The chateau in Nové Hrady, a tiny town near Litomyšl, is one of the few typically Rococo heritage buildings in the Czech Republic. The building, constructed in 1774-1777, was designed in the style of French summer residences. It is thus often nicknamed Little Schönbrunn based on the palace in Vienna, or Czech Versailles based on the French royal chateau.
The former granary building in the chateau garden contains the First Czech Cycling Museum, featuring exhibits from the mid 19th century to the present. The ground floor is reserved for velocipedes from more than a century ago, including unique accessories such as original cycling maps, carbide and oil lamps. Do not miss the prizes from the earliest races organized in the Czech Lands.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.