Lecture in Prachenske Museum in Písek, Bohemia.
Royal town of Písek was founded in 13th century AD on the commercial crossroads. Archaeological findings from the last decades also shed new light on the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the town of Písek in the 16th and the first half of the 17th centuries. The Renaissance, and especially the Rudolfinian period, is a sign of conjuncture in all areas of human activity in the Czech lands. On the one hand, there are written sources showing the wealth of the inhabitants of that time, and on the other, there are finds of various imports of precious commodities (like imported majolica from Italy and Catalania, as well the example of porcelaine of Ming dynasty). The vanity of this period is, however, linked to the sharp indebtedness of the municipality of Písek. This is joined by confessional jealousy between Catholics and Protestants, leading to the Thirty Years’ War and the decline of the town as a whole, when its status temporarily changes from a royal city to a vassal city.