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Třeboň

Here are some touristy photos that I took in and around Třeboň (in German, Wittingau), in the Czech Republic, in the summer of 1998. The Lonely Planet guide (2nd ed., 1998) says "a one-day visit is plenty", but I found quite a bit to do.

(For a non-speaker of Czech such as myself, Třeboň is a bit of a tongue-twister. . . .)

Třeboň is surrounded by an area of woods and lakes -- many, many lakes. One day I rented a bike from the hotel and went cycling. I wasn't helped by being stung by a bee on my way out of town, or by the twist-grip gear change (so when I moved my hand the chain would make crunching noises). Much though I disapprove of driving through nature reserves, I returned the bike to the hotel and retraced my tyre-tracks in my little rented Ka (a Ford designed by Enid Blyton, and quite a rarity in the Czech Republic).

I'm not sure where you can and can't swim here, but certainly swimming is banned in some areas, some people were swimming in some of the lakes, and you don't have to go far to reach largish lakes without a human in sight. Ah, if only I had been with a young female person, I'd have suggested "skinny dipping" (and she'd probably have said no).

Back to the center of town. Yes, this is another town with a Renaissance piazza. It's handsome but unspectacular. There's a "castle" (little palace); I can't remember if I entered any of the buildings, so if I did, the content can't have been very memorable.

One reason why Třeboň is famous is the Regent brewery. They've been brewing beer here since 1379. The Lonely Planet guide says that it's closed to the public, but actually it's open. (Of course, you have to go in a guided tour.)

This was my first ever tour of a brewery. Problems:

It's all explained in Czech, and Czech alone. (Maybe you can also join a German-speaking tour.)
All the equipment is new, and very enigmatic unless you're a brewer or well-read in these matters.
As it's lager, it's lagered, which means it's cold. And when you're at about the coldest place, the guide invites questions, and the beer-loving, Czech-speaking visitors have a lot, and they're answered in what seems to be loving detail. If you go there (or somewhere similar), take a sweater or jacket.

On the other hand, the bottling section is fascinating (though unbelievably noisy); and yes, you get free beer!

How do you pronounce "Třeboň"?

In a recording sent straight from Brno, Ficko very kindly demonstrates it for us. Take your choice: either a 16kB mp3 file (better quality sound), or a 22kB WAV file (drastically compressed, so poorer).

Now that you've heard it, how do you produce it?

According to Kateřina Pavlitová of the Czech Center, NYC:

your best bet at pronouncing Třeboň correctly is pronouncing the first syllable as something like the German tsche with the 't' more distinct than it would be in a mere English 'che', while the second syllable would be bogne in French, as in "Boulogne". Now, this is not exact but very close. The 'ř' is a sound unique to Czech, as you probably know, and hard to convey in writing: a rrrolling 'rrrrrrzh/sh'!

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First created: 20 February 1999. Last fiddled with: 20 October 2001.