The district of Trebic is situated in the southwest tip of Moravia, on an area of 1.520 km
2. It's northern part is covered with Bohemian-Moravian Uplands - a picturesque and mountainous landscape, rich in forests, fields and ponds. In the southern part there are romantic valleys of the Oslava, Rokytna, and Jihlava Rivers. There is a calm, colourful, and plain area fertile in fruit. Trebic, the administrative and cultural centre of the district with the population of forty thousand inhabitants, is located on both sides of the Jihlava River. Modern housing estates, industrial enterprises, sport facilities, a swimming-pool, and a camp have been built. In the down-town there are lots of offices, health centres, cinemas, a number of restaurants, cafes, cosy pubs, and historical places of interest. The most unique among them for sure is
the Romanesque-Gothic Basilica of St. Prokop dated from the 13
th century, which represents evidence of the important past of the town. It belongs to the area of the Castle, which arose in 1468, after the total reconstruction of the former Benedictine Monastery originated from the 12
th century. In one part of the Castle, there is now the West-Moravian Museum exhibiting permanent
expositions of Bethlehems, Moldawites, and pipes. Unique as well is the former
Jewish Town with two Synagogues and the large Jewish cemetery with well preserved Rennaisance and Baroque tombs.
The second biggest town of the region, Moravske Budejovice, is located along the road connecting Vienna, Jihlava and Prague. Its early existence has been proven in the historical documents from 1231. The town was awarded a lot of privileges and its owners changed many times during the process of its growth. Finally, burgesses became owners of their houses and properties in Budejovice in 1848. The Castle in the upper end of the central square arose at the end of the 17
th century and nowadays museum collections are installed there. Close to it there is a miniature area of former butcher stores with an exposition showing long ago extinct crafts. Also the Church of St. Jilji and other Gothic and Baroque objects are worth seeing here. Summer holidaymakers may appreciate spending their time in the area of a new swimming pool and a big tobogan.
Between Budejovice and
Trebic there is the town of Jaromerice nad Rokytna . An old legend tells the story of the Prince Jaromir, who founded the town in 1131. It used to be a yeoman seat, later reconstructed into the Baroque Castle, which became a memorial of historical architecture, painting, sculpture and music. It is surrounded with the park built in French-English style, with stone benches and sandstone sculptures. The castle library represents a place, where classical music concerts are being held, whereas its ground floor halls are devoted to graphic exhibitions. Near the Castle is the Otokar Brezina Museum.
The youngest town of the District of Trebic is Hrotovice. It boasts the castle, that the recently been costly renovated.
About 20 km from Trebic on the way to Brno, on the banks of the Oslava River, there is the town of Namest on Oslava . The place is characteristic for the bridge, which is the smaller replica of the Prague Charles Bridge, and the Rennaissance Castle related to the noble clan of Zerotin. As early as in 13
th century a medieval castle was on the place. Today the Castle preserves the collection of wall tapestries, historical furniture, precious pictures and ceramics. The enormous castle library contains 16.000 volumes, including the original publication of six volume
Bible of Kralice and seven files of Aristoteles written on parchment. The castle park and well-known castle deer-field invite visitors to calm walks. Near Namest on Oslava there further attractive places, such as the Memorial of Bible in Kralice,
outlook tower Babylon and first of all the unique Mohelno Hadec Steppe, the reserve of dwarfish plants and animals, which is being appreciated especially by nature lovers.
The southmost town of the district is Jemnice, the former royal town. Partly preserved fortification and several religious premises reflect its bygone importance. The round Romanesque tower of St. Jakub Church is the oldest structure in Moravia and on the contrary the newest one is the Pallaviciny Family Mausoleum, built in Neoclassical style. Barchan, one of
the oldest historical festivals of Europe, takes place in Jemnice every year. The main event of the festival is the picturesque historical costume procession. It is possible to spend free time in the castle park or in arboretum close to the Treatment Institute.
Except further places of historical significance there are a few protected areas, such as the natural reserve of Syenit rocks near Pocoucov and many other places suitable for recreation and sports. Dalesice Water Dam with the camp and the Wilson's Rock, Lavicky Camp, Mohelno and Markovka Water Dams and a number of romantic river valeys and ponds are all very attractive places for fishermen and water-lovers. Tourist centres of Jalovec, Vlci Kopec (the Volf's Hill), Pousov Camp and many others may provide all the visitors with the pleasant recreation. Deep forests near villages of Svatoslav and Heraltice are very suitable for tourism and picking mushrooms. The beutiful countryside of the Trebic region, its intact nature and environment as well as the cleanest air all over the Czech Republic offer a good deal of
lovely walks and relaxation.