Tábor – The Town of Hussite History

From the Kotnov tower, a remnant of the local castle, you can see a beautiful view of the city, which with its winding streets and scents wafting from the kitchens into the narrow passages is very reminiscent of Dubrovnik in Croatia. Everything here underlines the medieval history: the names of the streets Betlémská, Kostnická (with the excellent Kostnica café), Husova, Žižkova, and even the image of the chalice, stacked on the pavements from the cobblestones.

The central figure of the city is Jan Žižka z Trocnova, whose statue stands together with the Hussite chariot on the square of the same name. Žižka became a symbol of the Hussite battles, but not much is known about the rest of his life. Already in his childhood he probably lost one eye, which is perhaps why he acquired the nickname Žižka, which meant "one-eyed". He joined the military units against the German knights in the Baltic, was then hired as a protector of the court of Wenceslas I, probably engaged in trapping activities, and later became involved in the Hussite movement in the hope of salvation. In Tábor, he gained a reputation as an invincible warrior.

Hussitism was also supported by a part of the Czech nobility, who believed that God's law could be defended by the sword. This militant slogan was adopted not only by Žižka, but by the entire society of Tabor at that time.

The radical Hussites - Adamites - are also connected with the town. The sect formed into a religious group, became radicalised and soon resorted to acts of fornication. The strict military leadership could not accept this, and first expelled the Adamites from Tábor to Příběnice, then scattered them around the area and burned those captured in Klokoty. The rest of them went to the island on the Nežárka River, where Jan Žižka intervened and cruelly punished them for their Lappish antics and way of life, murdered them, and had the last of them burned as well.

The town, however, has a history other than Hussite. During the Renaissance, wealthy citizens began to build beautiful exhibition houses here. These include, for example, the Stárek House, which was owned by Mikuláš Slanař in 1526 and later by the Hroškové z Trkov. Another Renaissance gem is the fountain on Žižkov Square, in the centre of which is a figure holding a golden flag on a tall stone column. According to experts, it is a symbol and emblem of the self-governing city and its right of throat and it is a kind of analogy of the so-called Rolland columns, which are found in many German cities.

In Tábor, of course, the commemoration of the master Jan Hus must not be missed. In the Hus Park we can find an interesting monument and sculpture of Jan Hus by the famous Czech Art Nouveau sculptor and Chýnov native František Bílek. The monument was erected in 1928 by the Society for the erection of the Hus Monument and bears the inscription.