International Fair of Regional Tourism, Brno

International Fair of Regional Tourism in Brno Exhibition Centre, 

BVV official website

This weekend in Brno Exhibition Centre, so called Veletrhy Brno an International Fair of Regional Tourism will be organized. It is the 23^rd time such an event is happening. I really think it will be a really nice opportunity to get to know the Czech Republic and the Czechs better. According to the official BVV website we can expect presentations of  the tourism industry in the Czech Republic, promotions of different Czech regions together with regional food tasting, offers regarding spending your free time, presentations about cultural and historical places of interests as well as presentations about gripping natural areas and attractions. Travel agencies will also offer  a variety of tourism destinations. I’m really looking forward to learning about cycle-tourism and some tips on spending free time actively on nature.  

Along with the Fair of Regional Tourism, the BVV Centre will held the GO Camera Festival as well. This is a festival about documentary movies, photography and books/guidebooks connected with tourism.

By the way, I checked out figures from last year fair and I need to admit that the numbers are surprising, there were around 28 thousand guests, who took part in regional tourism fair, while 879 tourist companies from all over Europe were presenting their offers.  

In order to participate in the fair all you need to do is to register, print the confirmation and bring it with you on spot. With the registration you get 30 kc discount. The entrance fee is then 130 kc on Friday and Saturday and 80 kc on Sunday. Keep in mind that Thursday is for tourist companies’ owners only. Here you can find the event’s schedule. Besides that, stalls will be spotted around the place.

I will definitely take some photos and share my impressions from the event later on. 

Hluboka nad Vltavou- a fairy-tale castle

Hluboka nad Vltavou

There’re several chateaux and Castles in the Czech Republic opened year round. Among famous Prague Castle, Karlstejn or Rozmberk you can visit alluring Hluboka nad Vltavou Castle, which looks as if made of sand, but its construction is more compact.

Project from XIX century was patterned on Windsor Castle. Through ages it underwent many reconstructions from a military fortress through Renaissance and Baroque Style to Tudor Gothic. Along with the owners the Castle’s design was changing. For over three centuries Castle was reign by Bohemian rulers, then it belonged to William of Pernstejn, who was also responsible for building fish ponds in South Bohemia. In 1562 the Castle was sold to the Lords of Hradec. When finally in 1661 the Castle was taken over by the Schwarzenbergs, who in XVIII century enlarged and rebuilt the Castle in Baroque style. Eleonora of Liechtenstein together with her husband Johann Adolf II initiated another rebuilding, this time in Neo-Gothic Style. The last Schwarzenberg owner of Hluboka nad Vltavou was Adolf Schwarzenberg. From 1950 Castle belongs to Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) Interestingly, the first mention of the Hluboka Castle dates back to XIII century, however the owner as well as the Castle’s original structure is obscure even today. Inside there’re some pictures of the Castle, showing how it might look like before.

So if snowboarding, skiing or making a snowman is not your cup of tea, try visiting Hluboka nad Vltavou Castle, but beware of Mondays, when it is closed for sightseeing. It’s open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 o’clock a.m. to 4 o’clock p.m. Winter’s visitor tour valid from November 1^st to March 31^st costs 140 kc for Czech speakers, 230 kc with a foreign language commentary and 185 kc with audio guide. Reckless would be not to go inside. Interiors are spacious, colourful and full of decorations. Countless fireplaces deserve your attention, some of which are genuine wooden or murmur masterpieces. As well as the meticulously carved mirror frame in the Reading Room.  Each and every room is ornamented with different owner’s portraits. The Large Dining Room decorated with tapestries could take up to 70 people. On the first sight “small” table in the centre could be enlarged. The brightest and biggest hall held the Library, a place, where almost 12 00 volumes in 5 different languages are kept. The last one on our tour was the Armoury with smashing collection of weapon, small arms and fire arms. The tour takes about an hour.

Don’t forget about the huge Castle’s gardens. 

We happened to be there on our last day on a 3 day trip to South Bohemia, which was a pleasant conclusion. The closest city is Ceske Budejovice, remote about 10 kilometres south. It’s only 200 kilometres from Brno, which makes it accessible within 2 hours via car or 5 hours via train (with a stop in Ceske Budejovice). Parking in the city centre is chargeable, however you can find several streets where parking meters are not available, for example Horni street, 28 rijna street (parking by the cemetery is allowed only for an hour)