The royal town, founded in the 13th century, is the center of the South Bohemian region, presently holding a hundred thousand inhabitants. All the houses on the large square and many in adjacent streets have arcades. A Black tower, 72 meters high, finished in 1577 dominates the town. The town hall (see picture) received its present shape in 1730. An important work of South Bohemian Baroque is the Samson fountain on Budějovice square. The biggest of Budějovice's churches is the St. Nicholas cathedral (beside the Black tower). This originally Gothic church was burnt out during the big town fire of 1641, but it was immediately reconstructed in the following years. There are other sights in the historical center of the town, for example, the Dominican monastery, the Virgin Mary Sacrifice church and parts of fortifications with two prismatic towers.
