Klatovy

Klatovy (; german: Klattau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Klatovy is made up of 30 administrative parts (5 town parts and 25 villages):

*Klatovy I
*Klatovy II
*Klatovy III
*Klatovy IV
*Klatovy V
*Beňovy
*Chaloupky
*Čínov
*Dehtín
*Dobrá Voda
*Drslavice
*Habartice
*Kal
*Kosmáčov
*Křištín
*Kvaslice
*Kydliny
*Lažánky
*Luby
*Otín
*Pihovice
*Sobětice
*Štěpánovice
*Střeziměř
*Tajanov
*Točník
*Tupadly
*Věckovice
*Vícenice
*Vítkovice

Habartice, Kvaslice and Vítkovice, and Dobrá Voda, Křištín and Střeziměř form two exclaves of the municipal territory.

Etymology

According to one theory, the name Klatovy was derived from the personal name Klát, meaning "Klát's (court)". The name Klát has then its origin in the Old Czech word ''klát'', which meant " stump" or "log". According to the second theory, the name Klatovy was derived directly from ''klát''.

Geography

Klatovy is located about south of Plzeň. It lies in the Švihov Highlands except for the two exclaves, which lie one in the Blatná Uplands and one in the Bohemian Forest Foothills. The highest point is the hill Boudovka at above sea level, located in the southern (Bohemian Forest Foothills) exclave. A dominant feature of the built-up area is the hill Hůrka (498 m).

The town is situated on the right bank of the Úhlava River. The Drnový Stream, a tributary of the Úhlava, flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Klatovy is from 1253, when it was a small settlement on a trade route from Bohemia to Bavaria. Between 1260 and 1263, a royal town was made from the settlement by Ottokar II of Bohemia. The town walls were built and between the 13th and 16th centuries were improved. Despite the Hussite Wars and a fire in 1464, which destroyed all the suburbs, the development of the town continued. At the beginning of the 16th century, Klatovy was one of the ten most important towns in Czech lands.

In the 16th century, Klatovy continued to flourish and many important buildings were built. But the town was damaged several fires, and the Thirty Years' War caused decline. In the mid-17th century, Jesuits came into the town and started not only building development, but also the development of education. However, in a fire in 1689 started by arsonists, all the Gothic and Renaissance monuments burned down.

In the 18th century, Klatovy became the administrative centre of the region. In the early 19th century, part of the fortifications were demolished and the town changed its architectural face. In the second half of the 19th century, Klatovy became the centre of cultural and social life. The development of trade was supported by the construction of new railway and road networks.

During World War II, Klatovy was occupied by Germany. The Germans operated a Gestapo prison in the town. In 1942, Klatovy was the centre of the resistance movement, which was harshly suppressed by the execution of 73 patriots in the Spálený Forest at the time of Reinhard Heydrich. In 1945, some parts of the town were badly damaged by bombing , and the railway station building was completely destroyed. Klatovy was liberated on 5 May 1945 by the US Army. The town's remaining German population was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.

Demographics

Economy

Historically, Klatovy is connected with the textile, leather, wood, engineering and food industries. Currently, the construction, woodworking and metalworking industries predominate. The largest employer in the town is a branch of the Rodenstock GmbH company, which manufactures spectacle lenses here. It has more than 1,000 employers.

Klatovy is famous for growing carnations. Since 1813, a large number of brightly colored varieties have been bred here, which successfully represented Klatovy at many world exhibitions.

Transport

Klatovy is a railway junction. The town has a direct connection with Prague and Plzeň. There are also regional railway lines to Železná Ruda, Domažlice and Horažďovice. The territory of Klatovy is served by five train stations.

Sport

The town's football club SK Klatovy 1898 is one of the oldest football clubs in the country. Nowadays it plays in the fourth tier of the Czech football system.

Klatovy is the starting point of the traditional ''Král Šumavy'' ("King of the Bohemian Forest") cycling marathon, which has been held since 1993.

Sights

The oldest part of the town surrounded by fragments of town walls is protected as an urban monument zone since 1992. The mains sights are:
*Black Tower, built in 1547–1557 as a watchtower, nowadays a lookout tower open to the public;
*Baroque Jesuit Pharmacy with equipment from the 17th century;
*Baroque Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and of Saint Ignatius, built in 1655–1679, with catacombs under the church;
*Baroque Church of Saint Lawrence built in 1694–1709;
*Gothic houses on the Míru Square;
*Town museum in an Art Nouveau building from 1905;
*Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity of Mary from the end of the 13th century.

Notable people

*Bohuslav Balbín (1621–1688), writer, historian, Jesuit
*Václav Matěj Kramerius (1753–1808), publisher, journalist and writer
* Josef Dobrovský (1753–1829), philologist, historian
* Franz Kiwisch von Rotterau (1814–1852), medical professor and gynaecological researcher
*Josef Hlávka (1831–1908), architect
* August Breisky (1832–1889), medical professor and gynaecological researcher
* Johann Brotan (1843–1918), Austrian mechanical engineer
* Karel Klostermann (1848–1923), writer
*Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853–1912), lyrical poet
* Josef Klička (1855–1937), organist, violinist and composer
* Lubor Niederle (1865–1944), founder of Czech archaeology
* Václav Fišer (born 1947), long jumper and triple jumper
* Ivana Sekyrová (born 1971), long-distance runner
* Petr Frydrych (born 1988), javelin thrower
* Tereza Krejčiříková (born 1996), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Klatovy is twinned with:
* Cham, Germany
* Poligny, France

Gallery

Klatovy (0004).jpg, Black Tower
Klatovy Bílá věž (1).jpg, White Tower
Klatovy vyhled.JPG, View to the southeast
Klatovy okresnidum.JPG, Town museum

References

External links

*
Art gallery Klatovy / Klenová castle

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Cities and towns in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Klatovy District