The best family-friendly hikes and walks in Npp Blanice

Were there in July 2025 - tower unfortunately closed.

The two-storey Renaissance house, built in 1572, was the property of Jakub Menšík z Menštejna, a lawyer and writer from Prague, who was a native of Prague. He was the royal procurator (1601-1603) and burgrave of Prague Castle (1603-1614). In 1580 the house became the property of the city, and in the years 1625-1627 it was extensively rebuilt. The west side is decorated with sgraffito from 1573, depicting biblical, battle and hunting scenes, as well as allegories. The paintings, remarkably the only ones in the city with German inscriptions, were only discovered in 1889. The stone portal is decorated with the Schwarzenberg coat of arms. Today the house is connected to the neighboring National House (Narodní dům) to form one building.

The town theatre, founded in 1883, was extensively renovated between 1974 and 1980 and officially reopened in November 1981. It is run by the cultural and information services of the town of Prachatice. The theatre has 199 seats. The programme, with an average of 100 events per year, includes theatre performances, concerts, readings and seminars. The foyer is used for exhibitions. A significant part of the new building, built in 1901 in the neo-Renaissance style, is used by the neighbouring town administration.

The neo-Renaissance building of the New Town Hall on the west side of the Great Square was commissioned by the city authorities in June 1901 due to the growing need for space. Two previous Gothic and Renaissance houses had to make way for the new building, but the original Gothic cellars have been preserved. One corner is adorned with an imposing bell tower. The building, which was completed in 1903, was designed by the Viennese architect Professor Antonín Schurda. The sgraffito decoration of the facade was by the painter Jan Viertelberger, the sculptures by the sculptor Jiří Leisek, both from Vienna. To mark the building's centenary, the facade was renovated in 2003 and 2004. The painting depicting a mule caravan transporting salt on the Golden Route from Passau to Prachatice is very beautiful.

This Renaissance burgher's house in Poštovní Street has housed the Lace Museum since 1999, which presents historical hand-knotted European and Czech lace, including the use of lace on clothing. The exhibition also includes historical bobbin lace-making tools. The house was built after 1544, when the Rosenberg authorities released the site for redevelopment after the great fire of 1507. The first known owner was Jeroným Strachotínský, a wealthy burgher and town clerk, in 1585.

The small café, which serves excellent cappuccinos, among other things, takes its name from a baroque painting on its façade: at the height of the first floor, between two windows in a rectangular stucco frame, the coronation of the Virgin Mary (Madonna) is depicted with adoring angels on the sides. Below the picture and at the top is the number 1649, which refers to the year the painting was created. The hipped roof dates from 1832. It replaced the Renaissance roof structure that went up in flames in the devastating city fire on April 13, 1832. The fire destroyed 137 town houses.

The Rumpál House, a townhouse that acquired its current appearance in the 16th century, is notable for its rich Renaissance sgraffito decoration, thematically inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses. The house is named after the patrician Rumpál family, who owned it until 1671. After that, the town brewery was located here, and later the malthouse. The house with its beautiful Renaissance arcades has been used in more recent times as a puppet theater, cinema and bakery, among other things. Its origins date back to the middle of the 15th century, when a new row of houses was built on the east side of the Great Square, reducing the square by half.

The Old Town Hall is one of the most important Renaissance buildings in Bohemia. The two-storey palace in the Florentine Renaissance style has two side wings and arcades in the courtyard. The façade facing the square is decorated mainly with figurative chiaroscuro paintings. It was designed by Italian architects in the service of the Rosenberg family. The paintings are by the Prachatice artist Jan Březnický. In addition to the council chamber and the mayor's rooms, there was also a "town wine bar" here from 1666 and later a theater on the ground floor. After the construction of the New Town Hall in 1903, the building lost its importance and became the district court (until 1974) and the seat of the District National Committee. Since 1992 it has belonged to the town of Prachatice again, which uses it as the seat of its municipal office. The central tourist information office is also located here (open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from June to September also on Saturdays and Sundays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).