I grew up in Jihlava town, which is some 30 km Nord-West from Třebíč. Thus, I have been there many times. There is a rivalry between citizens of Jihlava and Třebíč that leads to questions, which town has larger market-square or which one is more developed, older, more beautiful, etc. Regardless of what town would be a winner in this a bit absurd competition, I must admit that the ensemble of St Procopius basilica and the former Jewish quarter with the cemetery is kind of special and unique, or at least the best example of its kind.

The Jewish quarter is quite small and consists of rather ordinary houses from 18-19th Century, but it is one of the best-preserved and important examples of what used to be common in many towns of Central and Eastern Europe. Thus the inscription to the list is clearly justified.

As concerns the basilica, I can understand not very enthusiastic comments of visitors from Western Europe, but it is one of the oldest and finest really monumental structures in Czechia. Thus, it should be compared with churches from regions of much longer-lasting tradition with precaution. It was built around the half of 13th Century and combines together Romanesque and Gothic elements from various parts of the Western Medieval world (France, Germany, England, Italy), thus it may look eclectic. But it is better to call it bizarre as mentioned in the nomination text, because it combines the western elements in rather strange way. For example, the oldest part of the church – the crypt is built in formally “younger” almost pure Gothic style, but some upper parts of the church that were built later have Romanesque appearance. However, the most bizarre is the eight-ribbed vault in the east choir that is not easy to understand even from the technical point of view, because it is more suitable for domes in the inner parts of the disposition or crossing of naves. But in Třebíč, there is a row of three such vaults that required massive walls between them - PHOTO. In my home-town Jihlava, we have three churches from the same period (half of 13th Century) but all the churches are built in different styles, though St Procopius basilica stands out and is unique. Even another WHS - cathedral of Naumburg was built in the same period as St Procopius. In contrast to Třebíč where Gothic and Romanesque elements are blend together, Naumburg cathedral has distinct parts in pure Gothic style (Western Choir) but the rest of the church is pure late Romanesquish.

All in all, Třebíč is quite interesting WHS!