Novy Jicin

Novy Jicin has a square that is arcaded continuously on all four sides, which is rare - most Czech towns have arcades on one or two frontages - and the effect of walking the whole perimeter under cover is the town's first impression. The buildings are Renaissance and baroque over medieval cores, with the Stara posta, the old post house, carrying the most elaborate front. The town's industry was hats: the Huckel works, founded in 1799, grew into one of the largest hat manufacturers in the world, exporting felt and straw hats across Europe and beyond, and hat-making continued here into the twenty-first century. The museum in the Zerotin chateau holds the hat collection - several thousand pieces covering the trade, the machinery and the fashions - which is the largest such collection in the country and the reason the town is worth stopping in.

What you actually see

• Arcades on all four sides - a continuous covered walk round the square.
• A hat museum - several thousand pieces from the town's own industry.
• The Stara posta - the old post house with the square's best facade.
• A Renaissance chateau - the Zerotin house holding the museum.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The museum closes on Mondays and keeps short winter hours. The town is small and half a day covers it. The hat works are no longer visitable.

Nearby

Stramberk and Koprivnice are west; Pribor is north.