ČESKÁ REPUBLIKA	CZECH REPUBLIC
Jihočeský kraj	South Bohemia (České Budějovice) region
Okres: Tábor

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Tábor is situated at an elevation of 450 m on on a steep hill above the river Lužnice (Luschnitz, Lainsitz) in South Bohemia. The forerunner of Tábor was a settlement called Hradiště, founded in the 13th century. Tábor itself was founded by the Hussites in 1420 on a hill above the river, and originally received the name Hradištì of Mount Tábor. After the defeat of the Táborites in the Battle of Lipany in 1434, the community signed a contract with Emperor Sigismund, who granted Tábor the privileges of a Royal Town in the following year. The town's fortifications, going back to the Hussites, once were among the strongest of the country. The barbican is said to be an invention of the Hussites. Tábor also is famous for the network of passages and cellars under the town which served as a refuge when the town was attacked or during the frequent fires. After the Battle of the White Mountain (Bílá Hora, today part of Prague) (1620), Tábor was invaded several times and became a poor town, so that the town preserved most of its many Renaissance houses and façades.

Kotnov castle [near left, no. 3960] is located on a promontory in the southwestern part of the historic town. The best preerved part of the castle ist the round battery tower. The castle was founded by King Přemysl Otakar II to protect the town of Hradiště; however, the earliest known mention in a written document only from 1370, when the town no longer existed. After the foundation of Tábor, the castle was incorporated into the town's fortifications. The fortificatins were improved in the early 15th century. However, after a large fire in 1532, the castle was used as a brewery, and subsequently parts of the former castle were demolished.

This page is about Tábor in southern Bohemia. There is also a page for hora Tábor (Tábor hill) in northern Bohemia.