Moravsky Krumlov

Moravsky Krumlov sits in a loop of the Rokytna with a Renaissance chateau of the 1560s, arcaded round a courtyard, on the edge of the old town. Its national significance is one exhibition. Alfons Mucha finished the Slav Epic - twenty large canvases on Slavic history, several of them over six by eight metres - in 1928 and gave them to Prague, which for decades had nowhere to hang them. From 1963 they were shown in the chateau here, in a town of six thousand people, and stayed until 2011, when Prague reclaimed them; the resulting dispute ran for years and the town campaigned hard. They returned to Moravsky Krumlov in 2021 under a further agreement, and their long-term home remains unsettled. Check where the canvases actually are before travelling for them. The town also has a Loreto chapel and the Rokytna gorge walks nearby.

What you actually see

• A Renaissance arcaded chateau - built in the 1560s in a loop of the Rokytna.
• The Slav Epic, when it is here - twenty large canvases, several over six by eight metres.
• A long custody dispute - the paintings moved between Prague and here since 1963.
• The Rokytna gorge - walking country in the river loop below the town.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Honest expectations

Check before you travel: the Slav Epic's location has changed several times and the arrangement is not permanent. Chateau opening is seasonal. The town is small with limited services.

Nearby

Znojmo and Podyji are south-west; Brno is north-east.