ZACHARIÁŠ SQUARE IN HRADEC

It was born from the junction of two traffic axes, hence its curious shape of elongated trapezium. But today only pedestrians circulate there: the place is calm, bewitching. The undulation allows to see the square in a different way. It owes its complicated name to the lord who built the castle in the 16th century (his figure adorns the labels and glasses of the local beer). Fortunately, you don't have to pronounce it correctly to enjoy this unique place. The long arcade that goes almost around the square embellishes the place considerably. Each house deserves to be detailed. The Renaissance or Baroque facades follow one another, colored, decorated with sgraffiti sometimes and topped by gables all different (triangular, rounded, pointed, staircase...), as beautiful as the others: you will admire magnificent paintings on the pillars and oriels (for example at n° 15 of the square), sgraffiti of the most beautiful work (n° 61), trompe-l'oeil (the unmistakable green house, all twisted and so different from the others), bossages (n° 12, 54 and 55), a real treat for the eyes. Some facades seem disproportionate to the buildings they hide: thus at n° 47, 54 or 55. The town hall stands on the western side of the square. It is a beautiful small Renaissance building, with 4 bays, born from the junction of Gothic houses. On the south side of the square, we can see a column of the Plague and a fountain (18th century).