Jan Hus – Page 2

Tábor

As part of my two weeks of annual leave following my return from the Eastern Archdeaconry Synod in Bucharest, Sybille and I spent a long weekend at the beginning of October, staying in Tábor, exploring this fascinating historical town and parts of the surrounding area of South Bohemia. During the whole time we were there, we were blessed by some wonderful ‘Indian Summer’ weather as can be seen in the accompanying photographs featuring very clear blue skies.

Tábor lies about 100 kilometres south-east of Prague and it took us less than two hours to drive there. After walking around the historic centre of the town, we eventually found excellent accommodation in Penzion Modrá ruže which has a gated back yard where we were able to securely park the car.

The historic centre of Tábor is perched on a steep hillside overlooking the Lužnice River and is surrounded on three sides by precipitous wooded slopes. In the fourteenth century, a castle was built here though all that remains of it is the Kotnov Tower by the west town gate which can be seen in my photo accompanying an earlier post.

Tábor proper was founded by the radical followers of Jan Hus in 1420, five years after he was burnt at the stake in Konstanz. The town was named after the Biblical Mount Tábor (Psalm 89. 12) which is thought by some to also be the mountain on which Jesus was transfigured. The Hussites sought to organise the town following the example of the very early Christian believers by holding everything in common ownership as described in Acts 2. 44-45. They joined together in communal work to build the town and its defences and it is often suggested that this extreme variety of nonconformity is what has given rise to the connotations we now associate with the word ‘Bohemian’.

Tábor 6 — Historic building in Tábor © Ricky Yates

Despite its defensive site, the forces of the radical Hussites of Tábor were eventually defeated at the Battle of Lipany in 1434 and thereafter, the significance of the town declined. Fortunately, much of the wonderful architecture of the period has survived.

These two photographs are of buildings that surround Žižkovo námestí, the main central square in Tábor, named after the Hussite leader Jan Žižka. Unfortunately, the Hussite Museum, having been closed for stocktaking the two days before we arrived, did not re-open at the weekend as according to its own website, it should have done. Instead, it was scheduled to re-open on Wednesday 5^th October, the day after we left Tábor to return to Prague. However, not being able to visit it does give me a good excuse to re-visit Tábor some time in the future.

Tábor 7 — Hussite Museum building in the centre of Tábor © Ricky Yates

Tábor also features many buildings with sgraffito decoration. However, I did find it a little incongruous that that this wonderfully beautiful ancient building was now being used as a fast-food outlet!

Tábor 2 — Beautiful scraffito decorated building now used as a fast-food takeaway © Ricky Yates

Tábor 3 — Second World War memorial in Tábor featuring a Soviet soldier, machine gun over his shoulder, lifting a child into the air © Ricky Yates

In the more modern part of Tábor, to the east of the historic centre, I came across two examples of things I’ve previously written about in this blog. The photograph on the left is of a memorial commemorating the liberation of Czechoslovakia, (as it was then), from the occupying Nazi forces. It is a typical example of communist era architecture showing a Soviet soldier, machine gun over his shoulder, lifting a child into the air. Underneath is the correct date of the end of the Second World War, 8^th May 1945. But as I explained in my earlier post entitled ‘Correcting History’, because the Nazi surrender was signed late in the evening of 8^th May 1945, it was already after midnight in Moscow, thus meaning that the former Soviet Union and its satellite states, always celebrated VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) on 9^th May each year.

Since the Velvet Revolution of 1989, VE Day is now celebrated and marked with a public holiday, on 8^th May each year in the Czech Republic. If you look closely at the inscription in the second photograph, it is quite clear that the ‘8’ is far newer and shinier than the rest of the lettering. No doubt it replaced a previous ‘9’! Likewise, because this is a memorial erected in the Communist era, it originally featured the hammer and sickle emblem. This was clearly removed at some point after 1989 but, an outline of where it once was, can still clearly be seen on the stone work above the date.

Tábor 4 — The inscription with a new '8' and with the outline of the now removed hammer & sickle emblem still visible © Ricky Yates

Finally, despite promising not to feature anymore examples of Czenglish, or ‘bad English’ as one of my fellow cricketers thinks I should call it, I cannot help but post this photograph of a sign in Tábor that had Sybille & I in fits of laughter. Bearing in mind that Tábor is not so far from the Austrian border and German speaking visitors are quite numerous, it appears to be an advertisement in German for a ‘Nothing Club’!

Tábor 1 — A sign for the 'Nothing Club' in Tábor © Ricky Yates

Jan Hus – Leader of the Bohemian Reformation and Czech Hero

Hus 1 — Statue of Jan Hus in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, Prague. © Ricky Yates

The photograph above is of the imposing statue of Jan Hus, located in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, in the centre of Prague. It is the work of the Czech sculptor Ladislav Jan Šaloun and was unveiled in 1915 to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of the death of Hus who was burnt at the stake on 6^th July 1415.

Jan Hus was born around 1369 in the village of Husinec in South Bohemia. At a young age he moved to Prague, becoming a student at Charles University. He gained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1393, his Master degree in 1396 and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1400.

The building in Prague most associated with Hus is the Bethlehem Chapel. The original Chapel, completed in 1394, was built for the express purpose of the service of preaching rather than for the celebration of mass. In 1402, Hus was appointed Rector of the Bethlehem Chapel and took up residence in rooms immediately adjoining the Chapel

Over the following ten years, the preaching of Jan Hus drew large crowds to the Bethlehem Chapel. He was very much influenced by the teaching and writings of the early English Church Reformer John Wycliffe, and in his preaching, called for reform within the Roman Catholic Church. He was particularly outraged by the selling of papal indulgences to collect funds for military purposes.

However, there are two significant things which Hus did or advocated which are reflected in the way he is now remembered by most Czech people. Firstly, he preached and wrote in Czech rather than Latin as he wanted his hearers and readers to fully understand what he was saying. Secondly, he wanted worshippers to be able to receive communion in both kinds – both bread and wine – and for lay people not to be forbidden to receive the chalice.

After a papal edict of September 1412, prevented Hus from preaching in Prague, he withdrew to the South Bohemian countryside where he continued to preach under the open skies and where he also completed most of his writings. In October 1414, having been assured of safe passage, he travelled to Konstanz to attend a Church Council which had been called to resolve a variety divisive issues within the Church at that time including the existence of three different individuals each claiming to be Pope! However, as part of the proceedings of the Council of Konstanz, Jan Hus was tried, found guilty of heresy and condemned to death. He was burnt at the stake in Konstanz on 6^th July 1415.

The supporters of Hus were outraged and the Hussite movement flourished following his death, bringing about the Bohemian Reformation. Sadly, there were divisions between those who desired moderate reform and those who wanted far more radical change within the Church. Eventually in 1620, at the Battle of White Mountain/Bilá hora on the outskirts of Prague, the army of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II defeated the forces of the Bohemian Estates and as a result, unreformed Roman Catholicism was reimposed upon Czech lands.

The Czech National Revival, which began in the late eighteenth century, regarded Hus as a Czech hero, not primarily for religious reasons but rather for political and cultural ones. His opposition to church control by the Vatican gave strength to those who opposed control of Czech lands by the Hapsburgs in the form of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He preached and wrote in the Czech language and therefore was a focus for opposition to the Germanisation of government, education and culture in Bohemia and Moravia. Therefore the statue of Hus located in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, in the centre of Prague, is surrounded by figures of victorious Hussite warriors and the figure of a young mother symbolizing national rebirth.

The Bethlehem Chapel fell into a dilapidated state and was partially demolished in 1786. Three original walls remained standing within which a sizable apartment building was constructed in the 1830s. Following the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, there were moves by the new government to purchase the apartment complex and restore the Chapel. But nothing concrete ever materialised before the outbreak of World War Two.

At the end of the war in 1945, the apartment building was confiscated from its German owners and, between 1950 – 1954, the Bethlehem Chapel was restored with considerable care to its original form. Ironically this took place under the guidance of a Communist run Ministry of Culture. But even the Communists used the legacy of Jan Hus for their own purposes by portraying him as a proto-communist!

Hus 3 — Inscription and painting on the interior wall of the Bethlehem Chapel © Ricky Yates

Inside the chapel, the earlier inscriptions on the walls have been restored on the basis of known texts with associated illustrations, as in this photograph. However, this second wall painting was not in the original chapel as it shows Hus being burnt at the stake!

Hus 4 — Painting on the inside wall of the Bethlehem Chapel showing Jan Hus being burnt at the stake © Ricky Yates

All Czech Protestants also remember and celebrate Jan Hus and the symbol they use to do this is the chalice. This is because of Hus insisting that all Christian believers should receive communion in both kinds.

Hus 5 — Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren Church in Žižkov, Prague © Ricky Yates

The picture on the left is of an Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren Church building in the Prague suburb of Žižkov. It too is called the Bethlehem Chapel/Betlémská kaple and was constructed in the cubist architectural style. On the left of the front façade is a bust of Jan Hus whilst on the right is a bust of John Calvin. But as can be seen in close-up detail below, above the front façade are a Bible and, on top of the Bible, a large gold chalice.

Hus 7 — Plaque commemorating Jan Hus on the exterior of St. Clement’s Church, Prague © Ricky Yates

The photograph above is of a plaque on the outside of St. Clement’s Church which also belongs to the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. Like to statue in Old Town Square, this plaque was also erected on the 500^th anniversary of the death of Jan Hus. With his picture, together with a chalice, thanks are given for ‘Svaté pameti otce Ceské Reformace – the holy memory of the Father of the Czech Reformation’.

Holidays and Celebrations in the Czech Republic – My contribution to Expat’s World Blog Surf Day

Knowing the dates of public holidays when you move to or visit a country of which you are not a native, is quite important as my wife and I found out only on Monday of this past week. We were returning from our trip to Turkey about which I’ve just started blogging, when we drove from Italy into Austria on the penultimate leg of our journey home to Prague. We were driving along the Austrian autobahn when my wife said, “Rather than stop at a service station for lunch, why don’t we drive into a nearby town and find a nice restaurant instead?”

So it was that we drove into Spittal an der Drau and parked in the centre of the town. It was only when the parking ticket machine refused to accept my euro coins I tried to feed it, did it begin to dawn on me that the town was rather quiet. Then I noticed that all the shops and banks were also closed. We did eventually find a pleasant bar-restaurant that was open where I enjoyed a fine Wiener Schnitzel. Whilst there, we quietly enquired of the proprietor whether the day was by any chance a public holiday. “Of course”, came the reply. “It is the Austrian National Day.” Therefore beware if you ever have cause to be in Austria on 26^th October. Most shops and businesses will be geschlossen!!

There are five public holidays annually which are peculiar to the Czech Republic. Each celebrates individuals or events that helped form the Czech nation.

5^th July celebrates St. Cyril and St. Methodius, two brothers who lived in the ninth century and were responsible, both for bringing the Christian faith to the Czech and other Slavic peoples, but also for inventing an alphabet that allowed the Slavic language of the day, usually now known as ‘Old Church Slavonic’, to be written down for the first time. Whilst the Czech Republic is now seen as one of the most atheistic countries in Europe, these two Christian saints are still celebrated for being responsible for the origin of Czech culture.

28th September celebrates the patron saint of the Czech people, St. Wenceslas. He is believed to have been martyred on this day in 935. He is well known to English speakers because of the Christmas Carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’. The day is also known as ‘Czech Statehood Day’, no doubt because Wenceslas (Václav in Czech) is seen as an embodiment of the Czech state.

6^th July is celebrated as Jan Hus Day. Hus was an early Church reformer calling for Church teaching and practices to be in line with what appeared in the Bible, for the Czech language to be used in liturgy and preaching and for the people to be able to receive Holy Communion in both kinds. He was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1412 for insubordination and burnt at the stake on 6^th July 1415. Once again, it is his desire for the use of the Czech language that has caused him to be celebrated more as a Czech cultural hero rather than as a Church reformer. The Communist government of 1948 – 1989 even tried to make him out to be a Czech proto-communist!

28^th October marks Czechoslovak Independence Day. It celebrates the declaration of independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 28^th October 1918 by Czechs and Slovaks in the dying days of World War 1 and the establishment of what is now referred to as the ‘First Republic’ under the presidency of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Although the state of Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on 1^st January 1993 following the ‘Velvet Divorce’, the public holiday remains!

17^th November is the most recent addition to the Czech calendar of public holidays and is officially known as ‘Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day’. It marks the day in 1989 when students began demonstrations that led to the fall of the Communist regime and the successful ‘Velvet Revolution’. This year it will be especially celebrated being the twentieth anniversary of those remarkable events.

On all Czech public holidays, the Prague integrated transport system runs a Sunday timetable and trams and buses display two Czech flags at the front. Why two flags you may ask? The answer lies in the years of Communist rule. The Communists loved flags and insisted they were displayed on public holidays, not just on trams and buses but on a variety of buildings too. But the Czech flag could never be displayed on its own; it always had to be accompanied by the flag of the Soviet Union. Now this is no longer required, they just display two Czech flags instead!

This was my contribution to WBSD and I’m asked to link next to an expat blogger I know rather well, Hospitalera who blogs about ‘Christmas in Prague‘.

We are also being ‘Twittered’ by Karen and I’m asked to include the following about her. Karen is an American expat blogger last seen in Prague. The Wall Street Journal said, “Her blog makes a fun read for anyone looking for reassurance that change can be a wonderful thing–and also for anyone interested in visiting the Czech Republic.”