Historic Centre of Telč

Telč stands on a hill near the border between Moravia and Bohemia, in a region that was dense forest until the 13th century. The town first appears in records around 1333 to 1335, which mention an important castle there. The town itself was probably founded in the mid 14th century, with houses around a long triangular market place, protected by stone walls and a chain of artificial ponds.

Most of the houses were wooden until a fire in 1386, after which they were rebuilt in stone, and the church of St James, built in 1360-72, also had to be rebuilt. In the Hussite Wars the Hussites took the town, but the castle held out. The town prospered in the second half of the 16th century under Zachariáš of Hradec, who began turning the castle into a Renaissance residence and, after another fire, had the market place rebuilt with arcaded, decorated Renaissance facades.

The Jesuits built a college in 1651-65 and the Church of the Name of Jesus in 1666-67. The town kept its old character through the industrial changes of the 19th century. It became a historic urban reserve in 1970; its 9 ha hold 85 designated monuments. Telč was inscribed in 1992.