Litomyšl

Litomyšl is a city on the very east of Bohemia in the Pardubice region, 18 km northwest of the district city Svitavy. The city lies at an altitude of 320 - 370 m a.s.l. on the border of the so-called Loučensky Plateau and Českotřebovska Highlands, which are a part of the Svitavsky Uplands. The Loučná River flows through Litomyšl. The city is situated on the main route no. 35 Olomouc - Hradec Králové, approximately 150 kilometres from Prague, 85 km from Brno and about 50 km from Hradec Králové. The city also lies on the railway route Choceň - Litomyšl. In 1824, the famous music composer Bedřich Smetana was born in Litomyšl.  The historical centre of the city is an Urban Heritage Reserve.

History

The city Litomyšl was established on the site of an old defence fortification on the Trstěnicka Route connecting Bohemia and Moravia at the turn of the 11^th century. In the middle of the 12^th century, Olomouc Bishop Jindřich Zdík invited the Premonstrate Order and founded the Premonstrate Monastery Olivetska Mountain in 1145. In 1259, Litomyšl was promoted to a city. In 1344 Charles IV established the Litomyšl bishopry. In 1421 and 1425 the Hussites attacked the city and damaged it severely. In 1568 – 1581, Vratislav of Pernstein commissioned the Litomyšl chateau, the main architect of which was Giovanni Battista Aostalli. In 1649, the Pernsteins sold the estate to the Trautmannsdorfs, through wedlock the estate became the property of the Valdsteins - Vartemberks and the last owners were the Thurns – Taxis after 1855. During World War II the local Jewish community was liquidated.

The most significant monuments

The main feature of the city is the unique Renaissance chateau with eight thousand sgrafito, and which has been included on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage since 1999.