Telc is located in the southwest corner of Moravia, halfway between Prague and Vienna. According to legend, the founding of the city is associated with the victory of Moravian Prince Otto II over Czech Prince Bretislav in 1099. It was the victorious prince who contributed to the establishment of a chapel, later a church, and a settlement, which is now known as Staré Mesto (Old Town).
The original "wooden" Telc was prone to fires, with the largest one occurring in 1530 when an entire side of the square, including the town hall, was reduced to ashes. After the fire, individual repairs to houses took place, but they all tended towards similar single-story buildings with decorated facades. The unifying element was the arcade, sometimes Renaissance and in other cases, later Baroque.
In the 16th century, Zachariáš of Hradec invited Italian architects to Telc to transform his Gothic residence into a representative chateau. Renaissance modifications also extended to the bourgeois houses on the square (
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"According to the local legend, the foundation of Telc is connected with the victory of the Moravian Duke Otto II. over the Czech DukHistorical backgrounde Bretislav in 1099. It is said that in the memory of the battle the victor established first a chapel, later a church and then a community, which is the Old Town today. The only historical proof is the documentation of a seigniorial estate and watch tower with a little church, which was the residence of the royal administrator. This royal property, Telc was paid out by Charles IV, firstly it was redeemed (1335) and secondly it was exchanged with Jindrich of Hradec for the border castle Banov (1339). This family started founding a new Telc. Menhart of Hradec is supposed to have built the castle, church, water fortification and Gothic houses around the large marketplace. The town started to expand after 1354, and in spite of rapid development – it was granted the rigth to carry out capital sentences and the right to hold annual markets by Charles IV, it used to suffer from fires (in 1386 the whole western half of the square including the church and town hall were burnt out) and later still from the Hussites rebellions. According to the Town Chronicle established in 1359 (and later lost) the town of Telc was – except for the castle – conquered in 1423 by the Hussites´army led by Jan Hvezda of Vicemilice. The recovery ot the town required quite a long time, although it was awarded additional privileges in the fifteenth century (fairs, brewing, the sale of salt).
Zachariáš of Hradec takes over the Telc estate and both the town and castle enjoy the period of prosperity. This enlightened and rich magnate (also thanks to the mariage with Katerina of Wallenstein) greatly renovates the Gothic castle and constructs joining it a chateau in the Renaissance style. Italian workmen invited to the castle help the burghers to rebuild the Gothic dwellings into the neat houses with attractive facades and arcades. At the same time the town water mains and new hospital were built, and new ponds, trades and new ways of management were established. Zachariáš as well as other men of the Hradec family die without male offspring, and thus Lucie Ottilie, sister of the last of them brings her husband, Vilém Slavata (a well-known governor who had played his role within the Prague Defenestration in 1618) to the Telc estate (as well as to Hradec), together with a new noble family."
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