Kamenice nad Lipou (KnL) is a small market town which is quietly proud of itself and its history but doesn’t boast or call for undue attention. It welcomes its visitors, but they must find it first, for it doesn’t lie on any main train or road route, and is rarely mentioned in guidebooks. Similarly, Under the Linden is for those who are keen to turn off the noisy, often congested main highways, and instead join the modest rail line which cuts through the region’s forests, yet offering great vistas to those who look.



The perfect symbol of the concerns of Under the Linden is the 800 year old linden tree found in the garden of the Kamenice castle, a tree which has survived storms and history, numerous changes of owners, regimes and many difficult centuries, a tree which has given the town its name.

Despite the tree being one of the oldest in the Czech Republic, it rarely sees visitors, tucked away in the peaceful garden of the castle (once owned by Rilke’s grandfather). In the same way there are many art works of great grace and insight, which remain hidden from wider view, or wilfully mis-represented and mis-placed because they do not shout, but speak through their own strength and commitment to a larger vision. Just like the linden tree, such works manage to defy time and its passing whims, and remain true, whatever the outward circumstances, to a more profound way of seeing and being.

The town itself offers a scale, a cultural context, a geographical resonance and the facilities needed to make a perfect location for a festival of this scale and kind. The festival already has the endorsement of the mayor and the full support of the town’s amenities. A huge thank you to the Mayor of Kamenice nad Lipou, Ivan Pfaur, and his staff for all their work and support in realising this event, and without whom it would not be possible.


In addition to a cinema, a rail link and the striking castle (housing an extension of the Prague Museum of Applied and Decorative Arts), lake and gardens, KnL and its environs have adequate accommodation and food provision for 250 visiting audience members.
 www.kamenicenl.cz