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Flower Garden in Kroměříž
The Flower Garden in Kroměříž is an exceptional garden which belongs to the world’s most important examples of garden art. It’s not huge but it represents a transition between Italian late renaissance gardens and French baroque and classicist gardens and although it’s more than three hundred years old, its concept has been preserved to this day. As I mentioned in my previous post about the Archbishop chateau in Kroměříž, in 1998 the whole complex of the chateau and its gardens including the Flower Garden was added to the UNESCO List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The garden was established in 1665 – 1675 by bishop Karel II of Lichtenstein-Castelkorn,…
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Archbishop chateau in Kroměříž
In my post about Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach I mentioned the Archbishop chateau in Kroměříž and today I would like to tell you more about it. Castles and chateaus are usually linked to the history of noble families but the chateau in Kroměříž used to be property of bishops and archbishops residing in about 50 kilometres distant Olomouc, they used the chateau for representative purposes. The settlement Kroměříž became property of Olomouc episcopate way back in 1110. 150 years later it was declared a town, a castle was built there and all administration of the episcopate was brought there. In the first half of the sixteenth century the castle was remodelled into…
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Means of transport
It’s the last day of the month today and I’m here to present the five final photos I selected from those I’ve taken for the September theme of my 12-month photo project, which was MEANS OF TRANSPORT. No. 1: Bicycles I took this photo in front of a shop where several great-looking bicycles were displayed to tempt prospective buyers. The circles attracted my attention and for me, the detail beat the whole. No. 2: Car and beetle People have their cars decorated in many more or less interesting ways, don’t they? I loved that beetle and its metallic lustre as soon as I saw it, I was happy to have my…
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Pleasures and pains of editing photographs
The process of editing photographs can be pleasant and fulfilling but it can also be confusing and even intimidating. At least that is my experience and I want to talk about it today. Not to make the reading too dry, I’ll add a few of my before/after images. The before images are unprocessed RAW versions just transferred to JPEGs. Let’s make it clear from the beginning that for the purpose of this post, by editing I don’t mean adding textures, creating composites or making any major changes to the photograph’s contents (except for cropping and minor healing or cloning), just adjustment of light, saturation, contrast, white balance, etc. My first…
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Inspiring woman
Have you ever heard about the writer Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach? I hadn’t until I visited the Archbishop chateau in Kroměříž last summer and saw a little unusual exhibition presented in the chateau’s tower on the 100th anniversary of her death. Her words flying in the air captured my attention… Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach was a writer of Moravian origin writing in German language. She is considered to be one of the most important women writers of the 19th century who wrote in German. She was born in September 13, 1830 in Zdislavice, not far from Kroměříž, to the noble family of Count Dubský and his wife. When she married, she and…
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Castle and chateau Frýdlant
In the Jizera Mountains in northern Bohemia, you can find a castle and chateau in one. It has the same name as a nearby town – Frýdlant – and belongs to one of the most important historical buildings in the Czech Republic. The castle was built in the 13th century to protect tradesmen using local business trails. A legend says that in the core of the castle was a stately tower on top of which fire was set to serve the tradesmen as a beacon. The castle was owned by several noble families that remodelled and improved the castle gradually. In the 16th century, part of the castle was rebuilt…
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Rudbeckia counterbalance
On Monday, a new school year started here which meant that last week I spent quite a few hours by shopping. Everything the school asked to get for lessons such as exercise books and pencils, watercolours and brushes, but also clothes and shoes as my 13 year old son is growing almost in front of my eyes these weeks. That clothes part was the most exhausting because although he is of average build, it was not easy to get trousers for him thanks to the current slim and skinny fashion. So much wasted time when looking for something suitable… One day when we came home from such shopping, I went…
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Sundial and other clocks
Time measuring devices, that was the theme of my 12-month photo project that I tried to fulfil in August and that my five finalists represent today. I have to admit that although the theme seemed to be simple at first, it was another challenge. Clocks of all kinds tend to shine and reflect their surroundings, their numerals look soft, and they are often placed quite high. Also, I wanted the clocks to be the feature of the photos, yet at the same time to be just part of them, part of the whole. As much as it may sound contradictory, I believe that in this way the photos would better tell their…
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Botanical garden in Liberec
When I was planning trips for our holiday in the Jizera Mountains, the Botanical garden in Liberec was one of the places which caught my attention, especially for the architecture of its greenhouses and for its new „Water Lily Pavilion“. The garden greatly exceeded my expectations which is why I would like to present it to you. The Botanical garden in Liberec is the oldest botanical garden in the Czech Republic. It started its operation in 1895 and its purpose was primarily to provide green vegetation for the town. During both world wars its condition deteriorated, it served mostly as a market garden. At last in 1954, it was changed…
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Observation tower Slovanka
Slovanka, the oldest iron observation tower in Bohemia, is situated at the top of the hill Slovanka in the Jizera Mountains, at an altitude of 820 metres, not far from the town Janov nad Nisou. The tower is 11 metres high, 14 metres including the base. It is permanently accessible and the access is free of charge. We spent our family holiday in the vicinity and visited the observation tower twice. I would say that there is nothing spectacular about the tower, yet it looks good, there is a nice view from its top and also, it represents an interesting piece of history. The tower was constructed according to a…
