The name of the town of Krumlov comes from the German term „krumme Aue,” which is translated as „crooked meadow.“ The name was derived from the natural topography of the town: it lies along the S-curved meanders of the Vltava River. Český Krumlov was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a world cultural site in 1992.
The first written mention of the actual town comes from a deed by Jindřich I of Rožmberk dating from 1309. The town and the castle enjoyed the greatest prosperity during the rule of the Rožmberk family, but the most famous are the last Rožmberk family members, especially Vilém and Petr Vok Rožmberk. The dominant feature of the town is the original Gothic castle, which was owned by the Rožmberk family from 1302 (this is when the Krumlov branch of the Vítkovec family died out). Today it consists of 40 buildings surrounding several courtyards, a large castle
complex built later on and a landscaped castle garden.
In 1555, Vilém joined the previously separate districts: Latrán and Old Town. The last member of the family, Petr Vok of Rožmberk, was forced to cede Krumlov to Emperor Rudolf II in 1601 as payment for his debts. Emperor Rudolf II placed his illegitimate son Don Julius d‘Austria in Krumlov for a short period of time. There is a legend about his dissolute life and the horrible murder of his lover Markéta Pichlerová. For his actions, mad Julius, who suffered from schizophrenia, was imprisoned in the castle where he also died. But all this has been forgotten and one of the restaurants below the castle is named after him.
The town’s enclosed historical centre was affected by the great flood in 2002, which damaged a large part of the centre. No one expected that the water would rise to over 7 meters and would cause damages worth many millions of Czech Crowns.
Did you know that...
Josef Adam of Schwarzenberg had the castle theatre dating from the 17th century rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1765–1766 and that it has been preserved in this condition, including the original parts, to this day? There is nothing else like it in the world and only the Swedish Royal Theatre in Drottningholm near Stockholm from 1766 is comparable.
Natives and notables
- Egon Schiele (1890–1918) – an Austrian expressionist painter who lived in Krumlov in a garden house with his mistress Wally Neuzil. His best-known paintings depict Wally and the theme of the town. The local Egon Schiele Art Centre is an internationally recognized gallery today.
- Josef Seidel (1859–1935) – a photographer of the Šumava Mountains,who spent almost his entire life in Český Krumlov. He became the head of a unique studio in 1888. The Seidel Photo Studio is now an indoor tourist attraction of worldwide importance in the town.
Our tip
In the newly opened triple monastery in a meander of the river below the castle, visitors can see the complexes of two monasteries of the Minorites and the Poor Clares monastery. Interesting craft workshops and fairs are held in the monastery courtyard.