The following history of Ceský Krumlov is
a condensed and edited version of material taken
from the town's official website and
Wikipedia.
The Vltava River has long been navigational for
shipping to this region. The area's oldest
settlement goes back to the late Stone Age (70000
to 50000 B.C.). Increasingly larger settlements
were noted in the Bronze Age (1500 B.C.) and
Celtic settlements in the early Iron Age (approx.
400 B.C.). Slavonic settlement has been dated
from the 6th century A.D. the Slavs being
represented by two tribes - Boletice and
Doudleby.
In the 9th century the area was probably owned by
the noble Czech family of Slavníkovci, who
were slaughtered by the rival family of
Premyslovci in 995. This area then became their
property. In accordance with the principles of
internal colonization and bestowing of sovereign
domains in fief to members of a sovereign
dynasty, this domain was able to be given by the
ruling family of Premyslovci to one of their own
lines i.e. the Witigonen, known in Czech as the
Vítkovci.
Vitek, a member of the family, came to South
Bohemia in the 12th century. In 1179 he built
four residences in the region. Vítek could
freely dispose of his properties and therefore
gave one to each of his four sons - Jindrich of
Hradec; Vítek II senior (predecessor of
the Lords of Krumlov); Vítek III junior,
founder of the family of Rosenberg; and
Vítek IV.
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In 1251 the Bohemian King Premysl Otakar II
gained Austrian lands through marriage to Anna
Maria of Bamberg. Premysl Otakar II. He tried to
populate the sparsely settled Sumava region in
the Czech-Austrian borderland so as to integrate
his domains in Bohemia with his newly gained
territories in Austria. His efforts in this
sphere, however, had its consequences in those
territories and resulted in conflicts with this
most powerful ruling aristocratic family in the
country, the sovereign family of Vítkovci.
The town's name was first mentioned in a letter
written by Duke Otokar Stýrský in
1253. The town itself was established essentially
in two stages. The first part called
Latrán was built below the Krumlov castle
and settled mostly by people who had some
administrative connection with the castle.
The second part of the town was founded on a
"green meadow", i.e. in a place where no previous
settlement had been. The town subsequently took
shape as a typical colonisation ground plan with
a quadratic square in the centre with streets
from its corners leading to the town walls. This
part of the town and its first Magistrate Sipota
were first mentioned in 1274. Since the very
beginning the population of the town was
represented by both Czech and German
nationalities and even Italian.
In 1302 the Krumlovian branch of the
Vítkovci died out, and according to the
law of escheat their domains should have passed
to the king. At that time the Krumlovian estates
consisted of a relatively extensive network of
castles and smaller subject towns which were
sources of numerous incomes for the
aristocracy.
A member of another powerful branch of the
Vítkovec family, Jindrich von Rosenberg,
successfully requested that the king,
Václav II (Wenceslav II), override the law
of escheat and vest the Krumlovian estates to The
Rosenbergs. They later made Krumlov the main
residence of their family.
During the rule of the Rosenberg family, both the
town and castle flourished. Crafts and trade
developed, elaborate homes were built, and the
town was endowed with various privileges such as
the right to mill, brew beer, hold markets etc..
Butcher shops and breweries were built, and twice
a year there was a fair. In 1376 there were 96
houses in the town.
Peter I von Rosenberg was the sovereign
responsible for giving the town its original 14th
century appearance. He was brought up in the
Cistercian Monastery in Vyssí Brod, and
this upbringing had a strong influence on his
personality. Under his rule the Rosenberg estates
flourished. Peter became first man of the
politics of the day and at the same time the
richest aristocrat in the country. He founded the
St Vitus Church in Ceský Krumlov, a
hospital, the church of St Jost in Latran and the
Chapel of St. George in the castle.
In 1334, on request from King Jan
Lucemburský, Peter invited Jews to the
town. They were given a special street in the
town and were, through their duties as
chamberlains, made responsible for the
administration of Rosenbergs' finances.
Peter tried to gain glory equal to the royal
court by marrying the widow of King Václav
III (Wenceslas III), Viola
Tesínská. Peter´s sons were
engaged in the king's military service; his
oldest son, Jindrich, died in 1346 at the side of
Jan Lucemburský in the battle of the
Hundred Years´ War at Krescak.
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 In the 16th
century the town was ruled by the last Rosenbergs
who considerably influenced the present
appearance of the town and its surroundings. The
Renaissance magnate, Wilhelm von Rosenberg, the
most considerable aristocratic personality of the
politics and culture of that time, especially
initiated reconstructions of townhouses as well
as the castle into Renaissance style.
On 14th August 1555 Wilhelm joined the two parts
of town which had been up to then seperate,
Latrán and the old town, to prevent
litigations concerning particular privileges.
Before the town´s unification,
Latrán had been an individual
administrative unit and its dwellers often
disputed with those living in the other parts,
especially for the privilege to brew white wheat
beer, which was very popular and thus a very
profitable product. Further problems had been
caused by support payments for parish, the
church, bridges, the local shepherd and the
messenger.
Peter Wok von Rosenberg, the last member of the
family, was forced by debts to sell Krumlov to
Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg in 1601, who placed
his illegitimate son Don Julius there for a short
period of time.
The Thirty Years´ War brought a new
lordship to the town; the Emperor Ferdinand II of
Habsburg vested the town to the Styrian family of
Eggenberg in 1622 in return for their financial
support during the war. Afterwards three
generations of the Eggenbergs held Ceský
Krumlov. Only the third-generation personality
Johann Christian I. von Eggenberg altered the
town and castle´s appearance by grand
construction works and rich cultural and social
events.
From 1719 until 1945 the castle belonged to the
House of Schwarzenberg. Most of the architecture
of the old town and castle dates from the 14th
through 17th centuries; the town's structures are
mostly in Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque
styles. The core of the old town is within a
horseshoe bend of the river, with the old
Latrán neighborhood and castle on the
other side of the Vltava.
During the interwar era the town and surrounding
area was part of Czechoslovakia. Between 1938 and
1945 it was annexed by Nazi Germany as part of
the so-called Sudetenland. The town's
German-speaking population was expelled after
liberation by the American Army during World War
II and it was restored to Czechoslovakia.
During the Communist era of Czechoslovakia,
Krumlov fell into disrepair, but since the
'Velvet Revolution' of 1989 much of the town's
former beauty has been restored, and it is now a
major holiday destination popular with tourists
from Germany, Austria, and beyond.
In August 2002, the town suffered from damage in
the great flood of the Vltava River. Major works
to prevent a possible re-occurrence are still in
progress.
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The pictures above and to follow take us through
the old part of the town with its residences and
shopping areas.
Bohemian jewellery......
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........and porcelain are available at shops
throughout Cesný Krumlov.
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More modern examples of the artists' craft may
also be found throughout the town.
Our tour of Cesný Krumlov continues on the
next page.
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