| Now's probably
a good time to go to Velke namesti. Besides being big, the square
was also empty, save for a plague monument (like every Czech town) and
a small fountain that was covered in a blue tarp. The four corners of the
square served as flowerbeds, and lamp posts lined the perimeter of the
square. On Saturday morning, some kind of market would have been nice,
even if it was just fruits and vegetables; it would have given the square
some color.
Telc, a much
smaller town near Kromeriz, had an much better main square compared with
Kromeriz' main square in which some of the buildings were crumbling. Come
to think of it, many of the side streets were in better overall condition
in Telc. That doesn’t mean to say there weren’t a few gems in Kromeriz.
The
Renaissance-era town hall wasn’t too shabby. Neither were some of the
Art Nouveau-styled buildings and gray and white Renaissance buildings which
had some graffito remaining. If you haven’t been to the other honorably-mentioned
towns - read: Telc - , it certainly will deliver. Not terrible, just not
great.
But Velke namesti
isn't the main attraction in Kromeriz, anyway. You came to see the Archbishops’
Chateau and its surrounding grounds, located just north of Velke namesti
and recognizable by the other, taller, baroque clock tower. Don’t meander
at this point but go directly through the gates and find out when the next
tour is. After this, you can wander to kill time or wander after the tour,
which takes a good 90 minutes. If you have more than 15 minutes to spare,
try the view from the clock tower. As I mentioned, it’s the best shot of
St. Maurice’s and the view in that direction is the most pleasant.
The whole town
and beyond is pretty nice and there’s not many panelaks, the Soviet-era
apartment blocks, but Velke namesti does look like a bald patch. After
descending from the tower, give yourself time to enjoy the courtyard before
the tour starts, preferably on a bench. There are closely trimmed hedges,
white cannons on wooden wheels and angel sculptures stand guard. The first
room in the tour is covered with artificial animal trophies and has a billiards
table.
The tour includes
various residential and administrative rooms with the walls adorned with
numerous paintings of archbishops, but the best rooms, as in most movies,
come towards the end. Mansky Hall has ceiling paintings from Franz Anton
Maulpertsch and definitely deserves at least 5 minutes of neck craning.
The
climax is the Meeting Hall where scenes from Amadeus were shot. If
heaven has a lobby, it probably looks something like this. Occasionally
concerts are held here and that could make a classical music fan out of
the most hardened punk. Crystal chandeliers drip from the ceiling looking
as majestic as possible. The walls are decorated with gold over white.
You can’t help but feel it’s something divine.
This room
is just one of many reasons to wipe the dust off your VHS of Amadeus
or
go rent it on DVD to hear Mozart in your new surround sound set up that
hadn't yet been invented in 1984. The tour finishes with a walk through
the almost exclusive wooden library with its mountain upon mountain of
books. The dumpster-sized globes were interesting as well.
After the tour,
you’re probably going to be hungry or thirsty or both. If you return to
Velke namesti, there are plenty of Czech restaurants to dine in or you
can go for the Bohemia Pizzeria which has some sort of a Hawaiian theme
happening inside and a beer garden out front. If you’re just thirsty you
should go without delay to a sklep, or wine bar, such as the one around
the corner from the chateau which is located through Mill Gate. If you
can still walk (a straight line isn’t necessary) you can return to
the chateau to wander through the gardens, which stretch to the Morava
river. Obviously, spring is probably the best time to go to Kromeriz to
see the gardens.
There’s many
kinds of trees, some of which are better viewed after leaving the path
and venturing out onto the grass. One such tree that normally doesn't catch
the vistor's eye is the birch tree. It’s hideously inviting in its nakedness
and the branches are so twisted it looks as if a giant climbed up the tree
and rolled himself into a small ball. It’s also suitable for climbing because
the branches shoot out the entire height of the tree. And there’s even
a bench underneath it. Try not to think about Edgar Allen Poe when you’re
dozing off.
The grounds
also sport small fountains, and playfully trimmed hedges that surround
flower beds, and animals.
Here and there we saw cages, and sometimes we heard a frentic scratching
sound, as though cats and birds were scratching together. The birds and
cats seemed to ignore each other. The sounds of screeching monkeys would
have given the place a jungle feel if you still couldn't hear the sounds
of traffic. There were also ponds and an tributary of the river. The level
of enjoyment you derive from the ponds and tributary will tell you how
much time you need in Kromeriz. With a packed picnic, four hours plus is
completely feasible. But for those of you who are flower lovers and bleeding
heart romantics, there’s more from where that came from because there’s
also a 17th century Baroque flower garden west of the city center along
Gen Svobody street.
You know, now
that I think about it, stay an extra day. You can go to the Kromeriz Museum
in Velke namesti or catch up on anything you missed the day before. If
the weather is foul the next day or you’re too lazy to go walking around,
catch a flick. I think I know which one you’ll be in the mood for.
The following
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