Chýnov Town Audio guide

Chýnov as both an administrative center and a town

Chýnov lies east of Tábor, and its history reaches deep into the early Middle Ages. The precursor of today's town was a fortified settlement linked to the year 981 and to the Slavníkovci family. In the twelfth century, it served an important administrative role within the castle-based system, a network that ensured local administration, the collection of dues, and military control over the region.

In the thirteenth century, the settlement's importance changed. After an exchange with the Prague bishop Nicholas of Riesenburg in 1250, Chýnov lost part of its former standing and gradually became a regional center. Town status is documented by 1289, but later the town was managed for a long time as pledged property by lay holders. The restoration of town status came only in 1994.

Landmarks and preserved layers of history

The most prominent building is the Church of the Holy Trinity. The Gothic church from the fourteenth century was replaced in the years 1667 to 1670 by a new Baroque building, with a tower added in 1727. The interior also recalls Bohumír Bylanský, the last abbot of the monastery at Zlatá Koruna.

On the site of today's chateau once stood a Přemyslid administrative fortress and later an archbishop's stronghold. The present Baroque two-wing chateau was built in the years 1729 to 1730 and is surrounded by an English park. The townscape is also shaped by a Baroque granary from the seventeenth century, Bílek's villa with an exhibition devoted to the sculptor František Bílek, and his grave in the cemetery with the sculpture Prayer above Graves.

Today, Chýnov brings together an old administrative core, Baroque rebuilding, and a reminder of the notable artists connected with the place.