History of Prachatice

Foundation of the Town on the Trade Path	The Decline In 17th Century
14th century	18th Century
Trade With Salt	19th Century
Culture Development	20th Century
15th century - the Hussite Wars	Today - an Urban Restoration Area
Development in 16th century

     In spite of numerous disagreements with the nearby towns and country towns 16th century was the flourishing period for Prachatice.In the first half of 16th century the trade on the path reached the top:1,200-1,300 pack horses carrying the cargo from Passau to Bomemia and vice versa went through Prachatice every week.The town income was besides the profit of salt also enriched with the profit of the sold of carps of municipal ponds,of buttre,malt,well-known rye brandy and beer too.After all a lot of new hop-gardens were founded in the surroundings of the town.In 1575 Vilém of Rožmberk ordered to Volary and to 32 subject villages to take beer only from Prachatice.The town also owned the glass works near Volary which produced the mirrors sold to Norimberk.The top of the economical boom of the town was the purchase of the whole Helfenburg Estate with Bavorov and Strunkovice from Petr Vok of Rožmberk in 1593.The town itself was a frequent lender of its lordship too.
     The fortune and the bloom of Renaissance Prachatice is best illustarted on the number of protected building sights.After the year 1507 when the town was afflicted by the destroying fire 16th century was the period of the most agile building activity often with contribution of Italian builders.In 20s a new bulwark belt was built along the whole town.In front of the original Gothic gates with a right of way the new gates were built.Up till now The Písek (Lower) Gate with a battlement and with the picture of a Rožmberk rider on the large front is a wonderful example of a building of fortification of that time.Inside of the town all the public buildings were reconstructed.In 1570-1571 a town hall was built (Today it is called The Old Town Hall).Its main front with the Renaissance windows is covered with a decoration (so called chiaroscuro decoration) whose motifs relate to the judiciary.Even the owners of the houses paid attention to the spreading of the houses towards the street (in the shape of a vaulted mazhaus),to partial reconstructions or to the modification of inner area of the house.The beautiful Renaissance decorations decorated a number of fronts and inner rooms just in the imposing square (Rumpál's House,Sytra's House,Božkovský's House,Earl's House,the house which is called St.Christopher's House now) and in the contiguous streets (so called Haydl's house ,so called Hus's House,the houses in Upper Street).

(Text: Mgr.Jana Koutná using the article of Jan Himler:Prachatice,in: Zprávy památkové péče Praha 1950)