The Gothic castle and Renaissance château of Bečov nad Teplou, shrouded by the strange story of the Reliquary of St Maurus, stands on a cliff high above the valley. If you come and visit, you will go through the quaint town with its picturesque elongated square and beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and the deep valley of the Teplá River.
What you must see in Bečov nad Teplou
Discover several Baroque and Classicist houses with Gothic cores in the historical town centre, and you can also access the gradually renovated botanical gardens. Just like elsewhere, however, the castle and the château at Bečov garners the most attention, especially its combination of robust Gothic and fragile Renaissance architecture with the octagonal corner tower and its terraced gardens. Years ago, criminal detectives discovered the Romanesque Reliquary of Saint Maurus under the floor of the Gothic castle chapel. The reliquary is a rare chasse made of gold and silver, decorated with over 300 gemstones.
Who should you know in association with the reliquary
Whereas the Reliquary of Saint Maurus has its own tour circuit at the castle and château at Bečov, at the end of which you will see this valuable gold monument with your own eyes, very little is known about the saint himself. Saint Maurus was a priest who baptised several dozens of Christians, only to be executed with them in the 1st or 3rd century AD. The reliquary for his remains was created in the 13th century in the Belgian town of Florennes, and later the remains of St Timothy and St Apollinaris were also placed in it.
Tourist attractions of the town and its surroundings
Aside from the castle and château at Bečov nad Teplou, you can also see the Museum of Historic Motorcycles with the exhibit of wooden toys and marionette theatres. An interesting excursion destination is the spiral lookout tower on Krásenský Hill, which is regularly named as one of the prettiest towers in the Czech Republic, or Dlouhá stoka (Long Ditch), an artificial water canal from the 16th century, which meanders through the countryside from Kladský fish pond all the way to Horní Slavkov, and at the time of its origin, had no comparison in Europe in terms of its length and technology.
