Polička offers several distinct themes for a culturally focused stay: medieval fortifications, the city’s history from its foundation to 1945, Bohuslav Martinů, and examples of glassmaking. Liboháj Forest Park adds a monument and a historic open-air theatre. Polička can thus be explored through its history, architecture, music and crafts.
City Walls and a Clear Time Frame
Polička’s medieval city walls can be visited on a guided tour. Allow 45 to 60 minutes, and check the current tour time in advance. The present-day fortifications were built in the mid-14th century under Charles IV. The tour duration gives you a concrete guide for planning your day, while the construction date helps place the fortifications in their historical context.
City History and Crafts
The permanent exhibition “History of the City of Polička” covers the city’s history from its foundation by the Bohemian king Přemysl Otakar II in 1265 to 1945. Its time frame therefore extends from the city’s founding to the end of the Second World War. Both the city’s founder and its long history of development are central to this overview of Polička’s past.
The permanent exhibition “Glassmaking in the Horácko Region” focuses on a different subject. It showcases the craftsmanship of master glassmakers and the delicacy of their glassware. Rather than political or chronological city history, it explores the skill and design involved in glassmaking—an independent perspective on the region’s culture and craftsmanship.
Bohuslav Martinů: Exhibition and Birth Room
The exhibition “The Colorful World of Bohuslav Martinů” at the Bohuslav Martinů Centre presents the composer’s life story. His life has been closely connected with Polička from the very beginning. The exhibition thus adds an artist’s biography to the city’s story, with his connection to Polička an explicitly integral part of it.
Bohuslav Martinů’s birth room is also associated with the composer. It is located in the tower of St. James’s Church in Polička. Another place connected with the family’s history is to the left of St. Michael’s Church: the Martinů family grave is located there. Bohuslav Martinů, his wife Charlotte, and his parents and siblings are buried there.
Town Hall, Art and Architecture
The gallery in Polička’s Baroque town hall houses the Renaissance group portrait “Garden Feast of the Hohenems Family.” It is considered the largest of its kind outside Italy. The Baroque town hall also contains two distinctive chapels: one Gothic and one Baroque. The painting and the two chapels represent different perspectives on Polička’s artistic and architectural history; each chapel is identified by its own architectural style.
Liboháj and the Regional Perspective
A monument to Jan Hus was erected in Liboháj Forest Park in 1921. It consists of a bronze relief on a granite block and was created by the sculptor Vojtěch Eduard Šaff, who was born in Polička. A natural amphitheatre was also built in the forest park in the 1920s, where numerous amateur theatre performances took place. Together, these two features connect a monument to Jan Hus with the park’s former amateur performance culture.
Polička is also a gateway to the Žďárské vrchy. This regional connection adds another perspective to the city’s cultural and historical themes. When choosing a destination, you can consider whether your stay will be shaped primarily by city history, Martinů, architecture and crafts, or also by the connection to the Žďárské vrchy.
Discover more destinations: Rychnov Na Moravě, Pomezí, Desná, Hartinkov, Rudná, Bělá U Jevíčka, Gruna, Útěchov
For the broader travel overview: Svitavy District.
