Tunnels of Tábor, sometimes referred to as "

catacomb Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

s", are a complex of tunnels in

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

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 ...

. This popular tourist sight was created in the 15th century by digging cellars called "loch", under houses in the historic centre of Tábor. Many cellars were connected and created a kind of a labyrinth. Some of the cellars reach a considerable size. Thanks to the constant and relatively low temperature and constant humidity, the cellars were used for storing foodstuff, especially beer. In the case of an enemy threat or large fires, people also used them as a safe shelter. Part of the underground space, winding through under Žižkovo Square in the length of , was after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

made accessible to visitors.

Legend

The visitors, who decide to go through the open route of the underground corridors and tunnels, they do not even know what a treasure is beneath their feet. According to a legend, the underground of the old town completely bored tunnels and corridors. Somewhere in the middle of them, there is the accessible place, allegedly the hidden Tábor's ark. According to some scholars, the

Hussites 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 the times of leader

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czechs, Czech military leader and Knight who was a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborites, Taborite faction during the Hu ...

were carried this ark before the army. It is loaded with tremendous energy, which made the Hussite army became invincible. According to one version, the French

Templars The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 11 ...

brought it to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. The catacombs of Tábor are still waiting for someone to reveal their hidden heart.

History

Since the beginning of the Hussite settlement, the town cellars originated as an integral part of the economic base of a medieval house. The cellars were used to hide from fires, which in the past several heavily damaged the town. The area of Tábor's cellars is admirable. Some sources indicate an overall length of up to . In many places they create three floors underground. Temperature here is all the year around 10 °C. In 1947, Vojtěch Kraupner suggested connecting the cellars of several houses. A tour for visitors with length about 500 metres was made. The tour starts in the basement of the old town hall, which is also located lapidary, and follows the line of houses on the southern and eastern side Žižkovo Square. The end of the underground corridors is in house No. 6 on the north side of the square.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunnels of Tabor Catacombs Tábor