This settlement was founded on the site of gold-bearing sand and slowly expanded and turned into a village and subsequently into a royal estate, and finally into a town with a castle founded by Přemysl Otakar II. A mint was established in Písek at the end of the 13th century and was subsequently moved to Kutná Hora., A salthouse and the largest grain warehouse in Bohemia were established in the town during the reign of Charles IV.
Písek supported the Hussites during the Hussite Wars and was probably the first Czech town with the famous Hussite vats for people to hand over their valuables.
The town experienced its greatest boom in the 16th century when it acquired the royal castle and many Renaissance houses were built.
The town’s greatest treasure is the oldest stone bridge in the Czech Republic, which is registered as a National Cultural Site and is even older than Charles Bridge in Prague. It also used to be called the Old Bridge or the Deer Bridge because a deer unexpectedly crossed it first.
Písek has two parallel squares and the town centre gives the impression of a compact unit. The lower square (Big Square) houses a large Town Hall with two towers. The Town Hall was built in the Baroque style in 1740–1767 and there is a passage in the front façade, which leads to the castle courtyard. The royal castle originally had four wings, but it burnt down in 1510 and so some parts of the buildings were replaced. The west wing houses the Prácheň Museum, which received the honorary "European Museum of the Year" award from the European Council in 1996. The Malt House, currently the largest playroom for children and families in Europe, is located nearby.
Many houses in the historical part of the town were rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries and embellished with Empire style or historicizing facades. The paintings on the Otava Hotel were created using Mikoláš Aleš’s pasteboards as a model.
The town’s architecture also includes villas designed by architects Janák, Jurkovič and Koula and a modern footbridge designed by architect Josef Pleskot, a native of Písek, which spans the Otava River by St. Wenceslas and is used by pedestrians and tourists.
Sand is still a crucial element for Písek, which is why you can see sand sculptures and artworks along the river. Giant sand sculptures are created next to the Stone Bridge every year, a tradition that began in 2007. The vernissage of this exhibition takes place during the Sandbox event in the middle of May. The open-air gallery is then open to the general public for free usually until autumn, depending on the condition of the sculptures.
Did you know that… Písek was the first town in the Czech Republic to acquire permanent public electric lighting? František Křižík lit up the town centre on 23 June 1887 and the councillors then purchased this innovation from him.
Our tip:
In the chapter titled “Švejk's Budejovice Anabasis,” the main character sets out on foot from Tábor to České Budějovice and his journey ends in Písek. Try to complete his journey based on the travel guide available to tourists in the town.
Natives and notables:
- Fráňa Šrámek (1877–1952) – he is practically synonymous with the town; he studied at the local grammar school and lived in the house called U Koulí near the bridge and the river. He left the town in 1894 and never came back. He refused invitations or responded to them with poems.
- Adolf Heyduk (1835–1923) – a drawing and penmanship teacher who lived in Písek from 1860. When his fame as a writer was slowly declining, he enjoyed going to local wine bars and pharmacies for herbal liqueurs and in the belief that they all were pleased to see him he never paid for his purchases. You can now visit the Art Nouveau apartment of this poet.
- Kateřina Neumannová (1973) – the Olympic gold medal winner in cross-country skiing in the Winter Olympic Games in Turin 2006, a sports official. She has loved sports since her childhood; her mother was a physical education and biology teacher in Písek.