Písek

Písek is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, set on the Otava River about 42 kilometres northwest of České Budějovice and 80 kilometres south of Prague. It began as a settlement of gold panners working the river sand, which gives the town its name, and became a royal town when King Ottokar II founded it in 1254. For centuries it was the centre of the Prácheňsko region and held one of the largest town estates in Bohemia, much of it forest. Its historic core survives as a protected urban monument zone, and its best-known landmark is the Písek Stone Bridge, the oldest bridge in the Czech Republic and a national cultural monument. Today it has about 31,000 inhabitants and is a regional centre of education, with a number of important schools. The climate is a cool inland humid continental one with balanced temperatures through the year.