"North Bohemian Growing Pains" a Kutna Hora Travel Page by richiecdisc

In many ways Kutna Hora represents all that is right and wrong with the emerging European standout destination of the Czech Republic. With a picturesque old town and cobbled stone streets, it is a tourist Mecca just waiting to happen. But how the city bends with the flow of tourists will determine how long this quaint area remains true to its Czech heritage. The country, as a whole, is perched to enter not only the European Union but also the very mainstream of the tourist route through the continent and is accordingly suffering some growing pains as would be expected of any of the ex-Iron Curtain countries making this transition. Though one can understand the rush for the "goods" of the western world, the individual cities should not completely abandon their cultural lineage and architectural magnificence in the process of moving forward. They can look at neighbor Germany as an example that one can modernize and still stick to your traditions. The Czech Republic has some incredibly well preserved old town centers and as a whole, they are set in generally lovely pastoral settings. Despite some ugly industrial remnants of the Communist era, the country as a whole still feels uncluttered and without the hustle bustle indicative of the west. But with an ever increasing number of tourists coming to see what all the fuss is about, many entrepreneurs are clamoring for their money with little regard for preserving the very heritage that is their drawing card. It is a sad course of action that will turn a still genuinely charming country into just one more cookie cutter addition to an already overcrowded group heralding the coming of McDonald's and Pizza Hut as a sign of arrival. It can only be hoped that city planners will see the ill of such action and call for some type of zoning laws to protect these gems of preservation. But in the end, it is the local people that must make the choices. Of course, tourists have an impact on what a merchant can sell but it is the people living in a city that still are the true spending force. If they remain faithful to the things traditional to their culture and not turn blindly to what the west has to offer, then places like McDonald's can never last, nor supplant all that is truly the Czech Republic. The following will show some of the architectural marvels of some choice towns through North Bohemia along with more centrally located Kutna Hora, as perhaps the city they ascribe to. The emphasis is always on finding the true Czech experience, be it in food, drink, or a place to lie your head at night.