Písek (German: Pisek) is a town in the district of the same name
in the South Bohemian Region, 44 km northwest of České Budějovice,
on the Otava River. Approximately 30,000 people live here. Písek was
founded in 1243 and its historic core is a city monument zone.
From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, it was a regional
town, the seat of the Prácheň region. In Písek there is a stone
bridge from the 13th century, which is the oldest Czech standing
bridge. Other sights include the royal castle, the Gothic Church of
the Nativity of the Virgin Mary with the clock tower, which is the
dominant feature of the city, and several sections of preserved
walls, most of which were demolished during the Industrial
Revolution.
Due to the relatively high number of secondary
schools, Písek is sometimes said to be a university town. There is
no real university in the city, but since 2003 there has been a
private university, the Miroslav Ondříček Film Academy, established
from the VOŠ. Písek has two theaters, a cultural house, a hospital,
a football stadium and an important provincial stud farm. The city
center together with the wider area is largely renovated. To support
the developing tourism, there is an information center in the city
center, namely in the building of the former malt house together
with facilities for children.
Prehistory and the Middle Ages
People first
appeared in the Písek basin at the end of the Early Stone Age and
settled north of today's town. The first people to enter the site of
the later medieval city were the Celts. Two mounds with Celtic
treasure were found in the field between Hradiště and Putimí. The
rarest was a metal wrought-beak teapot, followed by several gold
bars and gold and silver ornaments.
The impetus for the
founding of Písek was mineral wealth in the form of gold-bearing
sand. Probably since the end of the 12th century, the Rice village
was standing on the right bank of the river Otava. The resulting
settlement was called "Na Písku". Later, the settlement became a
market village with the church of St. Wenceslas. Písek's gold mining
ended in the 16th century, and several attempts to resurrect it did
not live up to expectations. The name of the town is thus derived
from panning for gold-bearing sand.
The town of Písek was
first mentioned in the date form of a document of King Wenceslas I
issued in 1243, which began to build a castle near the settlement on
a rocky bank. The location of the town could have taken place at the
end of the reign of Wenceslas I, but the actual construction was due
to his son Přemysl Otakar II.
The city was not founded just
for gold mining. At the same time, it was to protect the trade
Golden Route, which crossed the Otava in these places, and also to
be the base of royal power. All the main buildings (the town castle,
the stone bridge, the parish church, the Dominican monastery, the
rychta) grew up together with the fortifications, perhaps in just
two decades, during which the king stayed here several times; in
1258–1265, with one exception annually. This was the heyday of
Písek, which at that time was one of the foremost cities in the
kingdom and reached a significance that never happened again.
When the king founded Nový Písek on the left bank of the river,
the settlement of Starý Písek did not explicitly wish to be
associated with Nový Písek, and therefore the king guaranteed
independence to the inhabitants of Starý Písek. In the 13th century,
however, Nový Písek took over the role of the seat of the Prácheň
region, which until then had been filled by Prácheň Castle. Starý
and Nový Písek only merged after centuries.
In 1327 (another
source states the year 1308), Jan of Luxembourg granted the city the
city rights of the Old Town of Prague (the right to collect tolls,
exemption from customs duties and tolls, the right to miles, to
establish a salt warehouse, granaries - the largest in Bohemia at
that time, etc.). Both John of Luxembourg and Charles IV stayed in
Písek for a short time, confirming Nový Písek as the capital of the
Prácheň Region. King Wenceslas IV. he often visited the city and was
the last ruler to stay at the local castle. During the Hussite wars,
Písek played an important role and stood on the side of the reform
movement from the very beginning. The people of Písek were one of
the first to join the Hussite movement.
Hussite period
On
August 20, 1419, the Píseč family successfully attacked the
Dominican monastery and subsequently became one of the first to join
the Unity of Tábor. Like in Tábor and Písek, vats were placed in
which the citizens handed over their wealth for the benefit of the
city. Písek has the lead over Tábor over these vats.
During
the Hussites, Jan Žižka was a frequent guest in the town. At that
time, the Hussite governor Matěj Louda from Chlumčany became the
ruler of Písek. The people of Písek remained true to the ideas of
the Hussites until the end. The first and last bishop of the
fraternity, Mikuláš of Pelhřimov, also worked at the parish in the
town. After the military defeat of Tábor by George of Poděbrady, an
agreement was reached after the threat of the Píseks.
In the
following period, there was an unprecedented prosperity of the city,
which allowed the city to buy the royal castle in Písek and the
royal estate in 1509. Písek's property and influence ranged from
Mirotic to Protivín. In 1532, a large fire engulfed the town, which
destroyed a large part of the town.
Under the Habsburg
scepter
After the Prague defenestration in 1618, Písek joined the
Estates Party. This resulted in the burning of the Písek suburbs and
surrounding villages by imperial troops in March 1619. During the
Thirty Years' War, the city was besieged, shelled and eventually
looted by General Buquoy, Mansfeld and a year later by Maximilian of
Bavaria. During each conquest, the city was burned and the
population almost killed.
In 1623, the imperial general
Martin de Huerta, popularly nicknamed "Poberta", was appointed as
the administrator of the town. One year after the administrator's
death, the town was re-established as a regional town, and in 1641
some royal privileges were returned to it, but with the explicit
addition that only the Catholic population of the town could use
them. At the beginning of the 18th century, there were financial
problems of the city and the plague raging in the area. As a token
of gratitude that the city was protected by the plague, the Píseč
family had a Marian sculpture built in Malé (Alešov) Square.
Písek was again affected by the war in the years 1741 to 1742,
when a French garrison was stationed here, returning from Prague,
against which the Austrian army set out. The people of Písek were
afraid that the city would be reconquered, burned and destroyed, so
they promised the Virgin Mary that if the city was spared, they
would run a city festival every year. It then took place for many
centuries (during the communist regime it was banned, but restored
after 1991). In 1778 a grammar school was established in the town,
in 1860 a Czech real school was added and in 1866 a Czech office was
established at the town hall. In 1861 the first Czech higher girls'
school was established, in 1870 the first peasant school, in 1884
the district school and in 1899 the first forestry school.
The national revival in Písek was very intense thanks to outstanding
personalities. The magazine Poutník od Otavy was even published
here, which then replaced Otavan. The establishment of the Sokol
gymnastics unit in 1868 also contributed to the encouragement of
national consciousness.
At the end of the 19th century, Písek
underwent industrial development, industrial production of fezzes, a
paper mill, a tobacco factory were established here, and roads were
built around the town. In 1875, Písek was connected by rail with
Prague. The town museum was founded in 1884, and in 1887 Písek
introduced electric lighting with František Křižík's arched lamps as
the third town in Bohemia. The following year, the municipal
hydroelectric power plant was put into operation. During this
period, Písek was a regional town in the Prácheň Region, but due to
the distance from the main railway line, it did not become an
important town. In 1891, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk became a member of
the Austrian Imperial Council with the help of Písek voters.
20th and 21st centuries
An independent republic was proclaimed in
Písek, similarly to some other towns, on October 14, 1918, when a
general strike took place. Subsequently, however, the railway
workers from Prague brought information that the republic had not
yet been officially declared, so the Písečs parted ways. The
Hungarian (Hungarian) military garrison was relocated to the city
and an investigation into the coup attempt began. For the duration
of the first Czechoslovak Republic, Písek continued its pre-war
traditions. It remained a popular place for students, summer guests
and retirees who intended to spend a quiet old age here.
The
German occupation of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia and the
establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia brought
Písek great hardship. Many people perished in execution sites and
concentration camps; some residents took part in both domestic and
foreign resistance. The occupation ended with the arrival of
American troops on the evening of May 6, 1945. Soviet troops did not
arrive in the city until May 10.
After the Second World War,
especially after the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power
in February 1948, the face of Písek began to change. National
companies such as the Jitex, Kovosvit and Elektropřístroj textile
plants were established in the city. A slaughterhouse was built, the
timber industry developed, etc. The construction of new buildings
and housing estates also began (South and Dukla, development on
Nábřeží 1. máje). During the so-called socialist era, a statue of
Panning for Gold was erected on Nábřeží 1.Máje. A footbridge was
created connecting the Dukla housing estate and buildings on the
waterfront, constructed of concrete panels and conceived as a
self-supporting suspended footbridge over the Otava River.
During the floods in August 2002, the stone medieval bridge was
severely damaged, but due to the fact that it was anchored in the
rock below the river in 1995, the onslaught of water generally
withstood. Not only the Stone Bridge was hit, but also the
footbridge near the housing estate: at night during the floods, the
water reached its structure, while the stream of water tore down the
railing and dangerously twisted the footbridge. After the floods, it
was rebuilt and received several cosmetic changes. On the site of
today's parking lot in the Dukla housing estate stood an old factory
for fezzos (nicknamed "fezovka"), which had to be demolished due to
broken statics; before the floods it was largely unused.
On May 8, 2006, a memorial to Czech pilots in England, mostly
natives of Písek or its vicinity, was unveiled in Písek. Písek has a
good infrastructure, especially it is one of the few cities where a
comprehensive camera system is built. The town of Písek plans to
rebuild the Otava embankment, in the place between the Old and New
Bridges, which was once built by Fischergasse Street (Rybářská
Street), into the open-air recreational and cultural center of the
town. This waterfront, which lies opposite the newly built right
waterfront in Portyc (the name of the site refers to it very similar
to the northern Italian city), is today a busy but not very
well-maintained place. However, the city councils do not support the
winning proposal of the commission, however, the probable winner
will come from the first three places in the public tender. At the
end of 2013, the reconstruction of Fügner Square in the city center
was completed, and part of the cost of the project was also
financially supported by the AISIN company located in the
Písek-Sever industrial zone.
The town of Písek is doing
relatively successfully at the beginning of the 21st century. One of
the recognitions was the Diamond Prize for the best living
conditions in a survey conducted by KPMG Czech Republic in 2012, in
strong competition in the category of medium-sized cities in the
Czech Republic. After the municipal elections held in the autumn of
2014, Eva Vanžurová from the Jihočeš 2012 group became the mayor of
the city. She replaced Ondřej Veselý in this position.
Jews
in Písek
The Jews lived in Písek from the end of the 14th century
until 1424, when they were expelled. They began to settle here again
at the beginning of the 17th century, they experienced their
greatest prosperity after the middle of the 19th century, in 1880
449 of them lived here and thus formed a large part of the urban
population. In 1872, a synagogue was built on the site of the
original prayer house, documented from the beginning of the 18th
century, which still stands in Soukenická Street. The synagogue,
built in the pseudo-Moorish style in 1872, was closed to the public
in 1953–1996. During communism, the building fell into disrepair as
a warehouse for wholesale textiles. After the return of the Jewish
community, it is gradually being repaired today, the reconstruction
is now relatively close to completion. There is also a Jewish
cemetery from 1876 near the town, about 60 tombstones have been
preserved, and the buildings were demolished in 1968–1969. The
original older cemetery has not been preserved.