The Treasure of Tábor Exhibition

Have you ever wished to discover a real treasure? Thanks to the Treasure of Tábor exhibition, you can be present at the actual discovery of coins, which represent the most significant coin find from period of the Jagellon dynasty in our country.

When Tábor is mentioned, many people will think of Jan Žižka, the Hussite movement and mediaeval fortification. Those who have already visited Tábor will certainly remember the Hussite Museum in the historical town hall, the labyrinth of underground corridors, the Kotnov Castle, the Jordán pond or the river of Lužnice. But these are not the only “treasures of Tábor” worth seeing. A “real” treasure of a kind that everyone imagines when a treasure is mentioned, that is, a heap of money, was discovered in Tábor quite recently.

During the general reconstruction of one of the houses in the historical centre of the city in 2001, two ceramic jugs filled with 3,956 silver coins weighing 7.5 kg were found. According to period conversion, this amounted nearly to 46 threescores of Czech groschens. The oldest coins date back to the period of Charles IV, the newest coins date back to 1525. The jugs were hidden approximately 30 cm beneath a tiled floor; they were turned upside down and sealed with plugs. According to archaeologists, the find dates back to the period before 1525 when the house most probably burned down and the original owner of the house (Mikuláš Vlaský from Sion, the reeve of Tábor from 1511 to 525, an alderman and a member of the six-squire office) – most probably – died in a fire because he never collected the hidden treasure. The late gothic tiles of a design, which had never been discovered on our territory until they were discovered in Tábor, found in the house date back to the same period. Other items discovered in the house, which belonged to the subsequent owner of the house at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries – Václav Churáněk, the town clerk of Tábor – are also of a significant historical value. Apart from the items, which were related to his profession (wooden book boards, leather spectacle frame, etc.), household equipment was also found (kitchen and table ceramic products, glasses for beverages, lathed wooden plates, etc.)

You can visit the fittingly titled exhibition “Treasure of Tábor” in the building of the Renaissance malt plant on the premises of the former Kotnov Castle of Tábor any time of the year. There, you can also see a film showing the actual act of discovering the treasure and you will learn what the hidden treasure could have bought you in the past. The complete coin find as well as a set of other items found are on display.

Open
September daily 09:00 - 12:00 13:00 - 17:00
October - December Mon - Sat 10:00 - 12:00 13:00 - 16:00