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BECHYNĚ | |
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| Bechyně Blatná České Budějovice Červená Lhota Český Krumlov Dačice Dívčí Kámen Hluboká Jindřichův Hradec Klokoty Kratochvíle Landštejn Nové Hrady Ohrada Orlík Pelhřimov Písek Prachatice Rožmberk Schwarzenberg tomb Strakonice Tábor Třeboň Vimperk Vyšší Brod Zlatá Koruna Zvíkov We recommend |
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Bechyně is among the earliest settled places in South
Bohemia. Kosmas in his Chronika Boemorum describes the "provincia Bechinensis"
as the seat of the church administration of a large part of South Bohemia. The earliest
known Bechyně archdeacon was Dětleb who is mentioned in 1167. The church cared for the
spiritual and economic life in the Bechyně region until 1268, when King Přemysl Otakar
II took over the estate in exchange for a royal settlement nearer to Prague. A royal stronghold arose on a steep headland between the river Lužnice and Smutný stream fairly quickly because in 1283 the king's first burgraves, Čeněk and Dobeš, are mentioned. The tragic death of Přemysl Otakar II in 1278 and the ensuing struggle for the throne ended efforts to consolidate the royal power. True, John of Luxemburg raised Bechyně to a town, but soon sold it to Štěpán of Šternberk. After that it had several owners, the Moravian margrave Jošt, the Lords of Kunštát and Bechyněs of Lažany. Jindřich Lefl of Lažany was known first for his friendship with Jan Hus (John Huss), but times changed and he offered his services to Emperor Sigismund. Retribution came soon from the nearby Hussite Tábor. In 1422 the Tábor captain Jan Hvězda of Vícemilice took and burned the town but the castle withstood siege and it was not until 1428 that the garrison surrendered to Tábor forces led by Prokop Veliký. Bechyně then became for a time one of the Hussite bases. After the Hussite wars Bechyně was again in the hands of the Šternberks who rebuilt the war-damaged castle, but it was only after 1569 when Petr Vok of Rožmberk bought the estate that Bechyně began to flourish. He had the Gothic stronghold rebuilt as an imposing Renaissance mansion by the Italian builder Baltazare Maggi. The walls around the square courtyard were decorated with figural, battle and Biblical scenes of remarkable quality. In spite of the enormous cost of this work, Petr Vok continued to hold court in a grand manner and fell more and more into debt. The decoration of the large hall called the Wedding Hall of Petr Vok, with portrayals of the Virtues, Vices and Old Testament figures and depicting five of the supreme courts of the Bohemian kingdom, was not finished until the castle came under new owners. In 1596 Petr Vok was forced to sell Bechyně to the Šternberks to pay his debts and he then moved to Třeboň. The last owner from the Šternberk family, Marie Terezie, bequeathed the estate in 1761 to her son from her first marriage, Jan Václav Paar, and his descendants have continued to live in Bechyně till today. During their time an English park was laid out below the mansion, the south part of the original stronghold was demolished and the Ptáčnice pavilion with a grotto was built. A granary and brewery cordoned off the mansion grounds from the town. Bechyně town was already known in the l6th century for its medicinal water. Its fame grew when springs of mineral water, rich in iron, were discovered in 1728, and on the basis of this and the peat here, a spa was established which still functions today. The elongated square is dominated by the decanal Church of St. Matthew, mentioned in the l3th century as the parish church. Its Baroque appearance dates from the l8th century. East of the square near the fortification walls a Franciscan monastery with Church of the Assumption was founded in the l3th century. Both buildings were razed to the foundations in the Hussite wars, the date 1491 on the stone bench on the north side of the presbytery reveals the year when their reconstruction began. The builders of the monastery were Zděslav and Ladislav of Šternberk. The two-naved church with lovely diamond vaulting is one of the most impressive church buildings in South Bohemia. |
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