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A market settlement was founded in the early 12th century on the
trade route from Hungary to Bavaria. The town soon came into the possession of the
Vítkovici and then the Rožmberks bought it in 1366. The four brothers began to build,
not a castle but a monastery. Prague Archbishop Jan Očko of Vlašim agreed in 1367 to the
founding of an Augustinian monastery and Church of St. Giles, for which an unknown artist,
called today the Master of the Třeboň altar, painted panel pictures. The town grew rapidly and in 1376 was granted town rights and fortified by stone walls with three gateways. Improvements on the castle in the 14th century were done mainly under Oldřich of Rožmberk whose enmity towards the Hussites caused the town to be twice besieged, but without success. In the late - 15th century Třeboň estate began to prosper, grandiose construction was carried out by Vilém and Petr Vok. After a fire in the town and castle in 1562, Vilém had the castle turned into a Renaissance mansion by the Italians, Jan and Antonín Ericer. A lake was built by Jakub Krčín below the town walls, the Svinenské suburb was submerged and the town found itself below the surface level of the lake. This aroused anger and fear in the people, therefore Krčín named the lake Nevděk (ingratitude), but the name never caught on. Krčín was soon able to report with pride: "So far as it concerns fishing out Svět lake, Your Grace, I report that, Thanks to God, it all goes well with us and already from it there are 1224 tubs carp, pike 78 kop (kopa = 60) and 46 pieces. And such fat carp and bigger pike we have not found in any other pond. Buyers we have enough and this year again we shall not have a great number of fish for those buyers and therefore it would be suitable if your Grace would be pleased to order for some pond still to be added... " When Petr Vok, the last head of the Rožmberk house, moved with the entire court to Třeboň in 1602, he had the mansion enlarged by an outer courtyard. Under the supervision of Domenico Cometa the Dvořanská room was built and a building for the Rožmberk library, the garden was also laid out. The interior was decorated with murals, the painter Tomáš Třebechovský ornamented the Dvořanská room. When Petr Vok died in that same year the Švamberks inherited Třeboň, and after confiscation of their property because of their participation in the rebellion of the Estates, Třeboň was in the hands of the Royal Chamber until 1660 when Jan Adolf I of Schwarzenberg bought the town. That family never resided permanently at Třeboň and at the castle only maintenance work was carried out. The tower of St. Giles' Church stands out as a landmark in the flat Třeboň countryside. Its two lofty naves became a model for other buildings in South Bohemia because of their unusual design. The monastery was twice abolished, first under Vilém of Rožmberk because of the lack of discipline among its inmates and secondly when Josef II closed it down in 1785. It is as if Třeboň today were created for taking strolls through it. Everybody who is interested in ancient monuments will be attracted by the Renaissance houses on the square, the town walls with bastions and gateways, the brewery dating from 1699 and the view from Svět Lake of the English park with the Schwarzenberg tomb. The rooms inside the mansion recall the times of Vilém and Petr Vok, the period of the greatest fame of Czech pond - construction and also of the later owners of Třeboň, the Schwarzenbergs. And local legends? In 1588 two of the greatest alchemists of that time, John Dee and Edward Kelley, stayed in Třeboň under the protection of Vilém of Rožmberk, and both were said to have transmuted base metals into gold. But the greatest service to Třeboň was done by the White Lady. When Petr Vok did not have enough money to save the town when Passau troops invaded it, she appeared and gave him the required sum from the hidden Rožmberk treasure. |
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