Rovensko pod Troskami lies in the valley of the Veselka River, right in the very heart of the Bohemian Paradise. The town’s ideal position, as an important crossing point for hiking routes within optimal distance to most of the characteristic natural and historical parts of the Bohemian Paradise, makes Rovensko pod Troskami a natural centre of tourism. The stunning panorama of the Bohemian Paradise with all the landscape’s typical features can be viewed from nearby Kozákov (743 m a.s.l.), known for the precious stones that have been found there.
The town's principal landmark is its ancient belfry, with three unique bells, turned upside down when not in use; they are set in motion by a treadle. The bells are often referred to as "rebel bells", as they signalled the first uprising of the region's peasants against the oppression of the Church and nobility during the period of violent re-Catholicization. Gripping pitchforks and flails, the people of Rovensko pod Troskami and the surrounding area drove back the army, called in to aid the Jesuits, caught up with the solders, and in Libuň slew the main perpetrator of the violence, the notorious Jesuit Burnátius. However, reinforcement troops drove back the rebels and their leaders were executed. There was another uprising in Rovensko pod Troskami and the surrounding area in 1775, led by the Rovensko burgomaster Václav Brožek. At that time, the subjects seized the chateau at Hrubá Skála and forced labour concessions to be made.
The Church of St. Wenceslas at Týn in Rovensko is one of the most important examples of Gothic architecture in northern Bohemia, and features some extraordinarily valuable mediaeval stone decorative work – this is linked to three historical figures. Headed by the Utraquist priest Šimon Tadeáš Budecius, who later served as secret councillor at the imperial court of Rudolph II, in possession of an imperial privilege from 1601, it led the search for new deposits of gold, silver and precious stones, tested alchemists about to enter the service of the monarch, and also supervised all deposits in Bohemia. An outstanding musician is laid to rest under the pulpit in the church, the schoolmaster Václav Karel Holan Rovenský, who was born in Rovensko and later served as the Vyšehrad organist, whose “Royal Chapel” hymnbook from 1694 holds a prominent place in the history of Czech Baroque music. Antonín Marek (1785–1877) - the patriotic priest and national revivalist, a native of nearby Turnov, the friend and collaborator of Josef Jungmann – also worked in the church in Rovensko.
Another monument is a High Baroque sculpture – the column on the square with the statue of the Virgin Mary from 1744, featuring stonework carved the prominent folk sculptor Jan Zeman of Žernov in 1845; Zeman also created another two sculptures in the town (the statute of St. Wenceslas and that of St. John of Nepomuk), and the statues dating from 1837 in the Žernov district.
Fine examples of listed folk architecture include the stone gate of the Brožův statek farmstead in Ktová from 1815, featuring Baroque ornamentation in the folk style, as well as the typical timbered cottage at no. 206 in Matouškova street in Rovensko pod Troskami.
The memorial to the poet Svatopluk Čech in the town park commemorates his stay in Rovensko pod Troskami in the summer of 1891. “Bor”, one of the rock viewpoints in the forest above the town, is also named after the poet. The town and its surrounding area have inspired many famous artists. These particularly include the outstanding Czech landscape painter František Kavan, as well as the eminent artist, painter, and the coloured woodcut, Karel Vik. Rovensko p. Tr. was often visited by the national artist Jaroslav Vojta, whose name is associated with the rich history of the local amateur dramatics association.
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