Tabor

a military term in Czech, Polish, Rumanian, and Hungarian for a camp, stan, or train; in Russian, the term formerly designated a fortified camp sheltered on all sides by transport vehicles (seeWAGENBURG).

a city in Czechoslovakia, in the Czech Socialist Republic, South Bohemia Region; situated on the Lužnice River, south of Prague. Population, 27,700 (1974).

Tábor is an important transportation junction. Industry is concentrated mainly in neighboring cities: there are electrotechnical and machine-tool construction plants in Sezimovo Ústí, and synthetic fiber is produced in Planá. Enterprises of the textile, tobacco, and beer-brewing industries are located in Tábor.

Tábor was founded by rebellious peasants and plebeians in 1420, during the Hussite revolutionary movement, on the site of the ancient settlement of Hradiště and later became a fortified Taborite political and military center. By the 1430’s, it had become a large trade and artisan center, and in 1436 it acquired the status of a royal city. In the 1440’s it waged a struggle with the great feudal lords, and in 1452 it was seized by George of Podĕbrady.

The old city of Tábor is situated on the steep right bank of the Lužnice. On Jan Žižka Square are the late Gothic town hall (after 1560; now the Hussite Museum), the municipal church (1512), and the houses from the 15th to the 17th centuries. Remains of fortifications from the 15th to 17th centuries and numerous underground chambers carved out of the rock and used by the residents as shelters during the Hussite revolution have been preserved. Tábor has monuments to J. Hus and J. Žižka.