Sezimovo Ústí (; ) is a town in

Tábor District Tábor District () is a district in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Tábor. Administrative division Tábor District is divided into two administrative districts of municipalities with extended competenc ...

in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 7,100 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name literally means "Sezima's

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carryin ...

Geography

Sezimovo Ústí is urbanistically fused with the neighbouring towns

Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

in the north and Planá nad Lužnicí in the south. It is located about north of

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

and south of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. Sezimovo Ústí lies in the Tábor Uplands. It is situated at the confluence of the Lužnice River (which makes the border of the municipal territory) and the stream Chotovinský potok (also called Kozský potok in the length where it flows through the town). One of the tributaries of the Chotovinský potok supplies a fishpond called Jezero.

History

According to legend, Sezimovo Ústí was founded by Sezima, an illegitimate son of

Witiko of Prčice Witiko or Vitico of Prčice (, ; c. 11201194) was a Duchy of Bohemia, Bohemian nobleman and liensman of the Přemyslid dynasty. He was the ancestor of the Vítkovci family and the subject of the historical novel ''Witiko (novel), Witiko'' by Adalb ...

. The town was established in the first half of the 13th century. The first mention of Ústí is from 1250, when the general chapter of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

agreed to the consecration of the monastery church to Saint Dominic. The town prospered, which resulted from a convenient place on the way from Austria to Prague. Only six years after the church was consecrated, the monastery was expanded so the town must have already be prosperous enough to allow investment like that. The town was later fortified and had three suburbs, one of them on the other bank of the Lužnice river. From 1388, the independent parish church had its own hospital and school. In 1414,

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

was invited to Sezimovo Ústí to preach in Kozí hrádek Castle, which led the radicalization of many people and establishment of

Hussite movement upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...

. In 1420, Hussites burned down the town and left to the nearby newly established town of Tábor. Some parts of the abandoned town were still used in the time of King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...

and the Dominican friars returned to the damaged monastery after 1420 for some time. Water mill and one farm was also on the grounds of the old town for most of the time after the town was abandoned. In 1828, a new village was founded and was named Starý Tábor ("Old Tábor"). About 80 houses were built or under construction in 1832. Construction of the new church started in 1835 and it was consecrated in 1841. In 1920, the village was promoted to a town and returned to its historical name of Sezimovo Ústí. In 1939, the entrepreneur Jan Antonín Baťa built a factory and began to build a new district of Sezimovo Ústí, nowadays called Sezimovo Ústí 2. During World War II, Sezimovo Ústí was incorporated into Tábor, which lasted until 30 June 1945.

Demographics

Economy

The largest employer based in Sezimovo Ústí is Kovosvit MAS Machine Tools, a manufacturer of

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...

s with more than 250 employees.

Transport

The D3 motorway (part of the

European route E55 European route E55 is an E-route. It starts in southern Sweden, crosses the Øresund strait to Denmark, and passes through more water (the western Baltic Sea) to reach continental Europe on Rostock, Germany. Thence it continues further southwar ...

) from Tábor to České Budějovice runs next to the town. Sezimovo Ústí is located on the railway line Prague–České Budějovice.

Sport

The main sport clubs in Sezimovo Ústí are ''TJ Spartak MAS'' and ''TJ Sokol Sezimovo Ústí''. Until 2011, the football club FC Silon Táborsko played in Sezimovo Ústí.

Sights

Kozí hrádek is a castle ruin near Sezimovo Ústí, known for activities of Jan Hus. It is unknown when it was built, but it was first mentioned in 1377. It was built in

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

. In 1438, it was burnt down. The castle is protected as a national cultural monument. The ruins are accessible to the public. The villa of Czechoslovak president

Edvard Beneš Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1939 to 1948. During the first six years of his second stint, he led the Czec ...

in Sezimovo Ústí was his favourite place of recreation, and the site of his burial. The villa's garden with the grave is open to the public. The villa itself is open only partially as it is still used by the

Government of the Czech Republic The Government of the Czech Republic () exercises executive power in the Czech Republic. The members of the government are the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (Chairman of the Government), the deputy prime minister and other ministers. It ...

. There is also the monument with an exposition of political and social life of E. Beneš and his wife. The Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in the late

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

in 1841. In the park near the town hall there is a stone

baptismal font A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...

and few stone fragments as the only remains from the original town which stood here until 1420.

Notable people

(1371–1415), theologian, philosopher and reformer; preached here *

(1884–1948), politician, President of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

; died here * Václav Kaplický (1895–1982) writer, journalist and epic poet * František Němec (born 1943), actor * Bohumil Cepák (1951–2021), handball player

International relations

Sezimovo Ústí is a part of the ''Commonwealth of towns with hussite past and tradition,'' along with other 11 Czech and 6 German municipalities.

Twin towns – sister cities

Sezimovo Ústí is twinned with: * Thierachern, Switzerland

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sezimovo Usti Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Tábor District