Telč (German Teltsch, Latin Telcz) is a town in the Jihlava district in the Vysočina region, 25 km southwest of Jihlava. Approximately 5,300 inhabitants live here. The historic core of Telč is a valuable urban conservation area and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The name evolved from the variant Telcz (1180), Telci (1207), in Telez (1283), Telcz (1315, 1331, 1339), Telsch (1356), Telcz (1367), Thelcz (1392), from Telč (1406) , Telcz (1447), Telecz (1480), from Telč (1481), in Nové Telč (1486), Nowa Telcz (1490), Telczie (1580), Teltsch (1633), Teltzsch (1648), Teltsch (1678, 1718 . . The name Telč is feminine.
According to local legend, the town was founded as
early as 1099. However, the first written mention of it dates back
to 1315. An important date is the year 1339, when Telč was owned by
Oldřich III. from Hradec from the Vítkovec family. His family then
made a significant contribution to the development of Telč. He built
a local castle and church, fortified the city and also built Gothic
houses around the market. In 1386, a fire destroyed the western half
of the square with the church and town hall. In 1423, the Hussites
conquered the town.
In the middle of the 16th century, the
local estate Zachariáš from Hradec was acquired and Telč was once
again in its heyday. During the Thirty Years' War, the city and the
whole region suffered the malice of Swedish and imperial troops. In
1712, František Antonín Lichtenštejn-Kastelkorn inherited the local
goods. He was the last member of this family branch and died
childless in 1761. The Telč estate was inherited by his cousin Alois
Arnošt Count Podstatský of Prusinovice on the condition that the
name and coat of arms of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn and Podstatský of
Prusinovice be merged as Podstatský-Liechtenstein. In the 18th
century, there was an increase in the bourgeoisie. The beginning of
the 19th century is marked by industrialization. The construction of
the railway from Jihlava to Telč in 1898 and its connection via
Slavonice to Schwarzenau in Austria also ended the city's
communication isolation.
On April 1, 1980, the villages of
Borovná, Dolní Dvorce, Doupě, Dyjice, Dyjička, Stranná, Vanov,
Vanůvek, Volevčice and Zvolenovice were annexed as local parts to
Telč. On July 1, 1980, Horní Myslová was annexed, and on January 1,
1986, Radkov and Strachoňovice. The last wave of mergers took place
on January 1, 1989, when Mysletice, Olší and Zadní Vydří were
annexed. However, all the villages became independent on January 1,
1992.
Masaryk University operates its university center and the Czech
University Technical Education Center here. In addition, the Otokar
Březiny Gymnasium and Telč Vocational Secondary School, two elementary
schools, an elementary art school and a kindergarten are located here.
Since 1982, the music festival Prázdiny v Telč has been held here
every year. It is one of the oldest music festivals in the Czech
Republic, it always takes place at the turn of July and August.
Well-known artists not only from the Czech scene perform here, there are
also theaters, art workshops and exhibitions on the program. In 2020, he
won the Zlatá jeřabina award - the Vysočina Region Award for the
cultural achievement of 2020, he won 2nd place in the Cultural activity
category for the event Holidays in Telč.
In 2011, the UNESCO
monuments in Telč received a grant from the Vysočina Region tied to the
inclusion of camera recordings and transmissions of the monuments in the
Czech TV program Panorama, together with the city of Telč, the cities of
Třebíč and Žďár nad Sázavou also received the same grant. The broadcast
was supposed to take place from May 1, 2012 to the end of October of the
same year. The records were to be available throughout the year on the
websites of cities, regions, UNESCO and other organizations.
The
city is a popular location for Czech and foreign filmmakers. For
example, the companies When the Cat Comes, How the Princess Wakes, and Z
pekla štěstice were filmed here. In 2020, the educational game Found in
Telč was also created here, which allows players to get to know the city
of Telč in the form of a game.
In 2021, it was announced that the
city was participating in the Historic City of the Year 2021
competition. In January 2022, it was announced that the city of Telč won
the regional round and advanced to the regional round, while Jemnice and
Moravské Budějovice did not advance further.
The historic core of Telč, the Inner City, is one of the most
valuable urban heritage reserves in Moravia and in 1992 was included in
the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. The suburb of Staré Město,
whose historic part (around the Church of the Mother of God) is a city
monument zone, contributes to the city's historic value, and last but
not least, the fact that even new construction in the 20th century on
the outskirts of the city respected the valuable urban panorama, which
is not disturbed by an elevated panel building.
The dominant and
also the most important architectural monument of the city is the
Renaissance Telč Castle. Telč Castle is one of the jewels of Moravian
Renaissance architecture. Its appeal is all the greater because, thanks
to the owners' sensitive approach to the heritage of the past, the
original interiors have been preserved in very good condition.
Other important monuments of the Inner City include the parish church of
St. Jakub the Elder, Baroque Jesuit Church of the Names of Jesus, Church
of St. Ducha with a late Romanesque tower or a Baroque plague column.
Uniquely preserved burgher houses, especially on Zachariaše z Hradec
Square, for example Telčský dům, U Šeniglů dům and others, are also
protected as monuments.
A part of the walls from the 14th century
has been preserved, as well as a Romanesque wall bastion in Krátká
Street.
In the Old Town, in addition to the Church of the Mother
of God, for example, the building of the former Jesuit dormitory, now
called the Lanner House, is protected as a monument. In Podolí, the most
important monument is the baroque church of St. Anne. The Way of the
Cross leads from Telč to the chapel of St. Charles Borromeo.
The
local synagogue and the Jewish cemetery belong to the monuments of the
local Jewish settlement.
Ponds
The character of medieval Telč
was determined by the squeeze between three ponds – Ulický, Štěpnický
and Staroměstský.