Why this ride
From Telč it runs 175 km to Telč; allow about 3 h 11 of riding. The stops in between: St Procopius’ Basilica, Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at and back through St Procopius’ Basilica. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historic Centre of Telč and Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 175 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 11
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Historic Centre of Telč
Ride into the main square of Telč for the first time and you may laugh out loud, because it looks too perfect to be real. A long, tapering square is lined on both sides by Renaissance and Baroque houses, each with a different gable, painted in soft pastels, cream, pink, green and yellow, with arcades running along the ground floor. After a fire in the sixteenth century, the town was rebuilt under its lord, Zachariáš of Hradec, who had travelled in Italy and brought back a taste for Renaissance style. His château, at the end of the square, has richly decorated halls and a garden. The historic centre was listed by UNESCO in 1992.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Telč write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic Centre of Telč is where the day begins. Next is St Procopius’ Basilica.
2. St Procopius’ Basilica
Třebíč sits on the Jihlava river in the Vysočina highlands, and the basilica of St Procopius sits above the water on the eastern bank, so close to the old town that the rider's biggest problem is finding somewhere to leave the bike. The building began as part of a Benedictine monastery founded at the start of the twelfth century. What you see now is a mix of Romanesque strength, with a very old crypt, and Gothic ambition, with a tall, airy nave that people tend to find more elegant than they expected from the heavy west front. The monastery was later turned into a castle and then into other uses, which is partly why so much has survived in odd corners.
Read the complete St Procopius’ Basilica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
St Procopius’ Basilica comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at.
3. Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at
On a low wooded rise called Zelená hora, Green Mountain, just outside Žďár nad Sázavou, stands one of the strangest and most beautiful churches in Central Europe. The architect was Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel, a Prague builder of Italian descent who loved to mix Gothic forms with Baroque drama, and here he built a pilgrimage church to St John of Nepomuk in the 1720s, shortly before the saint was even canonised. Everything in it plays on the number five: a star-shaped ground plan, five gates, five altars, five-pointed geometry repeated in the cloister around it. The reason is the legend that five stars appeared over the Vltava when John's body was thrown into the river in Prague, and the saint's tongue, said to have been found uncorrupted, is the other motif you will spot once you know to look for it. UNESCO listed it in 1994.
Read the complete Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 87 km into the recorded legs you reach Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at. Next is back through St Procopius’ Basilica.
4. back through St Procopius’ Basilica
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete St Procopius’ Basilica write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through St Procopius’ Basilica, late in the day. Next is Historic Centre of Telč.
5. Historic Centre of Telč
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Telč write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Historic Centre of Telč. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Historic Centre of Telč to St Procopius’ Basilica
Historic Centre of Telč → St Procopius’ Basilica is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
St Procopius’ Basilica to Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at
St Procopius’ Basilica → Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at to back through St Procopius’ Basilica
Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at → back through St Procopius’ Basilica is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through St Procopius’ Basilica to Historic Centre of Telč
back through St Procopius’ Basilica → Historic Centre of Telč is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.