italian court (vlassky dvur)

Historically speaking this is an interesting thing to visit, but not much to really see. Don't go out of your way to see it

This is an interesting site which is quite attractive and uncommon as well. Unfortunately there was no English speaking guided tour during my visit (probably i was the only one who did not understand Czech). However that did not deter me from joining the tour and tried to figure out the head and tails from the notes with the written illustration in English. The Groschen currency were once minted here. The silver coin minting process was explained in details (via video) to the participants here including a short and interesting demonstration of the coin-minting. It was an eye-opener for me as I have not seen this before else where. We were also brought in the Audience Hall which a lot of significant events in the Czech history occurred here. The events were even painted in the two large paintings in the Audience Hall. In the middle of the large courtyard there is a sculpture of a miner. This reflects how important the mining to the town. Strangely that nobody asked the tour guide on why this place was named as "Italian Court". I found out later it was named after Italian expert who instigated the minting reforms. It is strongly recommended to visit this site if you are in Kutna Hora.

We visited as part of a Kutna Hora tour. The building is very beautiful. The court, the chapel, and the exhibits were very interesting. Fascinating coin collection.

Most tours of the town end here. Pretty, and a bit interesting that speaks of the historical importance of the second most important city of Bohemia. Glad we saw it, but is not going to stand out as a fantastic sight.

just entering the courtyard here you are transported back in time, a very nice place ,you can do a tour but sometimes you have to wait a bit but worth booking a timed tour. most impressive place.

you can feel here, the history which created all major moments of this beautiful ancient city. very well kept. Worthwile.

Loved the tour of the Italian court. Interesting history, both as a royal dwelling and as a place of business. The history of coins in Kutna Hora, demonstrated by an 'actual' coin maker. Enjoyed the tiny door, through which the king apparently could walk with the crown on his head. But the highlight for me was the amazing art nouveau chapel (photography forbidden) . Redecorated in 1906, it is amazing!

The Italian Court is an impressive building in the heart of Kutna Hora. From its central courtyard various tours are offered. We took the minting one.We got a brief history about the castle which had been developed as both an administration house and a centre for minting in the 1400s until the 1700s. The miners worked six days a week and for up to twelve hours a day. The mines could be as deep as five hundred metres which at the time was a world record. The usual age of death for a miner was 35. The raw silver would then be refined and provided to the highly paid artisans who actually hammered the coins. They used a two kilogram hammer for the early coins, but in later years under the Habsburgs a larger coin was minted. This required a double handed five kilogram hammer. Apparently prisoners were required to hold the mould in place. If they survived for one month doing this job without losing any fingers, then they won their freedom. It would suggest a lot of fingers were lost. There was a short video about the minting process. It was not Speilberg's work. We do not enjoy going on a guided tour and then finding half of the time is spent watching a video rehash what we have already learnt.The tour only lasted 20 minutes and left us feeling underwhelmed.

This was an added attraction on my visit to Kutná Hora. We had just missed the beginning of an English language guided tour and so paid for a non-guided tour. However the woman at the ticket office called us and said we could join in half way through and we were shown through several rooms not included on the tour en route to the chapel which the English language guide Cristina was just about to enter. Her commentary was excellent: perfect English, informative, amusing, interactive and she certainly appreciated the interest we showed. She wasn't just working from a script but knew her subject. The models and information are well displayed and there really is quite a magical quality about the place.

i found a very nice, quiet and tranquil place. i didn't take any tour to see this place, it's easy to find and you can admire the place on your own. if you have info in your guide book even better.

we did an English speaking tour,just the 3 of us and it was great,really informative and we even got to sit on the mayor's chair.highly recommend this place

At first I thought the attraction was a little too sterile but as the tour progressed I realized that this was an educational attraction as opposed to just a tourist attraction. After this visit, I now know a lot more about the monetary system in place during the Middle Ages, why a place in Kutna Hoa is named the Italian Court, how silver was mined and minted, and a lot more about the security procedures needed during that time to protect the silver trade. Oh, and it was a worthwhile tourist attraction, also.

We visited this as part of a day tour. We had a tour guide from the building whose accent was really hard to understand so it was difficult to really get the most out of this However it is a significant building so if visiting the city you should probably go.

This was included in my tour to Kutna Hora and it was great little side trip. The history is fascinating. It is amazing to be able to walk among something so old.

building was reconstructed at the turn of the 15th century, allegedly upon the request of King Wenceslas II, and the chapel and the royal palace were added. Beautiful chapel redecorated in the Art Nouveau style