I had spotted two castles roughly on our route today and therefore programmed the Garmin satellite navigation to take us on roads past them. The first one, a castle called Rzkovy Lhotice, we passed without any signs to it or of it but we did manage to spot the second one, a defensive tower called Selmberk. This added interest to the journey, although, being a ruin, it wasn't worth diverting off the road for a closer look. The route took us on many more on the byways than yesterday, which meant that we went through villages and small towns with very pretty architecture. There were also more hills than yesterday, giving lovely views over the countryside.
We parked in the large car park of the InterSpar in Tabor and walked into the town. Our old guidebook said that there was a festival here on the second weekend of September – this weekend – and as we approached the centre it was obvious that something was about to happen. We had timed our visit perfectly as a parade was gathering and we were able to watch it set off through the town.
Tabor was established as a military garrison by the Hussites, a Christian sect that broke away from the Roman Catholic church. Jan Hus, the founder of the Hussite movement, was tricked by the Roman Catholic authorities into attending a meeting in Constance in Germany where he was arrested and, after a summary trial, was burnt at the stake as a heretic. His movement however continued to grow and between 1419 and 1434 it swept Bohemia. Tabor was the base from which the Hussite army set out for many significant victories over the Roman Catholic forces.
The parade celebrates the Hussite past of town and many of the participants dress in costumes of the Hussite period. Some of the participants were rather surprising – a group from Sighisoara in Romania (we were close to there in July) and even two people from the Lake District in the UK. As the parade halted briefly in front of us, I managed to get a photograph of the Lake District couple but didn't have time to find out what they were doing there – I am sure that they weren't Hussites! We followed the parade into the main Zizka Square, within the old town walls. Here we obtained a programme of events for the 'Tabor Meetings Festival' and were impressed at how much was going on and the fact that they actually had programmes in English. We watched a series of musicians, dancers and singers on the main stage in the square and then moved on to another square where there was a large number of craft stalls. Here there was more music – a jazz band when we arrived, followed by a folk music band complete with bagpipes, although these were somewhat muted when compared to the Scottish Highland bagpipes.
We had to leave in order to find the campsite and obtain a pitch but at least we had been able to establish where the campsite was with the help of the tourist office. The campsite was well hidden and poorly signed but we found it and had no problems in finding a pitch. There were a couple of tents pitched and quite a few people in the chalets, most of whom were wearing camouflage outfits. It was definitely a 'huntin-shootin-fishin' area with the sound of gunfire in the distance and a fishing lake on the edge of the campsite. I have noticed that fishermen in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland often wear camouflage gear – is this in order to hide from the fish?
Photos: An elegant Hussite man; Equally elegant Hussite ladies – definitely not camp followers; Now these could be camp followers or possibly leaders and they were very good drummers – much better than that angel in St. Barbara's Cathedral (see yesterday's entry); There were some excellent matching bands in the parade, these were from Germany.
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