Jan Zizka of Trocnov / Jan Zizka z Trocnova - Cáslav (Central Bohemia)
N 49° 54.581 E 015° 23.554
33U E 528186 N 5528662
The depicted monument with stone statue of medieval Czech general and Hussite leader Jan Zizka of Trocnov you can find in central public space of town Cáslav bearing his name - Jan Zizka of Trocnov Square (Námesti Jana Zizky z Trocnova).
Waymark Code: WMQTVQ
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/28/2016
Views: 20
The depicted monument with stone statue of medieval Czech general and Hussite leader Jan Zizka of Trocnov you can find in central public space of town Cáslav bearing his name - Jan Zizka of Trocnov Square (Námesti Jana Zizky z Trocnova). The statue is work of leading Czech sculptor of the end of the 19th century Josef Václav Myslbek. The prismatic stone pedestal decorated by Zizka' CoA was designed by architect Antonín Wiehl. Monument was ceemonialy unveiled in August 1880.
Jan Žižka z Trocnova (English: John Zizka of Trocnov) (1360-1424), Czech general and Hussite leader, follower of Jan Hus, was born at Trocnov (now a part of Borovany) in Bohemia, into a gentried family. He took part in the civil wars in Bohemia in the reign of King Wenceslaus IV. Legal records from 1378 mention Jan Žižka z Trocnova, hinting that if the nick-name žižka meant one-eye, early chronologer Aeneus Sylvius Piccolomini, Pius II was correct in stating the loss of the eye was the result of a childhood fight. Žižka fought in the Battle of Grunwald (July 15, 1410), where he defended Radzyn against the German Knights. He was attached to the court from his youth and held the office of Chamberlain to Queen Sophia.
As the first Reformation began in Bohemia, it culminated in the burning of Jan Hus as a heretic by the Council of Constance in 1415. As Crusades were launched by Catholic forces against Bohemia, Žižka was compelled to defend the Kingdom. He was a pragmatist in developing his military strategy. His army consisted of farmers and peasants. Lacking both the funds and equipment to turn these men into classic soldiers with sword, horse and armor, he used their farmers' skills to boost their military value. He adapted the tools of agriculture into the tools of war. The agricultural flail was transformed into the flail. Farm wagons were used in an ingenious tactic called the Wagenburg. The wagons were parked wheel-to-wheel forming a circle, much like the Pioneers of the Old West formed with their Conestoga Wagons. The horses and soldiers were kept safely inside the enclosure. The outlying side of the wagon and the undercarriage were armored with thick wooden planks, with holes through which soldiers could shoot pistols and crossbows. Gaps between wagons were covered by pavises or housed small cannons, which marked the first ever use of artillery in field operations. At a signal, wagons could be pulled apart and the Hussite cavalry could ride out to fight the enemy in a surprise flanking attack. Žižka trained his troops to perform these manoeuvers and set up a system of flags to signal directions to others in the field. [wiki]