Blatná

Blatná enjoys an inland version of temperate Oceanic climate (Cfb) with rather balanced temperatures year round. Precipitations are vastly in form of rain, totalling 691 mm. There are four pronounced seasons with notably cold, dry, and murky winter season, contrasting with much sunnier and wetter warm seasons. Average round the clock temperatures in July stays on +17.2 °C and January mean temperatures stays on −2.5 °C. The whole year average is 7.7 °C (45.9 °F).

Side view of the castle, from right to left: the tower, Rožmitálský Palace with protruding chapel and Rejt's Palace

Blatná Castle is the town's main landmark. It is built on a rock surrounded by a moat, connected with a pond. The castle is narrow, U-shaped, with a tower in front to which the palaces from various periods attach. The castle is being restored with most of the works finished. It is open for the public, together with the castle park and deer park.[4]

Under the Lev of Rožmitál family, the fortress was for the first time rebuilt in stone (the oldest parts being the tower and Rožmitálský Palace) and the surrounding marshes were changed into wide water trenches. A Gothic chapel was soon attached to the tower and palace. Lords of Rožmitál were continuously rebuilding and enlarging the castle, first with the so-called Old Palace, standing separatedly over the remnants of a Romanesque chapel. In 1523–1530, during the rule of Zdeněk Lev of Rožmitál, a new palace in a mixed Gothic-Renaissance style was appended under the guidance of renowned royal builder Benedikt Rejt and now is called Rejt's Palace.[4]

During the rule of the Counts of Rozdražov, the Renaissance Rozdražovský Palace was built and became the last part of the castle. In the 18th century, the Serényi family had one wing of the castle rebuilt in the Baroque style and also erected many Baroque statues in the town and its surroundings. In 1850–1856, the castle received its last rebuilt, which gave it its contemporary neo-Gothic look.[4]

Castle park

The castle park spreads next to the castle on an area of 42 ha (100 acres). The park was created as an English landscape garden at the beginning of the 19th century by František Hildprandt. Its part close to the castle surrounds a large meadow with very old solitary oak trees. Beyond the meadow are preserved old woods with alleys, swamps, streams with footbridges over them, artificial caves, remnants after placer mining and an Empire style summer house. Its part is also a deer park. A herd of tame fallow deer freely roams the park.[8]

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary lies next to the castle, at the end of the main square. It was founded in the 1290s as a two-aisled building with a long presbytery, and small adytum on the north side. It gained its present looks in 1515 when the reconstruction was finished.[9]

The bell tower is located next to the church. It was first built in 1722–1723 and was 46 m (151 ft) high. It was destroyed with most of the town in the big fire of 1834, but was built again in 1835–1836, this time at 52 metres (171 ft) of height.[10]

Church of Saint John the Baptist in Paštiky

The Baroque Church of Saint John the Baptist is located in the Blatná's part of Paštiky. It was rebuilt by renowned architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer in 1747–1752, on the order of countess Serényi. The church is a single-aisled building ended in a rectangular presbytery with richly decorated cornices in a Rococo style. The carvings inside are by Ferdinand Ublacker, the paintings are by J. V. Spitzer. Next to the church is a cemetery with a mortuary chapel under which is the family crypt of the Hildprandt family. The chapel was also built by Dientzenhofer.[11]

The building of the primary school that carries the name of J. A. Comenius was built according to the design of the local native, architect Karel Fiala, in 1902–1904.[12]