About Telč
The town of Telč can be found in the Moravian part of Českomoravská vysočina
(Czech-Moravian Highlands) 30 km far from Austrian border and halfway between Prague and Vienna.
- GPS 49°11Ɗ.564"N, 15°27Ə.867"E
- Population: 5493 (31 December 2013)
- Surface Area in hectares: 2 487 ha
According to a local legend, the town was founded as early as in 1099. However, the first written reference to it originates from the year 1315. One of the most significant dates is the year 1339 when Telč had been owned by a member of the genus Vítkovci, which has remarkably contributed to development of Telč. He has built the castle and the church, fortified the town and built the gothic houses all around the marketplace. In 1386 a fire destroyed the western half of the square as well as the church and the townhall.
In 1423 the town was conquered by the Hussites. In the mid-16th century the manor becomes a property of Zechariah of Hradec, and Telč enters its period of prosperity. During the Thirty Years War, Telč and the whole region were suffering again; this time the cause were Swedish and Imperial troops.
In 1712 Antonín Lichtenštejn-Kastelkorn inherited local commodities. He represented the last member of that part of the family tree and he died childless in 1761. Then, the manor of Telč was inherited by his cousin Alois Arnošt the Earl Podstatský from Prusinovice, provided that his name and their coats of arms will be united under the name of Podstatský-Lichtenštejn.
In the 18th century, our country experiences the rise of the middle class and even the industrialisation in the following century. Communication isolation of the town ended in 1898 with construction of the railway running from Jihlava to Telč. It was even interconnected with Austrian Schwarzenau through Czech Slavonice.
