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Kratochvíle

Here are some touristy photos of Kratochvíle, in the Czech Republic, that I took in summer 1998.

Kratochvíle (Kurzweil in German) is a château WNW of České Budějovice (still the origin of the Budweiser beer that's worth drinking). The château was completed in 1589 for the Rožmberk family. It has been stripped of its contents, but contains enjoyable ceilings and a museum of animated film. Czechoslovakia (as it then was) used to be a center of animated and particularly puppet film; I hope that Star Wars (yawn) and its overbudgeted derivatives haven't killed this off.

When I got to Kratochvíle it was stupendously hot, and I was grateful for copious amounts of one of Germany's great contributions to world civilization: Apfelsaft.

Here you can see the outside of the château, and a fresco on the inside of one of the walls of the courtyard.

Stucco work and frescoes [?] on the ceiling.

Some exhibits from the museum of animated film. First, scenes for a film of Švejk (Schweik), Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejkova (1958). Aside from an extraordinary bar in Tábor, this was my only sight of Švejk. (You don't know Švejk? He's the antihero of a novel by the anarchist, drunk and dogstealer Jaroslav Hašek, usually provided with its illustrations by Josef Lada.) Švejk dolls and the like were everywhere in Prague in 1966; I hope that the Czech enthusiasm for Švejk is not declining.

And more: an Arcimboldo-esque head of shells (sorry, I didn't note which film it was from), and a Japanese poster for a Czech film -- a knock-off of Godzilla, or a precursor?

First created: 6 June 1999. Last fiddled with: 6 May 2001.