On Thu 6th July 1415

Jan Hus Day

During the ecunemical Council of Constance in 1415, Jan Hus, the rector of Charles University and a prominent reformer and religious thinker, was sentenced to be burnt at the stake as a heretic.



The verdict was passed despite the fact that Hus was granted formal protection by Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg prior to the journey. Hus was invited to attend the council to defend himself and the Czech positions in the religious court, but with the emperor's approval, he was executed on July 6, 1415. The execution of Hus, as well as a papal crusade against heretics like the Hussites and John Wycliffe, outraged the Czechs. Their ensuing rebellion against Romanists became known as the Hussite Wars.