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České Budějovice throughout the ages

The stately position of České Budějovice in the middle of a natural basin, at the confluence of the Vltava and the Malše rivers, is due to the town's liberal foundation by the Czech King Přemysl Otakar II, who endeavoured to maintain close links between his country and its southern neighbours. The new royal town came into existence in 1265, when the burgrave of Zvíkov (the royal castle situated some 70 km northwards) provided the Order of St Dominic with the site on which to build a monastery. The settlement could not have had a better start; enjoying numerous privileges, it soon became an important crossroads of trade routes connecting Bohemia with the Danube basin. The vastness of the town's regular square and the generous width of its streets as well as the grand design of the houses, were testimony to its secular importance whereas the oldest building, Dominican monastery with its church dedicated to the Presentation of Virgin Mary, diverted the people's mind to loftier aspirations. Protected by the King's favour and well managed by its councillors, the town gained wealth and thrived. Its permanent prosperity was neither interrupted by the Hussite wars, when the town remained, as some time later, loyal to the Catholic party; nor was its development impaired by a series of disasters in the following century, when the town endured fires and floods, an earthquake and an epidemic of plague. It was not until the Thirty Years´ War that the town began to decline, although its heavy fortifications spared the people fighting.

The dominant feature of the town's skyline, the 70-metre Black Tower built in 1550-1577, reveals that the original Gothic design of the town was later modelled largely in the Renaissance style. The Baroque left its traces in the face of the town adding some new buildings - St Nicholas´ Cathedral, the Townhall, and the Samson Fountain in the middle of the square, one of the grandest in the country. More extensive construction and town-planning activities, however, were enabled only by the changes that České Budějovice saw in the last two centuries. The fact that in 1785 the town became the seat of diocese foreshadowed its new importance as a cultural centre with a gradually increasing number of schools, run by both the church and the state. The most important milestone in the economic development was the construction of the first horse-powered railway on the Continent, connecting České Budějovice and Linz, which started operation in 1832.

Although the present home of about 100,000 did not escape the industrial revolution, gaining a reputation for its pencils and beer, it has preserved its relatively unspoilt historical character, which attracts visitors from other areas and abroad. The foundation of the University of South Bohemia in 1991 confirmed the town's return to its traditional role as the spiritual centre of a very original region, which through its geographical position is bound to foster cultural links between Middle European nations.

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The Summer School of Slavonic Studies is hosted by the Department of Czech Studies of the Pedagogical Faculty, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, in a three-week period between late August and mid-September. The course is designed for those who pursue Slavonic or Czech Studies, for teachers, assistants, translators, for all who take interest in the Czech language.

PROGRAMME

The daily programme consists of five lessons devoted to language courses, lectures, and historical or educational excursions.

For language courses, the participants are divided into three groups, depending on their level of proficiency:

1. Beginners attend an intensive language course of five lessons a day (three in the morning and two in the afternoon).
2. Intermediate students attend a three-lesson language course and a two-lesson seminar of their choice (reading literature, conversation, and grammar).
3. Advanced students attend a five-lesson conversation course and seminars in phonetics and grammar.

Lectures are in Czech and cover various subjects in linguistics, literary history, Czech cultural history, and ethnography.

The programme also includes visits to museums, libraries and galleries, as well as trips to places of interest in South Bohemia. The contemporary cultural life is presented through cinema and theatre performances, concerts, exhibitions, etc.

ORGANISATION

The Summer School participants live in two- or three-bed rooms in the hall of residence at the address: Konzervatoř, Kanovnická 22, CZ-370 01 České Budějovice, phone: +420 387 311 683. The meals will be taken in the dining hall of the Theological Faculty.

The price of the three-week course (tuition fee, accommodation and full board, weekend trips) is $ 750, including registration fee. The sum has to be paid into the Pedagogical Faculty bank account No. 20001-6036231/0710, v.s. 1 008 at Česká národní banka in České Budějovice by 31 July 2003, or its equivalent in Czech crowns can be paid in cash in the faculty office.

Some of the participants are holders of scholarships of the Czech Ministry of Education and other Czech cultural institutions.

ENTRANCE CRITERIA

The number of participants is limited to make sure that maximum attention can be paid to each of them. A number of positions are reserved for scholarship holders on the basis of international agreements. Applicants for these reciprocal scholarships should contact the pertinent authorities in their home countries as soon as possible.

Applicants will fill in the application form and send it to the secretariat of the Summer School of Slavonic Studies at the following address:

LŠSS - Letní škola slovanských studií
Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích
Pedagogická fakulta
Jeronýmova 10
CZ-371 15 České Budějovice
tel.: +420 387 773 206; fax: +420 387 312 194
e-mail: moravec@pf.jcu.cz (Miloslava Moravcová, secretary)

The deadline is 31 May 2003. Both scholarship-holders and paying participants will be notified of the result by 30 June 2003.

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