Page:Guide to the Bohemian section and to the Kingdom of Bohemia - 1906.djvu/242

208 old castle founded in the 13th. century, is now the residence of the grand-prior of the knights of Malta, and has many excellent architectural features of early times, with its gothic cloisters, and porch in the roman style. St. George’s chapel next comes under our notice and the gothic church of St. Procopius with pictures by Brandl and Škréta. On the isle between the Otava and the Volyňka rises the high tower Rumpal the former prison of the castle. The old gothic church in the town, founded in 1583, has an antique altorelievo and a marble cross.

In modern times the town has become quite renowned for its manufacture of red turkish caps called „Fez“ after the town in Morocco where these caps are commonly supposed to be made.

Further on (17 km) is Horažďovice. There is not much to detain us here, it is a quiet place with a nice old townhall, and its ancient fortifications; particularly the Prague gate with a commanding tower, are in a good state of preservation. In the vicinity are St. Anne’s bath and the ruins of the old castle Prácheň which in the 11th century was the seat of the authorities of the shire bearing its name. It has been permitted to remain in ruins since the 16th century. From Horažďovice to Sušice (Schüttenhofen, 20 km). This is an industrial town having quite a variety in its manufactures, which include the products of several large match factories, paper mills, glass-works, wood work and beer.

From here it is easy to arrange a pleasant trip to Kašperské Hory, an old country town in the vicinity of which gold, sapphires, garnets and other precious stones were found in plenty in the past; now, wooden toys are the staple industry.

Near this town there is the ruin of the castle Karlsberg to which visitors repair for the purpose of ascending the high tower to enjoy a view of the mountainous country.

We now go from Sušice to Klatovy (36 km) passing through a picturesque district. This is also quite a busy trading centre with two breweries, a machine-making factory, foundry and linenware manufactory. It has several fine churches, St. Mary’s (decanal) was founded in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 13th. There is another