České Budějovice

After a busy week in Prague and a couple of days of rest at Resort Čapí hnízdo, we drove less than an hour south to the city of České Budějovice, the largest city in the South Bohemian Region. The name České Budějovice means "Czech Budějovice", distinguishing it from the town of Moravské Budějovice, or "Moravian Budějovice", with český referring to the Czech people or nation.

We soon discovered a lovely historic city with an impressive main square surrounded by colourful old buildings and a maze of quieter streets to explore. Founded in the 13th century, it has a long and interesting history, as well as a famous brewing tradition – it is, after all, the home of Budweiser Budvar, one of the Czech Republic's best-known beers. And, appropriately enough, we were staying at Hotel Budweis, which takes its name from the city's historic German name, Budweis! We enjoyed wandering around the old town and discovering some of its beautiful architecture.

We had just one day to explore České Budějovice since I had made plans for the rest of our stay, so we packed quite a lot into it. We began at Piarist Square, with its former Dominican monastery, old Salt Store and nearby Baroque terrace houses, before making our way to the Memorial to the Synagogue and Holocaust Victims, marking the site where the city's grand 1868 synagogue once stood before the Nazis blew it up in July 1942. Of the approximately 1,200 Jews who lived in České Budějovice prior to the break-up of Czechoslovakia, only very few survived the ghetto camp of Terezín or the subsequent deportation to Auschwitz. It was important to us to stop here and pay our respects, remembering the Jewish community that had once been such an important part of the city. We also learnt that there were Stolpersteine around the city marking the homes of murdered Jews, so we did our best to find some of them.

From the Stolpersteine along Krajinská Street, just a short walk from the main square, we continued to Přemysl Otakar II Square, the heart of the old town, where we saw the impressive Samson Fountain and nearby, the Wandering Stone, a small, cross-marked paving stone commemorating the site of a medieval execution ground. It is said that whoever unknowingly crosses the stone after 10 pm will never find his way home and will have to wander the streets of České Budějovice until morning!
The Town Hall is a magnificent Baroque landmark located on the southwest corner of the grand square. Its striking facade features three elegant towers, dragon-shaped gargoyles, the city coat of arms, and four rooftop allegorical statues representing civic virtues: Justice, Courage, Wisdom and Caution. The iron belt, which is located in the corner pillar of the Town Hall, dates back to 1765, and served for more than 100 years as a standard measure for selling cloth at markets on the main square.

We finished the day with a climb up the 225 steps to the viewing gallery at the top of the Black Tower (Černá věž). I'm a little afraid of heights, so I wasn't entirely sure I was going to enjoy it, but thankfully the wonderful views over the city made it all worthwhile!

Another day, on our way to the historic town of Třeboň, we stopped at České Budějovice's Jewish Cemetery and Memorial Hall. The cemetery was established in 1867 and was badly damaged by the Nazis in World War Two, following the deportation of local residents to concentration camps. At the entrance stands a sandstone memorial in the shape of a tomb with a Hebrew and Czech inscription remembering victims of the Holocaust. It was erected in 1950 by the Jewish community, which continued to exist in the city until the 1970s.
The cemetery is cared for by the Jewish Community of Prague. The gates are locked, but I had arranged to pick up the key from the nearby Jihotrans gatehouse. I was able to open the main gate but, unfortunately, could not unlock the door to the Memorial Hall, which displays an exhibition on the history of Jews in České Budějovice. I had to make do with peeking through the window.
The cemetery once contained more than 1,300 graves, but roughly half of the tombstones were destroyed or stolen, and only around 350 of them remain. Visitors will find tombstones in Hebrew, German and Czech. We were glad that we had been able to visit and remember a Jewish community that was almost entirely lost in the Holocaust.

* This post has been shared on Mosaic Monday