Praha 23, or Cesky Krumlov Pictures


The Wedding Cake Tower

This is a picture of the main tower on the Cesky Krumlov castle/fortress. It's a perfect example of how the town views its medieval roots. Krumlov is bent on preservation, as opposed to restoration. Everything in the town is exactly as it's been for about the past 10 years. No one's allowed to repaint or remodel any of the architecture from this point on - only to add layers of clear preservative paint to protect it. This tower was last repainted in 1993. At that time, the painters only repaired the faded coats of paint, rather than reconstructing the more detailed designs on the tower. Most of the townies hate it - they call it the wedding cake, and say it's too gaudy. But under the current regulations, that tower will hopefully look like that for the next 500 years.

The Masquerade Hall

This is a picture you won't see anywhere else - I took it inside the palace, where pictures are usually completely forbidden! However, we had special circumstances. As part of Krumlov's preservation-not-restoration efforts, the palace is closed during the winter months to cut down on the amount of wear and tear that come with tourists (such as increased heat and humidity levels from people breathing). However, we somehow lucked out, and got the director of the palace to not only open up for us, but to give us a private tour! This Masquerade Hall is a stunningly beautiful room, and entirely painted. See the candelabras coming off the walls? They're not real - even the shadows are painted straight on. This is all part of "illusionist" paintings, which were really popular during the Baroque era.

Discuss: Is this "preservation" approach a smart one? What are the advantages and disadvantages of trying to re-create what has already been, versus preserving what exists now?

That's all for now, apparently. Seemes the Internet is pooping out.