Naučná stezka Třeboň
Town Square
The rectangular town square stems from the original marketplace on the main road from Ceske Budejovice to Jindrichuv Hradec. The square centre is dominated by the Baroque Marian Column by the Czech sculptor Leopold Huber. It was built in 1780 at the expense of a local family. It comprises the statue of the Virgin Mary on the slender spire supported by a triangular base with massive statutes of St. Joseph, St. Adalbert and St Elizabeth. Some elements of the sculpture belong to Classicism. The much older Renaissance stone fountain on the square stems from 1569. Its granite reservoir in the shape of a 10-edged prism is decorated with reliefs of ancient circular heads. Gargoyle water spouts complete the fountain. In 1609, the town added a decorative Renaissance pillar to the fountain. The original staircase still completely surrounds the fountain. In the 16th century, the original wooden houses along the square were replaced by bricked houses in the Renaissance style with graceful arcades. Burgher houses that were built mostly after the great fire in 1562 have nearly uniform basic building blocks. These were mostly one-story houses, with arcades on the ground floor with two semi-circular arches on the first floor with three windows and a shield over the house facade. The arcades were used as a place to sell goods.
A devastating fire in 1723 burned down 52 houses, one in 1781 even 68 houses. These fires resulted in reconstruction of the houses mainly in Baroque style. The Renaissance style was preserved in the house „The Pony“ from 1544 and in the house No. 89. The latter once belonged to Stepanek Netolický and still has an even older Gothic foundation.
