Monday 09 May 2022

We depart this morning from York and transfer to Manchester Airport for our direct flight to Prague On arrival we are met by our local coach before departing on an introductory tour of the city of Prague. Our first visit on the tour is Prague Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site; the castle complex is the largest in the world covering an area of 70,000 metres squared. Most likely built in the 9th Century the castle has undergone renovations throughout its history, blending classical and gothic architecture. Most famously, the castle is remembered as the location of the second Defenestration of Prague, where the Protestant lords threw their Catholic adversaries out of the window, thus contributing to the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War that engulfed most of Europe (c. 1618 – c. 1648).

We then continue on to St. Vitus Cathedral, which is situated within the Prague Castle complex. A masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the Cathedral also houses the tombs of many Bohemian Kings and the Holy Roman Emperors, Charles IV and Rudolf II. Its numerous treasures also include the 14th century mosaic of the Last Judgement above the Golden Gate, the ornate Chapel of St Wenceslas and art nouveau stained glass by Alfons Mucha.

In the late afternoon we transfer to our comfortable accommodation. A welcome drink will be served prior to dinner at the hotel.



Tuesday 10 May 2022

After breakfast, we depart for the Strahov Monastery, an institution that has taken much pride in outlasting fires, the Hussite wars of religion, the Thirty Years’ War and the rise of Communism. Founded in 1143, this is the oldest monastery of the Premonstratensian Order. Underneath the elegant spires of the basilica there are two beautiful period libraries, the Theological Hall and the Philosophical Hall, holding 200,000 old prints and priceless pictures from throughout the centuries.

We continue to the National Museum, a vast treasure trove of historical artefacts said to hold up to 14 million items. Along with an extremely rich collection of items from prehistory, there are also permanent exhibitions which trace the development of the Czech nation from its 10th century origins as well as ethnographic collections detailing the cultural and social history of the Slavic nations.

In the afternoon, we transfer to Wallenstein Palace and Garden. The monumental palace of Albrecht of Wallenstein, general of the Habsburg armies, was built in the 1630s as a rival to Prague Castle. So grand and opulent in its design, this imposing Italian-style palace required the razing of 26 houses, six gardens and two brickworks in order for construction to be completed. Unfortunately for Albrecht, he was only able to enjoy his newly built palace for a year before being assassinated by Emperor Ferdinand II who feared his burgeoning political power. The gardens display a fine example of Mannerist layout and decoration, dominated by an aisle lined with bronze sculptures, an impressive Sala Terrena and a stalactite grotto. We return to our hotel where dinner is served in the evening.

Wednesday 11 May 2022

Following breakfast, we will visit Karlstejn Castle. Built to store the royal treasures of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in the mid-1300s, this exceptionally vivid castle sits atop a craggy valley and dominates the skyline. Not just one of the finest castles in Europe, it is also one of the most impregnable: Karlstejn famously withstood a siege in the 1420s where dead bodies and 2000 carriages of dung were catapulted over the castle walls to spread infection among the defenders.

In the afternoon, we travel back to the prehistoric period as we visit the Koněprusy Caves. Discovered in 1950, the network of caves consists of 400 million year old Devonian limestone rocks which are 2 kilometres in length and stretch 70 metres below the ground level. The caves showcase unique opal-beating decorations as well as numerous paleontological excavations which document natural history over the past 1.5 million years. On the top level of the cave system are the remains of a 15th century secret workshop for money forgers. We return to our hotel in Prague where dinner is served in the evening.

Thursday 12 May 2022

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and depart for Kutna Hora, a UNESCO-listed city. Known as the ‘national treasury’ for its wealth of silver mines, this prosperous city brought about a boom time for the Czech Kingdom until the silver dried up in the 18th century. The riches of the silver city can still be found in the sumptuous architecture of the urban dwellings as well the Church of St Barbara, a jewel of the late Gothic period.

We then transfer to the World Heritage Site Sedlec Ossuary, a fascinating Roman Catholic chapel for those with a taste for the macabre. The skeletons of between 40,000 to 70,000 people have been artistically arranged into furnishings, decorations and ornaments at the behest of the House of Schwarzenburg. Their family’s coat of arms are bedecked with bones while the gigantic chandelier contains at least every bone of the human body and hangs from the centre of the nave with garlands of skulls draping the vault.

In the afternoon we continue to Brno, where we will have free time to explore Moravia’s cosmopolitan capital and the hometown of the great Czech composer, Leoš Janáček. In the evening we check in to our comfortable accommodation where dinner will be served

Friday 13 May 2022

After breakfast, we will spend the day touring the Moravia Karst, a Protected Area of natural and geological importance with more 1,100 caverns and gorges. Firstly, we will make a visit to Kateřinská Cave which was once part of a prehistoric outgoing water cave system. Traces of the underground river are still noticeable from the watermarks on the cave walls and erosion holes. We enter the cave through the Hlavní Dóm, this is the spacious main hall of the cave, and from here footpaths will lead us to colourful chambers of stalactite and stalagmite formations.

In the afternoon, we visit Kulna Cave, one of the most important archaeological sites in the world for the study of prehistoric human settlements. The cave system at Kulna has been used by humans in different climactic periods and oldest archaeological evidence are stone tools dating back 120,000 years. After the departure of the Neanderthals, the Kulna Cave was settled several times by modern humans from the Upper Palaeolithic Era. We will discover evidence of mammoth hunters from 22,000 years ago and reindeer and horse hunters from between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago.

We return to our hotel where dinner is served in the evening

Saturday 14 May 2022

Following breakfast, we visit the Moravian Museum, the Czech Republic’s oldest museum. Founded in 1817 by imperial decree by František I in 1817, the museum is a haven for anthropologists, archaeologists, zoologists, botanists and musicologists with over six million items on display. Highlights include permanent exhibitions on the pre-history of Moravia, displays on the social changes in Medieval Moravia and a memorial to Leoš Janáček.

We then travel to the beautiful town of Kromeriz, site of the UNESCO-listed Archbishop’s Palace. Originally built as a wooden structure in the 13th century as the administrative centre for Bishop Bruno of Schauenburg, the palace was updated after the Thirty Years’ War and typifies the imperial grandeur of that period. The gardens are an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of the formal baroque style that was popular in princely residences of the 17th century.

We continue to Olomouc, to view the Holy Trinity Column which UNESCO regard as ‘one of the most exceptional examples of the apogee of central European Baroque artistic expression.’ The column was commissioned as a thanksgiving to God after the end of the plague that had swept through Moravia with devastating consequences. Standing thirty-five metres tall, the top of the column is dominated by gilded copper statues of the Holy Trinity, Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary while the base of the structure houses a small inner chapel.

We return to our hotel where dinner is served in the evening.

Sunday 15 May 2022

After breakfast we check out of the hotel and depart for a visit to Pernstejn Castle. One of the most beautiful castles of Moravia, it has been standing in the deep forests of the Moravian-Bohemian Highlands for eight centuries. Perched on a rocky hill and known as the ‘marble castle’, its towers and ramparts loom over the surrounding lush countryside. As with other imposing castles in the Czech Republic, this once changed ownership multiple times in its turbulent history. Modified significantly in the 16th century, the castle is frequently used as a location for filming fairytales and movies set in the medieval period. Unlike other castles and palaces, it was not extensively remodelled or updated and still holds many of its original elements.

We continue to our comfortable accommodation in Litomysl, our base for tonight. Dinner is served in the evening.

Monday 16 May 2022

Following breakfast, we check out of the hotel and visit the UNESCO-listed Renaissance Château in Litomysl. The seat of the Perstejn dynasty, this is an immaculately preserved example of the arcade castle design developed in renaissance Italy. It was built in the 1560s-1580s by Vratislav of Perstejn as a gift for his beloved wife, Maria Manrique de Lara. An intriguing feature of the château is the use of sgraffito on hundreds and hundreds of square metres of individual bricks in order to intricately decorate the exterior with various representations of myths and fables.

We then depart for the town of Hradec Kralove where we will stop for lunch (not included). Renowned as the ‘Salon of the Republic’, the town is permanently remembered as a centre of modern architecture during the 1920s and 1930s.

After lunch we will continue to the spa town of Poděbrady, which sits on the banks of the River Elbe. We will visit Poděbrady Castle, founded in the first half of the 12th century as a strategic fortress on a limestone rock overlooking the river.

Later we return to our original hotel in Prague, where dinner is served in the evening.

Tuesday 17 May 2022

After a leisurely breakfast we transfer to the airport for our flight back to Manchester where on arrival the group will transfer back to York by coach.