ABSTRACT
Cˇeské Budeˇjovice is an archetypal thirteenth-century Bohemian planned town that, despite fires and political and economic changes, has retained much of its medieval form. As such, it is a good example of medieval town planning, like Bern and Bergen, that was part of an extensive regional and even pan-European mercantile network. Founded as a royal colonial town under King Prˇemysl Otakar II in 1265 in southern Bohemia near the Austrian border, Cˇeské Budeˇjovice helped demarcate territorial boundaries along the Czech and Austrian border and exploit the economic potential of the surrounding region (Morris 1994: 93). Though established by Czechs, Cˇeské Budeˇjovice and other colonial towns grew increasingly populated by German merchants and craftsmen so that by the fourteenth century the town had lost its Czech identity.
