The story of this place
After a fire in 1530 devastated Telč, its lord Zachariáš of Hradec, freshly returned from Renaissance Italy, rebuilt the whole town in Italian style, giving it one of the most harmonious squares in Europe. A long triangular market place is lined on all sides by tall burgher houses in soft pinks, yellows and greens, each fronted by shady arcades and topped with elaborate Renaissance and baroque gables — no two quite alike, yet perfectly unified. At one end stands Zachariáš's château, transformed from a Gothic castle into an elegant Renaissance palace with sgraffito courtyards and a golden hall. Surrounded by fishponds that once formed its moat, this near-perfect ensemble was inscribed by UNESCO in 1992.