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.

What you actually see

• 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.

Honest expectations

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.