The story
A moated castle on the Otava River was built by the noble family of Bavors of Strakonice at the beginning of the 13th century. The first written mention of the castle is from 1235. The first written mention of the village of Strakonice is from 1243, when the Church of Saint Wenceslaus already existed and the Bavors donated part of the castle and several nearby villages to the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of Saint John. By 1318, Strakonice was already a town.
By 1402, the Knights Hospitaller owned the entire castle, including the town and the surrounding estate. In 1420, the Hussite commander Jan Žižka occupied Strakonice but failed to capture the castle. Strakonice Castle underwent an extensive reconstruction in the 16th century, becoming a representative residence for the Order's Grand Priors. Subsequent alterations were minor. After the Thirty Years' War, the castle lost its significance.
The town was industrialised during the course of the 19th century. In the 1860s, a railway line connecting České Budějovice and Plzeň via Strakonice was built, which spurred its economic development.
From Wikipedia’s article on Strakonice, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4