The well-known masterpiece by Art Nouveau pioneer Alfons Mucha was situated in Moravsky Krumlov´s chateau. He was devoted to the massive painting, spending 16 years of his life working on it. This collection is possible to see in Prague in teh Market palace. You can see the chateau of Moravsky Krumlov and the birthplace of Alfons Mucha, the town Ivancice.
8 HOUR ROUND TRIP

Moravsky Krumlov Chateau
The first written record of Moravsky Krumlov dates to 1227. The general view shows the town from the step hill topped off by the St. Florian Church, the dominant feature of the town.
The town´s renaissance chateau dating between 1557 to 1562 stands on the site of a former medieval Gothic castle, three sides of the chateaux courtyard are lined with Renaissance arcades. After the lost battle on the White Mountain in 1620, the family of Lichtenstein was the owner of the estate. The family vault is near the church of All Saints. The well-known Slavonic Epopee by the painter Alfons Mucha (1860-1939), is situated in the Hall of Knights in the Chateaux.

Ivancice
800 years back in time when having a walk through Ivancice, you might be surprised by the size and splendour of one of the most significant royal towns in Moravia.
The former market place was created on the crossing of business routes and at the same time on the confluence of three rivers Oslava, Jihlava and Rokytna, was around 1212 declared a town. It had stone town walls with three gates and a moat, a Gothic castle and fortified basilica once existed there.
Then hard times came to the town, it was plundered several times, the worst was in 1304 by the Hungarian Kumans. In 1424 the town was conquered by the Hussites and Ivancice became their base for the next 10 years. In contrast the most glorious time of the town dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when Ivancice became a significant centre of Unitas Fratrum. Ivancice school, generously sponsored by Karel the Elder of Zerotin, belongs to one of the most famous Czech Brothers institutions - perhaps thanks to the fact, that significant scholars worked there. One of them was the Czech humanist Jan Blahoslav, who translated from the Greek original to the Czech language The New Testament and his work is still recognised as a pearl of Czech mediaeval literature. Established in Ivancice was also the Czech Brothers printing press, later it was moved to Kralice, where in a Gothic stone fortress the Bible Kralická, the first Czech printed bible, first saw the light of day.
A dominant feature of Ivaneice is without a doubt the Gothic parish Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with high tower, finished by a unique Renaissance top with gallery. In the nearby House of the noblemen of Lipá with corner oriel and a rich architectural decoration from the 17th century is the Exhibition Hall of the Town Museum, which is a part of the Brno-Environs District Museum. The large local Jewish population (in 1791 Jews accounted for 20% of the total population) is reminded by a Synagogue from 1853 and a Jewish Cemetery with the oldest tombstone dating from 1552. Also worth mentioning is the Neo-Gothic pilgrimage chapel of St.James on the hill northeast from the town, to which leads the Way of the Cross with 14 stations. The most valuable monuments are found in the town's urban preservation zone.
Amongst the most famous Ivancice countrymen belong the Art-Nouveau painter Alfons Mucha (1860 - 1939), to the world expert public known Quido Adler (1855 - 1934), co-founder of modern musicology. Displayed in the Ivancice Cultural Information Centre is a permanent exhibition of his life and work. Southeast of Ivancice lies Reznovice and Hrubšice. In Ivaneice an "Asparagus Festival" is held each year as a reminder to the cultivating tradition of this delicacy in the region.

Alfons Maria Mucha was born in Moravia on the 24th July in 1860. He attended a grammar school in Brno from 1871 to 1875. In 1879 he worked as a scribe at the Court of Law in his native town Ivancice. In 1877 he was refused the enrolment at Prague Academy of arts for the lack of talent. He left MOravia and staretd to work in a workshop of theatre decorations in Vienna (1879-1881). When the theatre was destroyed by the fire, he lost his job and returnedto Moravia. He worked for Count Evzen Huen-Belassi who recognised his talent and supported him in his studies in Munich and later in Paris. He devoted himself predominantly to drawings and illustrations. At Christmas 1894 he was asked to draw a poster for the new play Gismonda, starring Sarah Bernhard. He came with a completely new style, used light colours and a life-sized poster and it was so successful that Gismonda started his close co-operation with this actress that made him famous. From 1905 to 1910 he worked mainly in the USA. In 1906 he married his former student Marie Chytilova and in 1910 he returned to his native country, rented a large studio in the chateaux Zbiroh, where he in 1912 started to work on the cycle of the Slav Epic. His work was interrupted by his educational journeys but also by work he did for the newly founded Czechoslovak Republic in 1918. He designed for example its first banknotes and postage stamps. A. Mucha died in Prague on the 14th July in 1939 after his ctoss-examination by the Gestapo.
The idea to create the cycle celebrating the history of the Slavs came to his mind at the end of the 19th century, he wanted to show the people in Bohemia who they were and where they came from. He lacked money to bring the idea into life, but in the USA he found a rich donor, Charels Crane, whe agreed to pay for all Mucha´s expenses connected with the cycle. Mucha devoted to the Epic 16 years of his life and when he finished the work, he was almost seventy years old. The whole cycle was completed in 1928, when it was also presented to the capital of Czechoslovakia - Prague. Since 1954 the cycle had been exhibited in Moravsky Krumlov.
The canvases for the cycle were imported from Belgian Brussels, where it was originally produced for the ship sails, pictures are painted in egg tempera and details in oil.
It is open every day except of Monday from April until October.
But in winter it is possible to book in advance the private tour.

2,5 hour to drive SE
Trip:
1)Moravsky Krumlov - Alfons Mucha´s Slav Epic exhibition, SEE5 - 8 hour round trip
Trips combinations:
2)Moravsky Krumlov chateau Slav Epic paitings SEE5 + Telc town and chateau UNESCO SEE1 - 10 hour round trip
3)Moravsky Krumlov chateau Slav Epic paitings SEE5 + Brno & Austerlitz Slavkov Napoleon´s battlefield SEE3 - 10 hour round trip
4)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Trebic Jewish Quarter and Basilica Unesco SEE2 - 10 hour round trip
5)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Jaromerice chateau SEE6 - 10 hour round trip
6)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Namest chateau SEE7 - 10 hour round trip
7)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Pernstejn castle EE2 - 10 hour round trip
8)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Porta Coeli convent EE3 - 10 hour round trip
9)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Moravian Karst SEE4 - 11 hour round trip
10)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Lednice and Valtice chateaux, wine-tasting UNESCO SEE8 - 12 hour round trip
11)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Mikulov chateau, town, Jewish Quarter, wine-tasting SEE9 - 12 hour round trip
12)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Litomysl town and chateau Unesco NNE5 - 12 hour round trip
13)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Jaromerice chateau SEE6 + Namest chateau SEE7 - 12 hour round trip
14)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Znojmo town and castle SEE13 - 12 hour round trip
15)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Vranov chateau SEE10 - 13 hour round trip
16)Moravsky Krumlov SEE5 + Catholic Pilgrim Sites in Moravia SEE11 - 13-14 hour round trip


Our popular tours are outlined on our web sites:
www.private-tours.net
www.private-tours.cz
jewish.tourstoprague.com