Proposal for the Czech Republic as the site for the ICFAD 2014 Triennial International Symposium

Late June to Mid-July

Submitted by: Sue Ott Rowlands, Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences, Virginia Tech

Proposed location: Prague, Czech Republic

What is unique about the setting including special events during mid-July?

Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, has always played an important role in the history of the country and Europe. Since the Middle Ages Prague has been famous as one of the most beautiful cities of the world and has been attributed adjectives such as golden, hundred-spired, and the crown of the world. The unique character of the city is also partly a consequence of its natural environment: Prague, similar to Rome built on seven hills, was built on nine hills along the Vltava river, which flows through the city and forms a perfect unit with the city. The dominant features of the city architecture are reflected in the river: towers, church spires and cupolas, palaces and town houses, along with the greenery of gardens, parks and islands.

In addition to its historic architecture, Prague is known as an arts center of Europe. The first half of the 20th century was influenced by the Czech Modern style and Architectural Cubism and examples of this art and architecture can be seen throughout the city. Nowadays, Prague is an important European city that attracts visitors with its abundance of architectural gems, galleries and museums, theatres, and music events. Prague is famous for opera, ballet and classical concerts. The city boasts three magnificent opera houses, stunning concert halls and an array of beautiful historic churches, with a variety of performances to choose from. Prague theatre offers a typically Czech experience. Black light theatre is a highly charged mix of dynamic dance routines, mime artists, singers, film, and state-of-the-art visual and sound effects. Meanwhile marionette theatre involves giant puppets dressed in 18th century costumes.

The following are examples of festivals and events typically held in July in Prague:

The Summer Shakespeare Festival is held in July and August. Most of the performances are in Czech, but held in a courtyard of Prague Castle. This gives the productions an atmosphere like no other. A highlight of the Czech cultural calendar, many of the actors are well-known Czech performers. Typically a couple performances each year are done in English.

Tanec Praha (Dance Prague) has been the city's major dance festival since its inception in 1989. It is held each year in June and July. Participants come from all over the world, competing for prizes in various categories, including classic, contemporary, jazz and folk, as well as choreography and other performances associated with the art of dance. The Prague Proms annual music festival is a series of classical concerts organized by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Traditionally these take place at their Prague home, the Municipal House, in the stunning Smetana Hall, the largest auditorium in the building. Other prestigious venues often join the Prague Proms, such as the Rudolfinum Concert Hall and Hybernia Theatre. New Prague Dance Festival is typically held in June and July. Participants for the festival come from all over the world to compete in categories including classic dance, modern dance, jazz-hip hop, folk Latino Participants for the festival come from all over the world to compete in categories including classic dance, modern dance, jazz-hip hop, folk, Latino dance, choreography, dramatic dance, pedagogy, dance talents,

modern talents and costume design. Prague Folklore Days, held in July. 2014 will mark the 8th annual meeting of international folk group in Prague. Spanning four days, the festival is held on open-air stages at the Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square and the Republic Square. Amateur fold groups from many countries comes to present their own style of folklore; festivities include a parade through Old Town.

Opportunities for co-sponsorship with another organization or institution?

A primary partner would be the Theatre Institute of Prague (http://www.theatre.cz). The Theater Institute is an information and academic institute whose main goals are to document Czech professional theater after 1945, to provide detailed information about the past and present of Czech theater and to carry out academic research into the history of Czech theater with the emphasis on production work of an encyclopedic character. The Theater Institute encompasses a video library, a rich database about Czech theater and one of the biggest theater libraries in the Europe. In addition to a number of informational publications, it also publishes theater literature and several theater magazines, spreads Czech theater culture and brings it into contact with the international world of theater. A secretary for seven international organizations from the field of theater is based in the Theater Institute. Since 1967 the Theater Institute has been the main organizer of the Prague Quadrennial, the only international exhibition of stage and costume design and theater architecture.

Another key partner would be the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU, www.amu.cz), which is a modern, university-level art school. Founded in 1945, AMU is a highly selective school made up of three faculties: DAMU (Theatre), FAMU (Film and TV) and HAMU (Music). I have worked with a number of the theatre faculty members over the years.

Any additional information

Prague was founded on the crossroads of ancient trade routes at a site where the most varied spiritual and cultural currents merged. The history of the city begins with the founding of Prague Castle in the 9th century. Of the original stone buildings in pre-Romanesque style, a basilica remains from the second half of the 10th century, and forms the core of St George´s church. Among the preserved Romanesque structures in Prague, three renovated rotundas can be visited. At the time of the founding of the Old Town of Prague at the beginning of the 13th century, the Romanesque style began to be replaced with the Gothic; the oldest structure in this style is the Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia or the Old-New Synagogue, while St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, the Church of Our Lady before Týn etc. are examples of the prime of this style. The greatest flourishing of the Czech state occurred at this time, which will eternally be connected with the monarch Charles IV, who founded the famous Charles University in 1348, the first university in Central Europe. The late Gothic style is connected with buildings such as Vladislav Hall, the Powder Tower and the Old Town Hall with the Astronomical Clock. In the 16th century the Renaissance style started to be favored by the court aristocratic circles. The first and truly representative structure is the Royal Summer Palace along with many aristocratic palaces in Prague. The Church did not favor the Renaissance art, and Prague was taken over in the 17th century by the Baroque style. The Lesser Town, especially, is characterized by the Baroque style; the Church of St Nicholas forms a predominant feature of this area. A number of styles alternated in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The most important buildings include the Classicist Estate Theatre, Neo-Renaissance National Theatre and Rudolfinum and the Art Nouveau Municipal House and Main Railway Station.

Possible theme(s) for the symposium:

“Beyond the Castle Walls: The International Influence of Czech Arts and Artists”

Suggested presenters/speakers/performers and their areas of expertise

I have worked closely over the years with a number of Czech artists, many of whom would serve as presenters and facilitators for the symposium. Biographies on some of the individuals appear below.

Jaroslav Malina is recognized as one of the most influential theater designers in the world and as a pioneer of "action design," using non-traditional materials and techniques to transform the stage. Professor Malina was born in Prague in 1937 and is a set and costume designer, a painter, printmaker and teacher. He studied from 1957–1961 in the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague, and from 1961–1964 in the department of stage design of the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Professor František Tröster, later teaching there himself (1990–2000) and serving as Rector (1996–1998). He has served as a professor at universities in USA, Japan, Finland and Great Britain where he received an Honorary Doctorate from Nottingham Trent University (in 2002). In 1991, 1999, and 2003 he was the General Commissioner of the Prague Quadrennial. His activities at home and abroad (Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Russia, Spain, USA) include spans more than 40 years and includes more than 450 set and costume designs for theatre, film, and television, as well as 30 one-man exhibitions of his scenography, paintings, graphics, and posters, and participation in dozens of group exhibitions, for which he has won numerous awards including the Gold Medal at the Seventh International Triennial of Stage Design in Novy Sad in Serbia in 1984. His art work is represented in the collections of The National Gallery, The National Museum, The Museum of Decorative Arts, The Museum of Czech Music and The Theatre Institute (all in Prague), The Theatre Research Institute Columbus, San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum, The McNay Museum of Art in San Antonio, Liberec Art Gallery, Semily Art Gallery, Sasakawa Peace Foundation and many other private colections at home and abroad. His works were published many times in professional magazines (TD&T, BTR, Interscena), in La Scene Moderne by Giovanni Lista, Edition Carre, Paris, 1997, in Stage Design by Tony Davis, RotoVision, London, 2001 and in his monograph Jaroslav Malina by Vlasta Gallerová, Věra Ptáčková, Jiří Machalický, Prague Stage, Theatre Institute, Prague, 1999. Ladislav Smoček was born in Prague on August 24, 1932. He is a Czech director and playwright who splits his time between his home in Pilzen and his theatre company, The Drama Club, in Prague. Lada studied at a secondary school in Plzeň and graduated as a theatre director from the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU) in 1956. He started his career in The City Theatre in Benešov (1956-1957). He was active in Brno (1957–1960) and in 1960 became a director at Laterna Magika in Prague. After a few more years he decided to move to the National Theatre where he co-founded The Drama Club (Činoherní klub) in 1965, and where he remains employed as a playwright and director. In the period between 1992 and 1993 he was a director of the Vinohrady Theatre. Though he has written less than ten plays, he is, together with Václav Havel and Pavel Kohout, one of the most performed Czech playwrights. He was a master teacher at the LaMaMa International Directors Symposium in 2001, which is where I first worked with him.

Petr Matásek graduated from the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Prague in 1962; between 1958 and 1962 he attended the Puppetry Department of the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts. His first engagement after completing his studies was at Alfa Theatre, where between 1967 and 1974 he worked as a designer and chief set designer. In 1974 he became (and remained for a quarter of a century) a set designer of Hradec Králové’s DRAK theatre. He was the spiritual father of the avant-garde studio Beseda in this city (1980-84), whose liberty inspired him for action set design. Since 1990 he has taught at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre of Prague’s

Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts and been professor of puppet set design. He has also taught abroad, in Oslo and Melbourne for example. He has regularly worked as a guest at theatre festivals and led set-design workshops worldwide (in Denmark, France, Australia, Iceland, India, USA, Canada, Japan and other countries). His workshops are noted for their singular visual action. Petr Matásek has participated in set-design exhibitions, such as Prague Quadriennale, Biennale Brno, and independently displayed his work at Prague’s National Gallery, in Plzeň, Ostrava, as well as abroad. He has won several awards for his creation, with perhaps the most significant recent accolade being the Alfréd Radok Award 2001 for the best set design of the year for Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus at Divadlo Komedie, Prague. Out of more than one hundred marionette, drama and opera sets, let us mention, for example, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Bartered Bride and La Belle et la Bete for the DRAK theatre, the productions ...to Candide for the Beseda studio (1980), The Three Musketeers, Mowgli and The Phantom of the Opera for the theatre in Odense, Denmark, Andersen’s fairy tales in Iceland, the productions Bouquet of Flowers and The Tempest for Naivní divadlo Liberec, Romance for Bugle, Silver Wind, Cyrano de Bergerac for the Ostrava drama, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus for Gorlice at Prague-Vyšehrad (2001). He has collaborated with the drama section of Prague’s National Theatre since 1992, when he created sets and costumes for Kleist’s Das Käthchen von Heilbronn.

Daniela Pařízková is the Executive Director of the Prague Quadrennial. She worked as a cultural editor before becoming the assistant to the 2003 PQ director, and the Chief Coordinator of the PQ ‘07. She has also worked on other projects of the AI/TI, e.g. organizing Czech and foreign exhibitions of Czech theatre design. She is also a co-founder of the Institute of Lighting Design in Prague, and collaborates on other cultural events in the field of theatre, film and architecture and their public relations.

Pavla Petrová, with her background in economics and management, has many years of experience working for large cultural institutions and projects. Since 1992 she has been working for The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in different capacities, the longest of all as the Director of the Department of Arts and Libraries, with focus on theatre, dance, visual arts, music, literature and libraries. She has also acted as the producer of the Central European Dance Platform and Producer Manager of the International Dance Festival KONFRONTACE. She is also member of different expert teams, working groups, and boards of directors in the Czech Republic.

Jan Hančil is a Czech translator, dramaturg, teacher at the Department of Authorial Creativity and Pedagogy, and Dean of the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (DAMU) in Prague. He worked as a dramaturg at the National Theatre for ten years on over twenty productions. He has been teaching at the Department – acting and (Inter)acting with The Inner Partner – since 1994. He also teaches dramaturgy at the Department of Classical Theatre. Additionally, he has translated numerous books and plays from English to Czech (e.g. Peter Brook’s, The Shifting Point). He is the Chair of the Prague City Arts Council Grant Committee for theatre. Dr. Hančil has co-led workshops on (Inter)acting with the Inner Partner at the Dartington Intensive (2001); Czech Center New York/ Bohemian National Hall and Columbia University (2007); Theatre Academy of Finland (2008); and Rose Bruford College, England (2009); Yale University, University of Colorado Boulder (2011). Dr Hancil has been elected Rector at DAMU from February 2013.

What cultural opportunities could be included in the programming?    

Prague is an international destination city known for its architecture, history, and arts. Key historical experiences include:

Prague Castle Prague Castle is undoubtedly not only the Czech Republic's greatest monument but it is also one the most significant and spectacular sights in the world. Viewed by night or by day from Charles Bridge or from the Old Town bank of the River Vltava it stirs the soul with its splendor and magnificence. It is an enormous complex of religious and civic structures right out on the edge of a steep ridge above the river. The Castle is the seat of the Czech President and the many offices that go with it. Additionally it is the location of the towering Cathedral of Saint Vitus built in a predominantly Gothic style and dating back for the best part of a thousand years. It is the burial site of Czech kings, the most important of them being Charles IV sheltering the glorious St Wenceslas Chapel with an entry also to the staircase that leads to the Crown Chamber where the Czech Crown Jewels are protected. Close by St Vitus Cathedral is the much smaller Church of St George going back to the 12th century. Originally a Romanesque design it now comes closer to Baroque in appearance. But Prague Castle isn't all about churches and their architecture. There is also the charming, tiny street called Golden Lane and its row of low roofed houses where goldsmiths used to live and which now houses a number of museums of medieval armory and textiles.

Charles Bridge The venerable Charles Bridge in Prague - the city's oldest – is furnished by a continuous array of statues and statuary, baroque in style and dating back many hundred years. Whether crossing from the Old Town to the Lesser Town or vice-versa the old stone edifice, exposed innumerable times to so many potential calamities - be they the forces of nature, or the artillery of armies, has withstood them all. It is protected and accessed at both ends of its length by bridge towers, one of which is on the Old Town side and two of slightly different height on the side of Lesser Town. Every day of the year

dozens artists, musicians, jugglers, souvenir vendors, and caricature painters set up their stalls on the Charles Bridge.

The Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square This is the cultural and historical center of Old Town Prague. The square has seen demonstrations, celebrations and the route of Royal processions ever since it was completed, and it contains some of the most splendidly preserved architecture anywhere in Europe. The Astronomical Clock, still working punctually and perfectly, dates back to the 1400s. Dominating the square at ground level is the large

statue of Jan Hus, the great but tragic religious reformer of the 14th and early 15th centuries. Surrounded by the imposing churches of Saint Nicholas and that of Old Town Hall itself, the square is a perfect place for meeting and lingering, or dining in the many cafes and restaurants there.    

     

Josefov - Jewish Museum The Jewish Museum in Prague incorporates all the main historical sites in the Jewish Quarter (Josefov), except for the Old-New Synagogue, which was completed in 1270 in the Gothic style and was one of Prague's first Gothic buildings. The Jewish Museum includes:

• Maisel Synagogue The Maisel Synagogue exhibits a cross-section of the history of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia, from the foundation of the Jewish communities here in the 10th century to the period of their emancipation in the 18th century.

• Spanish Synagogue A stunning building, the Spanish Synagogue follows on chronologically from the Maisel Synagogue with an exhibition devoted to the history of the Czech and Moravian Jews from the 18th century to present day.

• Pinkas Synagogue Dating from 1535, the Pinkas Synagogue is the work of the Horowitz family. After the Second World War, the synagogue was turned into a Memorial to the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia murdered by the Nazis. On its walls are inscribed the names of the Jewish victims, their personal data, and the names of the communities to which they belonged. 80,000 names are inscribed.

• Old Jewish Cemetery Founded in the first half of the 15th century, the Old Jewish Cemetery is one of the most important historical monuments in Prague's Jewish Town.

• Klausen Synagogue Located at the entrance to the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Klausen Synagogue was the largest synagogue in the Jewish ghetto and the seat of Prague's Burial Society. Houses a permanent exhibition entitled 'Jewish Customs and Traditions'.

• Ceremonial Hall Houses the second part of the exhibition 'Jewish Customs and Traditions'.

• Robert Guttmann Gallery Displays the results of the Jewish Museums research and restoration work, as well as temporary exhibitions of Czech Jewish artists.

Wenceslas Square Part of the historic center of Prague and a World Heritage site, Wenceslas Square started out originally as a horse market. In the late 18th century plans were made to enlarge it and lay it out in the form it has today. The Czech National Revival Movement in the middle of the 19th century, with its political movements and notions of romantic nationalism, gave it the name of Saint Wenceslas Square in honor of the patron

saint of Bohemia. A colossal horse statue was built, as was the spectacular neo-classical National Museum behind it. Cementing its reputation as the place for people to gather, whether to protest or celebrate, the Square was the spot chosen for the proclamation of independence of Czechoslovakian 1918. The Nazis paraded up and down the Square when they invaded, while the Russian communists in 1968 extinguished all hopes of a Prague Spring by brutally crushing all protestors on the square. So upset by this dashing of their dream of freedom, Jan Palach burned himself to death just months later in front of the horse statue. Happiness finally returned to the square in November 1989 when 150,000 people celebrated freedom. Today it is mainly a square of business, commerce, and tourism.  

National Theatre The National Theatre opened on June 11, 1881 to honor the visit of crown prince Rudolf. Two months later it was destroyed by fire, rebuilt, and reopened in November 1883. Today the National Theatre is considered one of the great venues of the arts world. Each season brings the very best in opera, ballet and plays from the world's and the Czech Republic's finest composers and dramatists.

Strahov Monastery and Strahov Library Strahov is a beautiful monastery, church, and library located a short walk from both from the main entrance to Prague Castle and also from the green and grassy Petrin Hill. Strahov was established by the Premonstratensians, a Catholic religious order founded in northern France by Saint Norbert in 1120. First built in 1140, it began its existence as a small and rather insignificant Romanesque stone monastery with a

capacity for just 12 monks. In the winter of 1258 a terrible fire broke out within the building that couldn't be contained because much of the interior was of wood; the church part of the complex was completely destroyed. The monastery suffered an even worse fate in 1420 when it was attacked and plundered by the citizens of Prague who burned books and looted or damaged valuable chalices, and holy objects. There were relentless attacks on the monastery during the Hussite Wars of the early 15th century and a brutal prolonged assault upon it by the Swedes in 1648. However, in 1670 Jeroným Hirnheim, a philosopher and theologist became the abbot of Strahov. His work is visible is the building of the new library, the present Theological Hall completed in 1679. In the 17th and early 18th century other abbots took up the challenge to strengthen, enlarge and beautify the monastery. They also attended to the church, which was repaired and decorated continuously as the decades went by. In 1779 Václav Mayer became abbot and was the last to carry out great building activities. His most outstanding work was the building of the new library in Classical style. Today it is known as the Philosophical Hall. Taken over by the Communists once they came to power in the late 1940's, the building was turned into the Museum of National Literature, ousting the monks in the

process. Today the monastery has been returned to its Premonstratesian owners and is in safe hands. The church is a beautiful sight, but the highlight is the library with its 16,000 priceless volumes in the Philosophical and Theological Halls. Cultural highlights of Prague include: National Gallery The most important gallery of the Czech Republic offers a number of unique exhibitions of Czech and international art. Veletržní Palace houses the permanent exhibition “Art of the 20th and 21st Centuries.” The permanent exhibition “The Art of Asia and the Ancient Mediterranean” at Kinský Palace includes a thousand artifacts from the ancient cultures of Asia, Europe and North Africa. “Medieval Art in Bohemia and Central Europe” is exhibited at the Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia. Sternberg Palace offers “European Art From the Classical Era Through the Close of the Baroque,” including works by such masters as El Greco, Goya and Rubens. National Museum The National Museum on Wenceslas Square hosts historical and natural history exhibits. The Jewish Museum The Jewish Museum (mentioned above) has the world’s largest collection of Judaic art. Rudolfinum   The Rudolfinum, one of the most noteworthy buildings in Prague, was built between 1876 and 1884 according to the designs of architects Josef Zítek and Josef Schulze. Originally intended as a multipurpose cultural building in Prague, the Rudolfinum was inagurated on February 7, 1885. It carried out its mission until 1919, when it was converted to the House of Commons of the Czechoslovak Republic. Concert activity was restored to the Rudolfinum during the German occupation, but full rehabilitation, particularly of the gallery, did not take place until 1992. After a general reconstruction by architect Karel Prager in 1992, the Rudolfinum became the home of the Czech Philharmonic and the Rudolfinum Gallery, which hosts temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. House of the Black Madonna Walking down the Celetná street, you won’t be able to overlook the House at the Black Madonna, Prague’s first Cubist building and home to exhibitions of Czech Cubism. It was designed by Josef Gočár between 1911 and 1912 as a manifesto for modernity on the Old Town’s boundaries. While the Parisian Cubist movement mainly focused on paintings, Czech Cubist artists experimented in all art fields: paintings, sculptures, but also architecture, furniture, ceramics, and graphic design. The displayed works present first-class quality and show how much Czech artists – fascinated by Pablo Picasso’s and Georges Braque’s Parisian plastic studies – managed to create their own style, thus transforming Prague into a major avant-garde center at the beginning of the century.

Mucha Museum   This small museum features only the work of the great Czech Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha. Mucha was famous for the posters he designed for theatre productions of the great fin-de-siècle actress, Sarah Bernhardt, and his work optimizes the Art Nouveau movement. The collection includes phenomenal paintings, posters, sketches, statues and photographs by the artist, and also features Mucha's lesser-known works celebrating pan-Slavism. In addition to the numerous museums and art galleries, Prague has many theatres, large and small, including: National Theatre The National Theatre is the outstanding Czech stage and its repertoire consists of drama, opera and ballet performance. (Neo-Renaissance building from 1868 - result of national collection.)

Theatre of the Estates The Estates Theatre or Stavovské Divadlo, is a historic theatre in Prague which currently offers performances of dramas, ballets and operas with the focus of the opera company on the work of Wofgang Amadeus Mozart.    

  Prague State Opera Prague State Opera resides in a beautiful Neo-Classical building with perfect acoustic, lovely decorations and provides one of the best performances (opera, ballet) in Prague.

Laterna Magika Laterna Magika (Prague) is an internationally comprehensible non-verbal theatre. Its secret lies in the combination of dance, film and black theatre. Divadlo Archa Divadlo Archa houses contemporary arts programming by international artists.

Any additional information

Like any major world city, Prague has numerous venues, restaurants, and clubs for arts activities. Once a decision is made to hold the 2014 symposium in Prague, we can begin to identify the events taking place at that time.

Logistics:

Provide an overview of travel sites (nearest international airport, train, where closest cities are for connection)

Prague Airport (code PRG) is the main international air gateway to the Czech Republic. The airport lies in the suburb of Ruzyne about 18km (12 miles) northwest of the center. Prague is well served by the major European and international carriers, including several budget airlines. The Czech national carrier, CSA (www.czechairlines.com) operates regular direct service to New York's JFK airport, as well as Toronto. Delta Airlines (www.delta.com) offers regular direct service between Prague and both New York JFK and Atlanta. If Prague is the selected location for the symposium, I will work with Daša Antelmanova of Creative Tours to organize ground transportation to and from the airport and also around the city or to outlying areas. Daša and I have worked together since 1999 organizing students and other groups visiting and studying in Prague. Accessibility to lodging (can suggest hotel(s) There are dozens of hotels in a variety of price ranges in the center of Prague. I recommend staying in either Old Town or Mala Strana (the Lesser Quarter), with the latter being my preference. If this proposal is selected, I will put together a list of suggested hotels. Potential costs for ICFAD (ex. Meeting room, A/V equipment, speakers)

If this proposal is selected, I will work to secure partnership assistance from the Theatre Institute and AMU, the National Academy of the Arts. Charles University is another potential partner. I’m certain that we can secure space for our meetings with the help of these partner organizations. A complete budget, including dinners and receptions can be devised if the conference proposal is approved.

Any additional information

A post-conference study tour of other parts of the Czech Republic could easily be arranged using the model of the post- Florence trip to Malta. I would suggest that the area of Southern Bohemia, including the village of Čzeský Krumlov, home of the historically unique Baroque-era Castle Theatre, be the focus of the post-conference trip. The trip could include the historic towns of Tabor and Borotín, including a visit to the country home/studio of Jaroslav Malina for a discussion of his life and work.

The first indirect information about the beginnings of theatre culture in the Český Krumlov castle come from the end of the 15th century, although the real blossoming of theatre life came during the reign of Wilhelm and Peter Wok of Rosenberg in the late 1500\'s. In 1675 Prince Johann Christian I. von Eggenberg had a theatre scene built in the so-called Deer Hall in the Krumlov castle, then in 1680 - 82 had a new and independent theatre building built on the 5th courtyard, on the site of the present theatre building. In 1765 - 1766, Josef Adam zu Schwarzenberg had the building reconstructed and equipped with new machinery and decorations. The unique mechanisms for changing the scenes and other decorations were prepared by the Viennese

carpenter Lorenz Makh, while the wall paintings, ceiling mural, and curtains and wings were created by the Viennese painters Hans Wetschel and Leo Märkl.

The Baroque Theatre of the Český Krumlov Castle represents a Baroque stage in its mature form. The original theatre fund is preserved in both actual objects such as the building, auditorium, orchestra pit, stage, stage technology, machinery, decorations,costumes, props, lighting technology, fire extinguishers and so on, as well as in rich archival documentation such as librettos, scripts, texts, partituras, sheet music, inventories, accounts, iconographic material, and other information on theatre life in the 17th to 19th century.

Only one royal theatre in the world is comparable to the Krumlov Baroque Theatre, that being Sweden's Drottningholm near Stockholm from 1766. This theatre was also preserved with its original stage technology, although its decorations are from the 1780\'s and already display features of classicism. The Krumlov decorations, in contrast, emerge from the style of illusive European Baroque, the most renowned representative of such being the Italian scenographer and Viennese theatre architect Giuseppe Galli - Bibiena.

The Krumlov theatre was closed to the public from 1966 to 1997, and after the completion of a large part of the restoration, trial tours of the theatre officially began in September of 1997.

Český Krumlov is an outstanding example of a central European small town dating from the Middle Ages that owes the structure and buildings of its historic core to its economic importance and relatively undisturbed organic development over some five centuries. The town grew up within a meander of the Vltava River, which provides a natural setting of great beauty. Its evolution over time is evident with startling clarity from its buildings and its urban infrastructure. It has profited from a relatively peaceful history in that it has retained its entire medieval layout and most of its historic buildings relatively intact. Restoration and conservation has been slight and so there can be no question as to the authenticity of both the townscape and its components.

The site is located on an ancient east-west communication route at a crossing of the Vltava River. The earliest documentary record of 1253 refers to the existence there of a castle belonging to a member of the ruling Vitkovici family of south Bohemia. The core of the castle (Hradek) dates from the 13th century. Settlement developed to the east (Latrán) and also on the opposite bank of the river round a central square. This multi-nodal urban development is a characteristic of medieval town development, especially in northern and central Europe. It was the seat of the influential Rožmberk family for 300 years from the mid-14th century. The Gothic castle was reconstructed in Renaissance style, with the involvement of leading artists of the period. The wealth and importance of the town is reflected in the high quality of many of the burgher houses, as the presence of the seat of government led to Český Krumlov becoming an important craft and trade centre. There was also considerable ecclesiastical development, illustrated by the major 15th-century church of St Vitus and monasteries of various preaching and itinerant orders. The town later passed to the equally influential Schwarzenberg family, and it retained its importance well into the 19th century.

There are two main historic areas - the Latrán area below the castle and the town proper on the opposite bank, in the meander of the Vltava River. The town has a regular street layout, typical of the planned towns of the Middle Ages, with streets radiating out from the central square and a circular intra-rampart road. The castle contains elements from the Gothic, High Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. It is dominated by the Gothic Hradek with its round tower; this was subsequently converted into a Baroque chateau with the addition of a garden, the Bellaire summer palace, a winter riding school, and a unique Baroque theatre of 1766. Both Latrán and the town proper contain undisturbed ensembles of burgher houses from High Gothic onwards. They are notable for their facades, internal layouts and decorative detail, especially carved wooden Renaissance ceilings.

The Church of St Vitus, dating from the early 15th century, anticipates High Gothic in its reticulated vaulting and is significant in the European context. Other important historic elements are the Renaissance Jesuit College and Baroque seminary, the Town Hall (created by combining several burgher houses and embellishing them with a Renaissance facade), the remains of the fortifications, especially the Budejovicka Gate (a Renaissance structure, modelled on Italian originals), and the Renaissance armoury in Latrán.

The small towns of Bohemia are, because of their relatively untouched condition, of great importance in illustrating organic urban evolution in medieval and Renaissance central Europe in response to political, social and economic developments, and Český Krumlov is the finest surviving example, in terms of both its intactness and the quality of its buildings and townscape.