Turmoil of the 20th Century (1.5hrs)

Český Krumlov was irrevocably affected by the events of the 20th century. The life of locals changed forever, but so did the city appearance. The spiral of events was started by the arrival of Adolf Hitler almost a year before World War II started. The local nobility of German origin was forced to define their attitude towards the Nazis and make a vital decision. The Jewish community was dispersed. The expulsion of the Sudeten Germans and the rise of one-party rule completed the picture. Krumlov is irreparable – this was the slogan that ran through the district town in some 35 years ago, in the era of deep communism. The topic of the Soviet occupation in 1968 and the arrival of tanks parked on the local square will also come up.The period after the Velvet Revolution was incredibly intense. Local expert leading this tour was there and experienced everything first-hand.            

In 1914 Český Krumlov was a town in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose inhabitants mostly spoke German. There were also flourishing Jewish and Czech-speaking communities whose presence stretched back to the Middle Ages. Over the next 35 years, including two disastrous wars and unprecedented turmoil, the town was fundamentally transformed.  Before the German occupation in 1938, the Jews of the town suffered a horrific fate, and their community completely disappeared in the ravages of war and the Holocaust. At the end of the Second World War in 1945, it was the turn of the German speakers to face the loss of their home. In 1948, the Communist regime took over. Český Krumlov suffered of incredible decay until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Given its beauty nowadays, there is no wonder it is on bucket list of thousands of travellers from all over the world.