Telč

	Telč
	Town
	256px The main square in Telč, with the famous 16th-century houses
120px Flag	90px Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Vysočina
District	Jihlava
Commune	Telč
Elevation	514 m (1,686 ft)
Coordinates	Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Area	24.86 km2 (9.6 sq mi)
Population	5,812 (2006-10-02)
Density	234 / km2 (606 / sq mi)
First mentioned	1315
Mayor	Roman Fabeš
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	588 56
	UNESCO World Heritage Site
Name	Historic Centre of Telč
Year	1992 (#16)
Number	621
Region	Europe and North America
Criteria	i, iv
	Location in the Czech Republic
	Wikimedia Commons: Telč
	Statistics: statnisprava.cz
	Website: www.telc-etc.cz/telc/

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Telč (Czech pronunciation: [tɛltʃ]; German: Teltsch) is a town in southern Moravia, near Jihlava, in the Czech Republic. The town was founded in the 13th century as a royal water fort on the crossroads of busy merchant routes between Bohemia, Moravia and Austria.

Besides the monumental 17th century Renaissance chateau with an English-style park (a rebuilding of original Gothic castle), the most significant sight is the town square, a unique complex of long urban plaza with well-conserved Renaissance and Baroque houses with high gables and arcades; since 1992 all of this has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Originally parking was generally prohibited in the square, but in the 21st century parking regulations have been relaxed and the square is in danger of becoming a parking lot; as seen in the image below entitled 'The Main Square'. By contrast, all the images in the gallery were taken earlier, mostly in the late 20th century, and no cars are visible in the square.

The Gothic castle was built in the second half of the 14th century. At the end of the 15th century the castle fortifications were strengthened and a new gate-tower built. In the middle of the 16th century the medieval castle no longer satisfied Renaissance nobleman Zachariáš of Hradec, who had the castle altered in the Renaissance style. The ground floor was vaulted anew, the façade decorated with sgraffito, and the state apartments and living quarters received stucco ornamentation together with trompe l'oeil and chiaroscuro paintings in 1553. The counter-reformation brought the Jesuits to the town, who built the church of Name of Jesus in 1666-1667, according to the plans of Domenico Orsi. The column of the Virgin and the fountain in the centre of the square date from the 18th century.

Gallery of images of Telc
Telc Castle.jpg

Telc Castle
Telc Castle, First Court.jpg

Telc Castle, First Court
Telc Castle, Wedding Hall.jpg

Telc Castle, Wedding Hall
Telc viewed across the ponds.jpg

Telc viewed across the ponds
Telc from St James's Church tower.jpg

Telc from St James's Church tower
Houses in Namesti Zachariase z Hradce.jpg

Houses in Namesti Zachariase z Hradce
Sgraffiti on house in Namesti Zachariase z Hradce.jpg

Sgraffiti on house in Namesti Zachariase z Hradce
Namesti Zachariase z Hradce.jpg

Namesti Zachariase z Hradce