Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux is a museum dedicated to the famous Bayeux Tapestry. This hand-woven 70m long tapestry tells the story of William the Conqueror’s invasion of England in 1066. The manmade wonder of the 11th century has been well preserved, leaving the town of Bayeux only twice: once when Napoleon used it to show his troops that conquering England was indeed possible, and the second time during World War II, to save it from being damaged. Each year, the Tapestry Museum is visited by over 400000 visitors who marvel at the glass encased masterpiece.
The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.