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Normal People Required to Live in Cesky Krumlov

A Czech artist is looking to hire normal Czech families to live in Cesky Krumlov for three months this summer, in an effect to tame the effects of the ghastly mass tourism that has destroyed the town, Radio Prague reports today.

Posted by
3777 posts

I am going to assume something was lost in the translation as I don't know what normal people look like.

Posted by
4637 posts

It looks like April Fool's Day joke or that artist is very rich and does not know what to do with money. How many families will be needed? It would have to be retirees or people who already live in Cesky Krumlov (outside of the old town). Nobody has 3 months vacation - not even in Czech Republic. I think somebody is pulling our leg.
I visited C.K. in 1975 in winter. The town was under snow but otherwise grey, somewhat run down - in need of repairs. Local people were mostly gypsies. No tourists whatsoever. I felt like I got back in time several centuries. For some reason Communists did not touch the center as they did in many other towns - as they said - to make life easier for people.

Posted by
2636 posts

I have been travelling to the Czech republic for 25 years and have never felt the need to visit Cesky Krumlov,I very much doubt I ever will.

Posted by
356 posts

I think the point that the artist is making is that Krumlov has been destroyed by tourism. Please do yourself and everyone else a favour and stay away.

Posted by
4637 posts

I would not be that radical as Unclegus and Marcus. There is reason why people flock to Cesky Krumlov. It's a gem. Almost all towns in south Bohemia are pretty but C.K. is well above. I was there in February 1975, May 2004, July 2015. The last one I did not stay overnight and it was a ZOO. If you go, go for overnight and out of season and walk around town at late night and early morning and you would agree with me. Or go in the season for a day trip and I agree with you - it's not worth it.
Or if you want to go in season go instead to future Cesky Krumlov (I hope not), it's called Loket. It is about 10 km from Karlovy Vary. It somewhat resembles Cesky Krumlov - river from three sides, castle on the cliff above it, little medieval streets, long and narrow square. Don't postpone too much. Cannot rule out crowds in the future. But not yet.

Posted by
7180 posts

I'm not sure how the 1975 condition of C.K. is important to tourism decisions today. Of course, it's disappointing to be in a crowd when you go to visit a special place. But something has to produce income to keep the place up. I'm not one of the posters here who will spend a night just to avoid daytrippers. But crowding, despite the difficulty of getting to C.K. is testimony to how special a place it is. I didn't find it more crowded than Rue Cler or the falafel shop street in the Marais ... ... ... [ironica typeface]

Posted by
7010 posts

I'm confused. Just how is hiring these 'normal' families to live in CK for 3 months going to affect the rate of tourism? Is it that they will fill up the available tourist hotel rooms/apartments so they are not used by tourists? That wouldn't stop the day trippers. And wouldn't this just put more people on the streets of CK? I really don't understand the object. Maybe I'm missing something, maybe I couldn't see the whole report.

Posted by
4637 posts

1975 is not that important for tourism today. It only shows that progress (or "progress") is unstoppable.

Posted by
868 posts

"Normal people" cannot bring back what the artist is missing. This "normality" was already destroyed after 1945, when most of the locals were expelled and exchanged with Gipsies, like Ilja mentioned. This happened everywhere along the borders, and thanks to this many of these border towns didn't change much. The Commies simply didn't invest in these "Gipsy towns" far away from the Czech heartland.
It's the other way around: the expulsions, the resettlement, and 40 years of Communism destroyed this town. CK was saved by mass tourism, which made the needed (huge) investments possible. Many other places with a similar fate didn't have as much luck.

Posted by
532 posts

FINALLY, I think we seem to be agreeing there's a place equally crowded as Prague.

Posted by
4637 posts

Cesky Krumlov is as crowded as certain parts of Prague during a day in summer. The most crowded place I have been to was Venice, then Florence and of course certain parts of Rome. The five most visited cities in Europe are in this order: Paris, London, Rome, Istanbul, Prague. Prague is the smallest out of them so no wonder.

Posted by
532 posts

Thank you Ilja. Its a good perspective/reminder that Prague is not alone when it comes to the tourist hordes. I get so tired of always hearing on this forum how crowded it is, and whether to visit or not. Crowds or not, its still a must see city.

Posted by
14481 posts

I can picture in a way how CK was like in 1975 under commie rule. I was in Prague in July of 1973 for the first time, regardless of all the mandatory rules for western tourists. The tourists I saw were mainly either American (backpackers and others) or Germans, east and west Germans. Actually, it was two East German guys, backpackers, who helped me and two other American backpackers get rooms at the dorm. Still, there was tourism, eg, from other East bloc countries, plus from other western European countries, but then absolutely nothing like today.

In the Czech Rep I have numerous other tourist and historical places to visit other than seeing CK. It was known as Krumau in the Sudetenland. Bottom line, don't count on me going to CK.

Posted by
393 posts

Going to be tough to live "normally" in the centre of CK but as the article says, she hopes to make a permanent record of the experiences and ideas generated. Personally I think it needs another flood..............joking.