CZ - 69189

Náměšť nad Oslavou (Namest on the Oslava River) is a town of 5200 inhabitants in Southern Moravia and lies on the banks of the Oslava River 40 km west of Brno. Namest is mentioned for the first time in 1234 as a village at the ford. The Gothic castle high above the river was built in the mid-thirteenth century and between 1565-1578 it was rebuilt into a Renaissance-style stately home which is now a dominating landmark of the town.

The bridge accross the Oslava river ranks among the town´s monuments which should be toured by every visitor. After the bridge of Pisek, south Bohemia, and Prague´s Charles Bridge, it is the third osdest stone bridge preserved in the Czech Lands. It was built in 1737 by Vaclav Adrian of Enckenvoirt, and in 1744, under the Kufstejns, it was decorated with twenty statues of Saints and Archangels. Josef Winterhalter senior is author of eight of them.