Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat; )
Dance music, jazz, reggae and house all occasionally fea-
ture at this art gallery/garden cafe/cocktail bar. It's a good spot to ask about live gigs
around town, too.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THE HUSSITES
Tábor is often regarded as the spiritual home of the radical Hussite movement,
but who exactly were the Hussites and what did they stand for?
The movement's history can be traced back to the 15th century and the de-
cision by Catholic authorities to murder Czech religious reformer Jan Hus, who
was famously burned at the stake in Constance, Germany, in 1415. The conse-
quences of this act were far greater than the Catholic authorities could have
foreseen. Hus's death caused a religious revolt among the Czechs, who had
viewed his decision to preach in Czech language as a step toward religious and
national self-determination.
Hus himself had not intended such a drastic revolution, focusing on a transla-
tion of the Latin rite, and the giving of bread and wine to all the congregation in-
stead of to the clergy alone. But for many, the time was ripe for church reform.
Hus was born around 1372 in Husinec, in southern Bohemia. From a poor
background, he managed to become a lecturer at Charles University in Prague
and in 1402 was ordained a preacher. He dreamt of a return to the original doc-
trines of the church - tolerance, humility, simplicity - but such a message had
political overtones for a church that treated forgiveness as an opportunity to
make money.
Tried on a trumped-up charge of heresy at Constance, Hus's murder was
doubly unjust in that he had been granted safe conduct by the Holy Roman Em-
peror Sigismund.
In Bohemia many nobles offered to guarantee protection to those who prac-
tised religion according to Hus's teachings, and Hussite committees became
