Cesky Krumlov

Construction of the town and castle began in the late 13th century at a ford in the Vltava River, which was important in trade routes in Bohemia. In 1302 town and castle was owned by the House of Rosenberg. Emperor Rudolf II bought Krumlov in 1602 and gave it to his natural son Julius d'Austria. Emperor Ferdinand II gave Krumlov to the House of Eggenberg. From 1719 until 1945 the castle belonged to the House of Schwarzenberg. Most of the architecture of the old town and castle dates from the 14th through 17th centuries; the town's structures are mostly in Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. The core of the old town is within a horseshoe bend of the river, with the old Latran neighborhood and castle on the other side of the Vltava.

During the Communist era of Czechoslovakia, Krumlov fell into disrepair, but since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 much of the town's former beauty has been restored, and it is now a major holiday destination popular with tourists from Germany, Austria, and beyond. In August, 2002, the town suffered from damage in the great flood of the Vltava River.

Cesky Krumlov Castle is unusually large for a town of Krumlov's size; within the Czech Republic it is second in extent only to the Hradcany castle complex of Prague. Inside its grounds are a large garden, an extensive bridge over a deep gap in the rock upon which the castle is built and the castle itself, which in turn consist of many defined parts dating from different periods of time.

Church of St. Vitus (Kostel Sv. Vita) is a Gothic church dating back to the 15th century with frescoes from the same period. Cesky Krumlov Castle preserves its Baroque theatre (completed 1766), complete with original stage machinery, scenery and props: one of only a few such court theatres that still exist. Due to its age, the theatre is only used three times a year (only two are open to the public), when a Baroque opera is performed in simulated candlelight.