Blansko
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Blansko (; ) is a town in the
South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region (; , ; ), or just South Moravia, is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia. The region's capital is Brno, th ...
of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the
Moravian Karst The Moravian Karst () is a karst landscape and protected landscape area to the north of Brno in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It encompasses a number of notable geological features, including roughly 1100 caverns and gorges an ...
. It is mainly an industrial town.


Administrative division

Blansko consists of 12 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Blansko (16,429) *Češkovice (385) *Dolní Lhota (565) *Horní Lhota (435) *Hořice (115) *Klepačov (615) *Lažánky (417) *Obůrka (213) *Olešná (183) *Skalní mlýn (5) *Těchov (470) *Žižlavice (68)


Geography

Blansko is located about north of
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
. It lies in the Drahany Highlands. The highest point is the hill Bukovec with an altitude of . It is situated in the valley of the Svitava River; the majority of the town is situated on a slope above the left bank of the Svitava. The eastern part of the municipal territory lies in the
Moravian Karst The Moravian Karst () is a karst landscape and protected landscape area to the north of Brno in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It encompasses a number of notable geological features, including roughly 1100 caverns and gorges an ...
Protected Landscape Area.


History

Blansko was originally founded as a settlement on the right bank of the Svitava, today the local part called Staré Blansko ("Old Blansko"). It was located on an important trade route from
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
to the regions around
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
. The first written mention of Blansko is from 1136. It was the site of dispute between
Jindřich Zdík Jindřich Zdík (also anglicized as ''Henry Zdík''; – 1150 in Prague) was a Czech bishop and diplomat. He served as bishop of Olomouc from 1126 to 1150. He was a promoter of church reforms and is considered one of the most educated Czechs of ...
, the bishop of Olomouc, and Prince Wratislaus of Brno regarding the rights to construct a church in the village. From the end of the 14th century, a new settlement began to grow on the left bank, known as Nové Blansko ("New Blansko"), which later became the core of the modern town. Both parts developed administratively and economically independently until 1526, when they merged. In the late 16th century during the rule of the Žalkovský of Žalkovice family, Blansko was promoted to a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
. The family had rebuild the local Gothic fortress into a Renaissance residence. From 1698 the Gellhorn family owned the estate and founded here the first foundry and ironworks. In 1766, Blansko was bought by the Salm-Reifferscheidt family. They owned it until 1945. In the first half of the 19th century, the ironworks prospered and developed and the expansion of the production of artistic cast iron occurred. In 1849, the railway from
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
to
Česká Třebová Česká Třebová (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mon ...
was opened. In 1905,
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
granted Blansko the status of the town. In 1949, Blansko became the capital of
Blansko District Blansko District () is a Okres, district in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Blansko. Administrative division Blansko District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with exten ...
instead of Boskovice. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the town became the centre of the engineering industry and the population grew rapidly. As a result of new construction, most of the historic buildings disappeared.


Demographics


Economy

The largest industrial employers based in the town are Pyrotek CZ (
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
processor), ČKD Blansko (manufacturing of hydro machines, heavy-duty machining tools and mechanical engineering metallurgy, founded in 1950), and a branch of
Synthon In retrosynthetic analysis, a synthon is a hypothetical unit within a target molecule that represents a potential starting reagent in the retroactive synthesis of that target molecule. The term was coined in 1967 by E. J. Corey. He noted in 1988 ...
(producer of
generic drug A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active ch ...
s). The longest tradition has the still operating company Metra Blansko, manufacturer of electric measurement devices, which was founded in 1911.


Transport

There are no major roads passing through the municipal territory. There are two second class roads, II/379 (
Tišnov Tišnov (; ) is a town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,200 inhabitants. Administrative division Tišnov consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 cens ...
Vyškov Vyškov (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Vyškov consists of 13 mun ...
) and II/374 (Blansko– Jevíčko). Blansko is located on the railway line
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
.


Sport

The town's football club is FK Blansko. The club participated in the 2020–21 season of the Czech National Football League, but was immediately relegated.


Sights

The main sight is the Blansko Castle. The Renaissance castle was built in 1604–1605 by reconstruction of a Gothic fortress from the 14th century. Today it houses the Blansko Region Museum with exhibitions of
Moravian Karst The Moravian Karst () is a karst landscape and protected landscape area to the north of Brno in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It encompasses a number of notable geological features, including roughly 1100 caverns and gorges an ...
and its exploration, the tradition of the iron industry in Blansko and the production of artistic castings. The Church of Saint Martin was built in 1672–1691. It replaced an original Romanesque and later Gothic church from the 12th century. In 1707–1708, the church was reconstructed and a new tower was added. The tower is open to the public and serves as a lookout tower. The church has one of the oldest bell still extant in
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
. The wooden Church of Saint Paraskieva was built in
Carpathian Ruthenia Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast. From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...
in 1601–1641 and brought to Blansko in 1936. It is the oldest church of the Ruthenian Gothic type in the country. The Klamovka Ironworks is the last preserved foundry and ironworks from the 1850s. It is a typical example of the industrial architecture of the mid-19th century. The town hall from 1885 replaced an old wooden structure with a tower which originated from the 16th century. In 1904, the clock tower was completed.


Notable people

* Carl Reichenbach (1788–1869), chemist and metallurgist; invented
paraffin wax Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and melting poi ...
in Blansko *
Jindřich Wankel Jindřich Wankel ( German: Heinrich Wankel; 15 July 1821, Prague – 5 April 1897, Olomouc) was a Bohemian palaeontologist and archaeologist. Wankel was born to Damian Wankel, a clerk, and his wife Magdalena, née Schwarz, in a bilingual environm ...
(1821–1897), archaeologist and speleologist; lived and worked here *
Ludvík Daněk Ludvík Daněk (; 6 January 1937 – 16 November 1998) was a Czechoslovak discus thrower, who won the gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games with a throw of . Daněk was born in Blansko, and competed in four Summer Olympics for Czechoslovakia, ...
(1937–1998), discus thrower, Olympic champion *
Pavel Řezníček Pavel Řezníček (30 January 1942 – 19 September 2018) was a Czech people, Czech writer and surrealist poet. In addition to his writing career, he was also a translator from French, including works by Joyce Mansour, Ambroise Vollard, Benjamin ...
(1942–2018), writer and poet *
Karel Jarůšek Karel Jarůšek (born 2 December 1952) is a Czech Republic, Czech football (soccer), football manager and former player. As a player, Jarůšek played mostly for FC Zbrojovka Brno. In 1978, he won the Czechoslovak First League with Zbrojovka. Fr ...
(born 1952), football player and manager * Roman Meluzín (born 1972), ice hockey player * Filip Král (born 1999), ice hockey player


Twin towns – sister cities

Blansko is twinned with: *
Komárno Komárno (, , ), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom'', ''Öregkomárom'', ''Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the "old ...
, Slovakia *
Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...
, Poland *
Mürzzuschlag Mürzzuschlag () is a town in northeastern Styria, Austria, the capital of the former Mürzzuschlag District. It is located on the Mürz river near the Semmering Pass, the border with the state of Lower Austria, about southwest of Vienna. The ...
, Austria *
Scandiano Scandiano ( Reggiano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, in the northeast part of the country of Italy, near the city of Reggio nell'Emilia and the Secchia river. It had a population of 25,663 as of 31 December 2016. History The cu ...
, Italy


References


External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Blansko District