City tower, Třebíč, Church tower in the old town of Třebíč, Czech Republic

The City Tower of Třebíč is a stone structure rising 75 meters above the old town and directly connected to Saint Martin's Church. It features the country's largest mounted tower clock faces and remains a defining landmark.

Built around 1335, when Třebíč received town rights from Margrave Charles, the tower stood as a separate structure within the town fortifications. In 1468 Hungarian troops of Matthias Corvinus burned its upper part and, according to the chronicler, tried to undermine it, but the foundations held. It was rebuilt and only joined to St Martin's Church in 1716.

The tower served as a link between church and townspeople, with watchmen signaling from above to announce important moments. The horn-blowing tradition used different directions to reach all quarters of the settlement.

You can climb 162 steps to reach a 35-meter-high observation gallery with views across the town and its monuments. From this vantage point, the layout of the medieval settlement and its UNESCO-protected sites become clear.

The fourth floor holds three bells: two from 1558 and 1581, brought from the former Brethren congregation at Jejkov, and a third named Svatopluk, cast to ring for "heretics". The copper dome cladding survived World War I only because removing it would have required costly scaffolding.