Písek

Písek (Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 29,729 (January 1, 2012).

About
Písek is usually called "The Athens of the South", even though Athens is located much further south, because it has many high schools and schools of higher education, e.g. the Film School in Písek. Up to the last decades of 19th century Písek was a centre of the large autonomous Prácheň Region (also Prácheňský kraj) (today's Prachatice, Písek and Strakonice Districts and parts of Příbram, Klatovy, České Budějovice and Plzeň-South Districts).

Písek is easily accessible by the I/4 and I/20 roads from Prague (parts of the I/4 toward Prague form the R4 expressway), the I/20 road from České Budějovice, the I/29 from Tábor and the I/20 from Plzeň. The I/20 forms a west-south bypass of the city (from Prague to České Budějovice) and the I/29 forms an eastern bypass, joining the I/20 at the south.

Písek railway station lies on the Zdice–Protivín and Tábor–Ražice rail lines. It is connected to central and western Bohemia in one direction and southern Bohemia and Šumava in the other.

The climate in Písek is mild (one of the three warmest parts of Czech Republic) because it is protected from all sides against cold winds. There is low precipitation (about 500-550 mm/annum) and temperatures around 0 to 20 °C temperature in spring (March-April), about 15 to 35 °C in summer (May-September), 10 to 25 °C in fall (October-December) and -5 to +10 °C in winter with rare snow (January-February). The climate is sunny all year. Extreme cold weather has reached -19.6°C and extreme hot +37.9°C (last decades observation). Písek is surrounded by the Písek Mountains (or Gem Mountains) whose highest peak is 633 metres high (260 metres above the city center). The river Otava flows through the city.

History
This South Bohemian town was, up to its serious damage in 1620, one of the biggest towns in Bohemia. It is considered to be of prehistorical origin (about 900 BC, when it was officially built in the 13th century - but in these times one part of this town had been still inhabited by descendants of Celts (today's Saint Wenceslas). The oldest town in the area of modern Písek ("Písek" in fact means "sand") was Hradiště (Oppidum on top of Hradiště hill). Close to this place two graves of Celtic kings can be found. Písek has still his unique atmosphere and has a well-preserved, picturesque medieval centre.  A large part of Písek was built in 19th century, so one can still find there many buildings built in classical or neo-styles. In Písek is the oldest bridge (Písek Stone Bridge) in the Czech Republic (and the second oldest in the whole central European region).

Famous residents

 * Přemysl Otakar II – Czech king
 * John I of Bohemia – Czech king
 * Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor – Czech king
 * Václav IV – Czech king
 * Fráňa Šrámek – poet
 * Adolf Heyduk – poet
 * Josef Holeček – writer
 * Otakar Ševčík – violin teacher
 * Mikoláš Aleš – painter
 * August Sedláček – historian
 * Kateřina Neumannová – cross-country skier
 * Tomáš Zíb - tennis-player
 * Tomáš Verner - figure skater, European champion 2008
 * Jan Mukařovský - literature theorist
 * Jan Čarek(1898-1966) - poet, essayist, literary critic

Twin towns

 * 🇬🇧 Caerphilly, Wales, United Kingdom
 * 🇩🇰 Lemvig, Denmark
 * 🇱🇻 Smiltene, Latvia
 * 🇸🇰 Velky Krtis, Slovakia
 * 🇩🇪 Wetzlar, Hesse, Germany

Main sights

 * Church of Virgin Mary´s Birth (Kostel Narození Panny Marie)
 * Church of Holy Trinity (Kostel Nejsvětější Trojice)
 * Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross (Kostel Povýšení svatého Kříže)
 * Písek Castle (Hrad v Písku)
 * Prácheňské museum (Prácheňské muzeum ) - http://www.prachenskemuzeum.cz/en
 * Marian column (cs:Mariánské sousoší)
 * Stone Bridge (Kamenný most)