I know Telč very well and since childhood I have visited it at least once a year. Surprisingly, I realized only recently that Telč is one of the best WHS in Czechia, because I took it as a standard small Czech town and overlooked its outstanding values.

The town houses around the triangular square maybe do not stand out by themselves, but their qualities lay in their compactness, or how to call it. They are only seemingly uniform, but in fact they have been constructed and changed throughout several centuries. The same is true for the castle. It has been founded in middle ages, but the most significant is its Renaissance reconstruction in 16th Century. It resulted in the masterpiece comparable to Italian originals. The castle is under extensive reconstruction till Summer 2022, and I am looking forwards to visiting it after its re-opening. Besides the beautiful renaissance castle chapel, there are three churches in the Telč town center: late gothic St. Jacob close to the castle (PHOTO - top/left), nearby Church of the Name of Jesus built in baroque style for Jesuits order with adjacent college (PHOTO - top/right), and the oldest structure in Telč - Holy Spirit Church. Its tower has Romanesque windows from the first half of 13th Century (PHOTO - bottom).

However, none of the churches as well as the town houses are exceptional by themselves (in contrast to the castle chapel, arcades and interiors, which are outstanding). The outstanding quality of Telč can be found in its overall layout, which is deeply related to the last feature I would like to stress: the town is surrounded by three fish ponds that brings another aspect to the site (see PHOTO).

Well, the traffic on the main square is often criticized, but it is still bearable, and the access is allowed for locals. Telč is not a museum town, so, I have no problem with it.

What I would recommend is to stay for a couple of days and explore the surrounding landscape with small towns, villages, ponds and rocks all around.