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Litomyšl

de: Leitomischl lv: Litomišla lt: Litomišlas pl: Litomyśl
el: Λίτομισλ
mk, sr: Литомишл ru: Литомишль, Литомышль bg: Литомишъл be: Літамышль uk: Літомишль

Litomyšl is situated at an elevation of 374 m in the Svitavy district of eastern Bohemia. Already in the 10th century, a castle protected a trading route from Bohemia to Moravia. The settlement began to develop when a Benedictine abbey was founded here in 1090. The Benedictines were followed by Premonstratensian monks in 1145. The village received the status of a town in 1259. From 1344 on, Litomyšl was the seat of a bishopric. After the diocese had ceased to exist after the Hussite Wars of the 15th century, the new diocese of Hradec Kralové was created in 1664.

155 Litomyšl 432 Litomyšl
The castle of Litomyšl [left, no. 155: top left] goes back to the 10th century. It was transformed into a Renaissance château in 1568–1573. The castle theatre of the Late Baroque era is the second-oldest in Bohemia. It still owns stage decorations painted by Josef Platzer in the 18th century. Litomyšl castle was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO in 1999 (see also list of other UNESCO heritage sites).

The Smetanův dům [right, no. 432: top] theatre and concert hall was opened in 1905. Named for the famous composer Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884) who was born in Litomyšl, the theatre was recognized as a national monument in 1924.

The church of the Piarist monastery [left, no. 155: top right; right, no. 432: bottom, centre] was built by the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Alliprandi in 1709–1720. The monastery itself was founded in 1640.


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