For decades, filmmakers adapting Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights have sought out dramatic, windswept cliffs to capture the novel’s moody, elemental landscapes. The latest 2026 version of Wuthering Heights continues this tradition, showcasing jagged outcrops and misty moors that echo Brontë’s Yorkshire setting; director Emerald Fennell’s film shot on location at the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
But did you know a previous version of Wuthering Heights filmed in Prague and across Czech locations? The 2004 Italian miniseries Wuthering Heights (Cime tempestose) brought the story to life in an unexpected location: the sandstone rock formations of North Bohemia in Czechia. Here, the Tisá Walls (Tiské stěny) doubled for the iconic cliffs, lending a rugged and otherworldly backdrop to Heathcliff and Catherine’s tempestuous romance.
Though less widely remembered than British or American adaptations, 2004’s Wuthering Heights remains a testament to Prague and Czechia’s long-standing role as a flexible and cinematic stand-in for foreign landscapes, combining studio work with striking natural scenery.
Czechia as Yorkshire in Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (Cime tempestose) was directed by Fabrizio Costa and produced by Titanus and Rai Fiction. Starring Alessio Boni as Heathcliff, Anita Caprioli as Catherine, and Franco Castellano as Ivory, the miniseries aired in two parts on Rai 1 in October 2004, running a total of 200 minutes.
Filming for the miniseries took place across Czech locations including the Ore Mountains (Krušné Hory), Slapy Castle, and in Prague, alongside sequences shot in in Cornwall. The iconic cliffs where Cathy and Heathcliff spend time as children, and later share a kiss under, were played by the iconic Tisá Walls.
Production spanned ten weeks with a crew of 150, employing carriages, period props, and hundreds of extras. Czech production was coordinated by Studio Fáma 92 and local technical staff such as sound designer Jakub Čech. The miniseries aimed to fully capture Brontë’s story, from Heathcliff’s childhood in Liverpool to his later, darker years at Wuthering Heights.
While Vulture recently ranked it 26th among 32 Wuthering Heights adaptations—though they seem to have only watched half of the two-part miniseries!—the full series delivers a complete arc far more faithful to Brontë’s novel than the 2026 adaptation.
2004’s Wuthering Heights is not widely accessible for viewing, though it has been uploaded to YouTube in various formats (in Italian without subtitles) and is currently streaming on Spain’s Movistar Plus+.
Czechia’s cinematic cliffs
The Tisá Walls, part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, are renowned for their dramatic rock towers, gorges, and ravines. The Great and Small Walls offer a labyrinth of natural formations—some named imaginatively as Mayor, Mushroom, Lion’s Head, or Elephants—that create the illusion of Yorkshire’s isolated, rugged moors.
These sandstone cliffs have attracted numerous film productions over the years. Besides Wuthering Heights, the location was also utilized in 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia (which also filmed at the more popular Ardspach-Teplice Rocks).
Numerous Czech films, including Kawasaki’s Rose (Kawasakiho růže) and Climbing Paradise (Tenkrát v ráji), have also filmed at the location .
For the 2004 Wuthering Heights miniseries, the Tisá Walls provided sweeping vistas that replaced the usual Malham Cove or Healaugh Crag shots seen in other adaptations, offering both a dramatic visual impact and a practical filming location within Central Europe.
Lead photo: Promotional still for Wuthering Heights (2004) © Titanus