The best road cycling routes in Npp Blanice

The two-storey Renaissance house, built in 1572, was the property of Jakub Menšík z Menštejna, a lawyer and writer from Prague, who was a native of Prague. He was the royal procurator (1601-1603) and burgrave of Prague Castle (1603-1614). In 1580 the house became the property of the city, and in the years 1625-1627 it was extensively rebuilt. The west side is decorated with sgraffito from 1573, depicting biblical, battle and hunting scenes, as well as allegories. The paintings, remarkably the only ones in the city with German inscriptions, were only discovered in 1889. The stone portal is decorated with the Schwarzenberg coat of arms. Today the house is connected to the neighboring National House (Narodní dům) to form one building.

The neo-Renaissance building of the New Town Hall on the west side of the Great Square was commissioned by the city authorities in June 1901 due to the growing need for space. Two previous Gothic and Renaissance houses had to make way for the new building, but the original Gothic cellars have been preserved. One corner is adorned with an imposing bell tower. The building, which was completed in 1903, was designed by the Viennese architect Professor Antonín Schurda. The sgraffito decoration of the facade was by the painter Jan Viertelberger, the sculptures by the sculptor Jiří Leisek, both from Vienna. To mark the building's centenary, the facade was renovated in 2003 and 2004. The painting depicting a mule caravan transporting salt on the Golden Route from Passau to Prachatice is very beautiful.

The Old Town Hall is one of the most important Renaissance buildings in Bohemia. The two-storey palace in the Florentine Renaissance style has two side wings and arcades in the courtyard. The façade facing the square is decorated mainly with figurative chiaroscuro paintings. It was designed by Italian architects in the service of the Rosenberg family. The paintings are by the Prachatice artist Jan Březnický. In addition to the council chamber and the mayor's rooms, there was also a "town wine bar" here from 1666 and later a theater on the ground floor. After the construction of the New Town Hall in 1903, the building lost its importance and became the district court (until 1974) and the seat of the District National Committee. Since 1992 it has belonged to the town of Prachatice again, which uses it as the seat of its municipal office. The central tourist information office is also located here (open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from June to September also on Saturdays and Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

The Lower Gate refers not only to the fortifications at this entrance to the Old Town, but also - as Dolní brána - to the 13-meter-long street that leads through the gate buildings. It connects the Kostelní náměstí with the Malý náměstí. The covered passage at the Heydl House is also called the Písecká Gate. To the right is the Parkán Park, followed by another, battlemented passage in which there is a depiction of Calvary.

The Heydl House was rebuilt between 1557 and 1559 by Jíra Heydl, a salt merchant from Prachatice. The one-storey Renaissance town house has an attic with a crenellated top. The façade is decorated with rich sgraffito decoration, the main theme being the heroic deeds of Hercules.

The Church of St. James the Greater is a significant building of the High and Late Gothic period. The current form was created during the Late Gothic reconstruction of the church from 1468 to 1513, the presbytery is older and probably dates back to the 14th century (the oldest mention of the consecration of St. James' Church dates back to 1312). During the Hussite Wars, on November 12, 1420, 85 people were burned in the sacristy of the then unfinished church, then the vault of the sacristy was demolished and the fallen stones covered the bodies.

Important for cyclists: There are also restaurants here with delicious food. 😀

There is a small shop where you can also get a fresh coffee!