation and the town part of Telč-Staré Město is an urban monument zone. Since 1992, Telč has been a

. The town square is a unique complex of long urban plaza with well-conserved Renaissance and

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

houses with high gables and arcades. The houses have been uniformly reconstructed in the Renaissance styles and later gables and façades of some of them were individually remodelled. in most cases in the Baroque style. The 17th-century Renaissance château with an English-style park is one of the main landmarks of the square and whole town. One of the most valuable parts is the Chapel of All Saints with stucco decoration. There are several exhibition routes and the château also houses a branch of the Vysočina Museum with ethnographic, historical and archaeological collections.

In popular culture

In 1963

Vojtěch Jasný Vojtěch Jasný (30 November 1925 – 15 November 2019) was a Czech director, screenwriter and professor who has written and directed over 50 films. Jasný made feature and documentary films in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, USA & Canada, and ...

made the film ''

The Cassandra Cat ''The Cassandra Cat'' ( cz, Až přijde kocour), also released under the titles ''When the Cat Comes'', ''The Cat Who Wore Sunglasses, One Day a Cat'' and/or ''That Cat'', is a 1963 Czechoslovak film directed by Vojtěch Jasný. The film won two ...

'' in Telč. In 1979

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

filmed the movie ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'' in Telč. Multiple Czech fairy tale movies were filmed in the Telč Castle, most known are '' The Proud Princess'' (1952) or ''Z pekla štěstí'' (1999).

Notable people

* Siegfried Taub (1876–1946), Jewish politician * Leopold Lojka (1886–1926),

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

's chauffeur * Theodor Schaefer (1904–1969), composer and pedagogue

Twin towns – sister cities

Telč is twinned with: *

Belp Belp is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is close to Bern's Belp Airport. The municipality of Belpberg merged on 1 January 2012 into the municipality of Belp.

, Switzerland *

Figeac Figeac (; oc, Fijac) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. Figeac is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Figeac is on the via Podiensis, a major hiking medieval pilgrimage trail which is part of the Way of St. ...

, France *

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the w ...

, Germany *

Šaľa Šaľa (; hu, Vágsellye, german: Schelle) is a town in south-western Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on both banks of the Váh River, around 65 km from Bratislava and 30 km from Nové Zámky. Except t ...

, Slovakia *

Waidhofen an der Thaya Waidhofen an der Thaya (; Czech: ''Český Bejdov'') is an Austrian town located on the German Thaya river in the district of the same name in Lower Austria. It is the northernmost of the capitals of the Districts of Austria. Population Twin ...

, Austria * Wilber, United States

Gallery

Telc Castle.jpg, Telč Castle Telc Castle, First Court.jpg, Telč Castle, First Court Telc Castle, Wedding Hall.jpg, Telč Castle, Wedding Hall Telc viewed across the ponds.jpg, Telč viewed across the ponds Telc from St James's Church tower.jpg, General view Namesti Zachariase z Hradce.jpg, Zachariáše z Hradce Square Houses in Namesti Zachariase z Hradce.jpg, Houses on the square Sgraffiti on house in Namesti Zachariase z Hradce.jpg, Sgraffiti on a house on the square

References

External links

*
Telč on DiscoverCzech Travel Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telc Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Castles in the Czech Republic Populated places in Jihlava District World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic