Sights and Places of Interest

 

Přemysl Otakar II´s Square

The original town plan - streets forming squares like on a chessboard and the square in the middle - is an important relic of town Gothic architecture. The square itself is the largest square-shaped type in Bohemia. The middle of the square is enhanced by a plague column built in 1715 by Stuna from Klatovy and paid for by the town. It was built in the memory of the end of the plague era in 1715. There are four statues, one in each corner: St. Joseph, Jan Nepomucký, St. Lawrence and St. Florian. The Virgin Mary´s statue with a halo is placed in the middle. The oldest house in the square is the town hall with Baroque front and double gable from 1536. The square was last reconstructed during 1996 - 1997. Part of the reconstruction was a renovation of the buildings that used to stand there (e.g. water fountain and summer-house.

You can read more about the square HERE.

  

Old Town Hall

It was built at the beginning of the 15th century. Some stonework and elements of an old architecture such as columns and cross vault have been preserved until now. Since 1615 there was a jail situated at the back of the building. Town's money, original town privileges, a banner, seals and armour used to be kept in the town hall cellar. In this building called "big rathuz" king Jiri from Podebrady issued his letter-patent for citizens of Kutna Hora on 21st August 1468.

 

Sv. Vavřinec (St. Lawrence) Church

St. Vavřinec (Lawrence) Church was completed at the end of 13th century. Its beautiful main altar with a painting by Petr Brandl from 1728 belongs to the most valuable historical monuments of Vysoké Mýto. The spires of St. Vavřinec Church together with the original towers and gateways form a panorama which is beautiful no matter from which direction the town is entered.

You can see more photos HERE.

 

Bell-tower

The bell tower was made from the remains of brickwork of abolished monasteries in 1583 - 1585; the second floor for smaller bells was added in 1720. The bells were moved into repaired towers of St. Vavrinec's cathedral in 1899. Between 1985 - 1989 the Bell-tower's interior was modernised, four floors were reconstructed and converted into a permanent exhibition place for the Town Gallery's collections (graphics department, the 19th and 20th century art, selection of sculptures).

 

Rampart

Around 1265 the town was being fortified on Přemysl Otakar II’s orders. Because of that, Otakar rewarded the people of VM with not having to pay duty and toll for three years, and for the following two years they didn’t have to pay any taxes. The town walls were almost 20 ells high and 2 ells wide. The draw bridge led to three gates and above each gate there were two towers. 

Its mighty medieval gateways, towers and part of the town walls have been preserved until today. The most important historical events were engraved into the rampart walls in Jungmann Park. You can read here e.g. that at the beginning of 19the century Vysoké Mýto was the sixth in number of houses and seventeenth in number of inhabitants in the Czech kingdom. Other engravings inform about the fires, important people´s visits (kings, presidents, generals, ...), notable or interesting events, e.g.

On 30th April 1421, the town was conquered by Jan Žižka, the general of the Hussite Army.

In 1567 there were 368 houses in the town.

In 1715, 57 people died of plague, 49 of them were buried in the cemetery Pod Hájky.

On 6th August 1774, there was a fire which burned 271 houses, the church, the belfry, the school, the hospital, the town hall, Vraclav and Choceň Towers and 36 barns.

On 26th April 1827, Martin Stříbřík made a complete suit from wool within 12 hours.

 

Prague Gate

The Prague Tower was the highest watch tower (31 m) with a clock in the Middle Ages. It was the checkpoint as well as home to a watchman until the fire in 1816. The reconstruction of upper floors was completed between 1822 - 1883 by architect Fr. Schmoranz. Today it is the property of the museum and houses art exhibitions; it is also used as an observation tower.

You can learn more about the Prague Tower and its exhibitions HERE.

 

Litomyšl Gate

It was built in the 14th century as the part of the city fortification system. After the fire in 1829, on the 3rd of July 1829, the demolition of the towers’ remains was ordered. But the townsfolk realised it would had been too costly and difficult, because of the hardness of the material. That’s one of the reasons why both towers have remained until today. It was renovated and its present pseudo-Gothic appearance dates back to 1864-1867. The colourful fresco of Mikoláš Aleš depicting St. George on the horseback with the dragon comes from 1936.

 

Choceň Gate (Karaska)

Its original features have remained unchanged since the 13th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1569, 1700 and 1844. In 1614, a bell tower and a jail-house used to be sighted there and a watchman until 1700. Originally it had two towers, but one of them was destroyed by fire in 1844, and was not rebuilt; only ”Karaska” Tower remained.

  

The Holy Trinity Church

It was built in 1543 by maestro Blažej from Litomyšl in a former churchyard. It was built without a tower but with a tall Baroque gable with a portal made by Pardubice sculptor Vlček. The record about the establishment of the church was written into a sandstone plate.

 

Regional Museum 

It was founded around 1871 by Karel Richter, the town councillor. It was placed into a room in the town hall.  At the beginning the museum owned 66 objects (mainly paintings) and 163 coins but the collection was not open to public. The architect Josef Škorpil came back to Vysoké Mýto in 1883. He had seen many museums in Paris and decided to extend the museum’s collections by their example. Firstly, he moved the collections into the repaired Prague Tower. To make the museum renowned, he wrote a commission (notice):”Let’s save antiques” and broadened it into nearby towns and villages. The museum’s collection was quickly increasing and the museum was finally opened to the public on the 24th May 1885. In 1912 the museum moved to the birth-house of the prominent person of the Czech national revival - A. V. Šembera.

You can learn more about the museum HERE.
For a special entry about the Regional Museum in Vysoké Mýto in Wikipedia click HERE.

Tourist Information Centre

When you come to Vysoké Mýto, you can get more information at the Tourist Information Centre which is situated in the central square (Square of Přemysl Otakar II), on the ground floor of the Town Hall.

 

  

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Coat of Arms (from Wikipedia)

Central Square © Mun.Council of VM

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