Though as yet unmarked, the trail through the town of Svitavy takes visitors to places infused with history that is over seven and a half centuries old. The town landmark zone is one of the longest town squares with arcades running down both sides in the Czech Republic. The core of the square is Renaissance-Baroque, as is evident in the Old Town Hall and the Blackamoor House (ICMS). The tour heads to the lower part of the square and the commemorative plaques of important individuals in the history of the town. When we walk around the modern Fountain of Life (1994) and the newly built multi-purpose Fabrika Svitavy Centre we find ourselves with an open view of the oldest part of town with the Roman Catholic rectory, the cemetery Church of St. Illya, and the large town cemetery. The number of Baroque statues found here is proof of the exceptional nature of this site. By crossing back over the Svitava River we reach the Ottendorfer House. Take the underpass to reach the building of the Town Museum. Standing near the museum is the prominent former Redemptorist monastery and the Church of St. Joseph. Walking around the new hospital we return to the historic centre of the town, which had been enclosed by town walls since the end of the 14th century. We return down the lane to the town square, walk around the former Savings Bank building (1902) and take the passage through the old village magistrate’s house to the Czech Quarter, built after the year 1922. Walking along the brick wall we reach Jan Palach Park by Langer Villa, which today houses the Svitavy Town Office. Walking past the sculpture Mother’s Love and through the linden tree alley we come to the commemorative plaque dedicated to Oskar Schindler in front of the family home of this protector of 1,200 Jews during the Second World War. After walking through the park we return to Langer Villa (Svitavy Town Office) where we find the information board for the Bohemia-Moravia Frontier educational trail. We return to the town centre on T. G. Masaryk Boulevard. We pass the former Sisters of Mercy convent and have a look at the building of the old technical secondary school and the Liberation Memorial. Nearby and next to the swimming pool is the building of the former orphanage, but the tour trail does not run in that direction. We return from the outskirts of town to náměstí Míru (Peace Square). After having a look at the interior of the originally Gothic parish Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary we can climb the local observation tower and view an exhibit on the sacred buildings of the Svitavy deaconry. We can see nearly the entire landmark zone from the church tower. The dominant features of the upper part of the square are the Marian Pillar and the Baroque St. Florian Fountain from 1783. The new building façades were the result of the total reconstruction of the landmark zone in 1993-1994, a project for which the town received a prestigious award. The historic buildings of the Neo-Renaissance school, the Town Court, and the former Savings Bank give Svitavy a unique character.
Away from the tour trail visitors can see the historically significant grounds of the renovated Jewish cemetery and the Rosnička Pond recreational area, which is also an access point to marked hiking trails and the Sources of the Svitava River educational trail. Over the years the villages of Moravský Lačnov and Čtyřicet Lánů were incorporated into the town of Svitavy and feature remnants of original Hřebeč farming architecture.
