Klatovy

Klatovy has three things within a hundred metres of each other. Under the Jesuit church of the Immaculate Conception are catacombs where members of the order and benefactors were buried from 1676 in a crypt with an air-circulation system of clay pipes that dried the bodies rather than letting them rot; around thirty mummified remains are on display, and the ventilation system itself is explained. On the square stands the Black Tower of 1547, eighty-one metres, climbable, with a view to the Sumava. And beside it is the Pharmacy at the White Unicorn, a baroque apothecary of the eighteenth century preserved complete with its shelving, jars, counters and laboratory, in use until 1966 and now a museum - one of the best-preserved historic pharmacies in Central Europe. The town also grows carnations commercially and holds a flower show.

History

Klatovy is first mentioned in 1253, as a small settlement on a trade route from Bohemia to Bavaria, and between 1260 and 1263 King Ottokar II made it a royal town; its walls were built and improved between the 13th and 16th centuries. Despite the Hussite Wars and a fire in 1464 that destroyed all the suburbs, the town kept growing, and at the beginning of the 16th century it was one of the ten most important towns in the Czech lands. It flourished through the 16th century, but several fires and the Thirty Years' War brought decline. The Jesuits came in the mid-17th century and developed both building and education, but a fire started by arsonists in 1689 burned all the Gothic and Renaissance monuments. In the 18th century Klatovy became the administrative centre of the region, part of the fortifications was pulled down in the early 19th century, and in the second half of that century the town became a centre of cultural and social life, its trade helped by new railways and roads (Wikipedia, Klatovy).

Highlights

• The catacombs - about thirty naturally dried bodies and the clay-pipe ventilation.
• The Black Tower - eighty-one metres of 1547, climbable, with a Sumava view.
• A complete baroque pharmacy - shelving, jars and laboratory, used until 1966.
• Carnation growing - the town's commercial flower trade, with a summer show.

When to go

April to October. A day.

What to expect

The catacombs are human remains and open on limited hours; some visitors find them distressing. Tower, pharmacy and catacombs are separate tickets. Closed Mondays outside high season.

Nearby

Svihov water castle is north; the Sumava foothills are south.

Key facts