Tabor Festival - STEVEN R. TABOR

Tábor Festival

How would you celebrate a town born out of rebellion?

It is not everyday that you can visit a city that bears your name, much less a city celebrating its medieval heritage. The Czech city of Tábor was founded in 1420 by radical Hussites who broke away from the more moderate Utraquist faction centered in Prague. Named after Mount Tabor in the Bible, the settlement began as a fortified camp for a community that rejected private property, church hierarchy, and much of medieval social order in favor of a radically egalitarian, apocalyptic Christianity. The Taborites, as they became known, held goods in common and elected their own priests. Under military leaders like Jan Žižka, they built one of the most effective fighting forces in Europe, using war wagons and early firearms to repeatedly defeat crusading armies sent against the Hussites.

The Táborská setkání ("Tábor Meetings") festival is one of the larger festivals of South Bohemia. Each year the historic center is transformed back into the early 15th century, the era when Hussite commander Jan Žižka of Trocnov seized control of the town. The program spans the full old town: Žižkovo náměstí (Žižka Square) hosts the main stage with opening ceremonies, fireworks, and concerts spanning spiritual, medieval, and contemporary music; Tržní náměstí becomes a medieval marketplace with period crafts, food, and fire shows; and Náměstí Mikuláše z Husi hosts an old Bohemian fair. Elsewhere in the old town, visitors can watch mounted jousting tournaments, gymnasts, sword-fighting displays, costumed parades, open-air theater performances, and a dedicated children's zone with games and competitions.

A photobook of this series is available here.