Legend · České Budějovice
The Prussians in Budějovice
On 29 September 1744 the Prussians reached České Budějovice and the town surrendered the next day. Baron Trenck came to retake it with his pandours, a corps Maria Theresa had assembled from men no one else wanted. The decisive attack came on the night of 21–22 October 1744.
On 29 September 1744 Prussian units reached České Budějovice. The Second Silesian War had brought the army to the town walls. The following day the Prussians attacked. The Austrian garrison surrendered after a short fight and was allowed to leave with honour. Their place was taken by Prussian soldiers, who soon also occupied Hluboká.
In mid-October Austrian Colonel Franz Baron von Trenck received orders to regain both places. He came at the head of the feared pandours. Before the decisive attack on Budějovice he struck against the Hluboká garrison and cut its access to water.
The Prussian defenders of Budějovice were commanded by Major-General Georg Christoph von Kreytzen. On the night of 21–22 October 1744 Trenck’s men broke into the town. The fighting was short and fierce. Over nine hundred people were taken prisoner, including the general.
What remains for a visitor is the route: the square and Krajinská třída, by which the pandours entered — and the knowledge that the “pandour” legend rests on a documented week of war.
How it really was
The Prussians occupied České Budějovice on 30 September 1744 and Baron Trenck with the pandours retake the town on the night of 21–22 October 1744; over 900 people were captured including General von Kreytzen.
There is nothing to correct here. A historical audit marked this chapter as exceptionally accurate.
Prussian units reached České Budějovice on 29 September 1744 and the following day the town capitulated after brief resistance; the Austrian garrison was allowed an honourable withdrawal. On 1 October Hluboká fell. The Prussian garrison commander was Major-General Georg Christoph von Kreytzen.
Baron Franz von der Trenck received orders to retake both places. With his pandours he struck Hluboká first, then Budějovice on the night of 21–22 October 1744. Over nine hundred people were captured.
Where to follow the legend
Přemysl Otakar II Square and Krajinská třída, by which Trenck and the pandours entered the town on 22 October 1744. Hluboká nad Vltavou castle is ten kilometres north.
Where we know it from
- Grosser Generalstab (Hrsg.). Die Kriege Friedrichs des Grossen. Der zweite Schlesische Krieg 1744–1745, s. 178–179
- Encyklopedie Českých Budějovic, heslo války o rakouské dědictví
- POTEN, Bernhard von. Kreutzen, Georg Christof von. Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, sv. 17, Leipzig 1883
- Ottův slovník naučný, heslo Budějovice