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STRAKONICE | |
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A castle was built at the confluence of the rivers Volyňka and
Otava which was soon joined with the Bezděkov hamlet and Horní and Dolní town to form
the town of Strakonice. The first known family to live here were the Bavors. Bavor I (d. 1260) took part in the third crusade and this explains the link between the Bavors and the Order of St. John which was given the east part of the castle with the Church of St. Adalbert and the palace by Bavor I, whilst he and his family lived in the rest of the object. This arrangement ended when the Knights of St. John gained the remainder of the Bavor property in 1402. The present appearance of the castle dates roughly from the time of Bavor III (d. 1318), who in his position as Zvíkov burgrave brought the king's builders here from Zvíkov. Strakonice emerged unscathed by the Hussite wars and from 1421 on was the seat of the Grand Prior. The central part of the castle - the Church of St. Procopius, cloisters and chapter hall - were joined into a whole with the Rumpál tower under Jan of Roľmberk. In the first half of the 14th century, under the Grand Priors Berthold of Henneberg and Michael of Týnec, the castle was decorated with valuable murals. Strakonice's importance dwindled in the Thirty Years' War when it was burned down. In 1694 the Grand Priors moved to Prague, the castle began to fall into decay and was used by the Order only occasionally. Today it houses the Museum of the central Otava basin, cultural events are held here e. g. an international bag - pipe festival. The town suffered many destructive fires and socialist construction pushed its medieval parts somewhat into the background. A legend is linked with the town and ©ibeniční vrch (Gallow's hill) which Tyl used freely for his "Bag-piper Svanda". In it bag-piper Svanda is returning one evening from a dance. He met a man in black in the forest and promised to play for him and his friends. The man took ©vanda to a house where other men dressed in black were playing cards. ©vanda played on his bag-pipes, the men danced, and for each dance threw a gold piece in his cap. When ©vanda broke his promise to keep silent and thanked them in a Christian way the dancers disappeared and ©vanda found himself near the gallows. The gold pieces were gone, and on the gallows a few hanged were swinging. ©vanda then stowed the bag-pipes in the castle church behind the altar and every year on the same day the bag-pipes played themselves. |
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