Transfer Prague - Jihlava

Jihlava Underground
Jihlava's underground passages are a significant part of the town's ancient architecture. These catacombs, second in length in the CzechRepublic, after Znojmo, are situated directly below the old section of the town. Their total length is 25 km, covering an area of 50,000 sq. m. The multiple-level catacombs or corridors are cut into hard rock. They are found under almost all the houses in the historic center of Jihlava, which has been declared a municipal conservation area. The first level of the catacombs can be accessed from basements at about 2 to 4 meters below street level; the second level lies about 4 to 6 meters below street level. Under several houses, there even are third-level cellars situated 8 to 14 meters underground. The first-level corridors were built during the 14th century, the second and third-level corridors were added in the 16th century, and, finally, during the 17th century, some of the corridors were reinforced with brick foundations and the individual sections interconnected with a network of short corridors..

Jihlava Fortification
he walls surrounding the growing town of Jihlava were built shortly after its official foundation, i.e., during the first half of the 13th century. Thanks to its strategic location on the boundary between Bohemia and Moravia, the newly founded royal mining town was not only to become an important commercial centre, but also a point of prime military interest. Measuring 6 meters in height and 3 km in length, the inner walls were doubled by an enclosure wall, with a narrow bailey in-between, and a 7-meter deep moat. For extra strength and security, the main wall was provided with watchtowers and the enclosure wall with bastions. The bastions doubled as fortification of the mounds over the moat. Five gates with elaborate forefronts and drawbridges interrupted the continuity of the walls..

Gustav Mahler Park
Gustav Mahler Park was established in a place where a Jewish synagogue used to stand. The first synagogue was built in Jihlava in the mid-14th century approximately, when many Jews moved to the royal town of Jihlava. But in the 16th century the building burnt down and was replaced by a residential house. In the second half of the 19th century there was another big influx of Jews to Jihlava, so the construction of a new synagogue of a grander concept was commenced. The building was erected in a historical Romanesque – Moorish style, and the synagogue was ceremonially consecrated in 1863. This synagogue was visited by Gustav Mahler and his parents. After the synagogue burned down in 1939 a parking lot and a town market place took its place.
The central object in the park is a bronze statue of the composer Gustav Mahler by the sculpture professor Jan Koblasa, located in the most prominent position in the park. Other sculptures – birds and fish - are also oriented towards this statue. Symbolic birds at the same time adorn a gate to the park and draw attention right to the composer’s statue. Similarly, three fish by the adjacent body of water and ten small fountains symbolizing Mahler’s ten symphonies spout water into the park’s lake. In the southern part of the park there is a small geometric square with the exposed foundations of the synagogue..

The Town Square in Jihlava
Measuring 36,653 sq. m. in size, Jihlava's town square counts among the largest historic area of its kind. The geometrical street plan of the town, with a large rectangular square in the middle, was determined by the building code issued by King Přemysl Otakar II in 1270. At that time, most of the houses surrounding the square had arcades in front. These disappeared sometime around the middle of the 14th century..

Jihlava Zoo
Have you heard that there is almost 15.000 animals in the Jihlava Zoo?