Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MMUSSEUUM
HISTORICAL MUSEUM
8.30am-5pm May-Sep)
Just next to Kotnov Tower, this small museum houses a perman-
ent exhibition, 'Life & Work in Medieval Society', that's focused mainly on how the
peasants lived. It's housed in the
Bechyně Gate
, the last of the town's original
Gothic portals to remain standing.
TÁBOR'S HERO: JAN ŽIŽKA
Hussite Count Jan Žižka, the legendary blind general, was born in Trocnov, just
outside České Budějovice, in 1376. He spent his youth at King Wenceslas IV's
court and fought as a mercenary in Poland, but returned to the Czech kingdom
at the beginning of the Reformation and became the leader of the radical wing of
the Hussite movement, the Taborites. His military genius was responsible for all
of the Hussite victories, from the 1420 Battle of Žižkov onwards. After losing
both eyes in two separate battles, Žižka eventually died of the plague in 1424.
Žižka's army was highly organised and was the first to use a system of wag-
ons with mounted artillery - the earliest tanks in history. These vehicles allowed
him to choose where to draw up position, taking the initiative away from the cru-
saders and making them fight where he wanted. The technique proved almost
invincible.
The Hussites successfully saw off their enemies for a decade following Žižka's
death, but were defeated by a combined army of the rival Hussite faction of the
Utraquists and the Holy Roman Empire in 1434. Surprisingly, Žižka's invention
was not incorporated into other armies until Sweden's King Gustavus II Adol-
phus adopted it two centuries later.
