Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the

Sedlec Abbey Sedlec Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, part of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1142, it was the first Cistercian foundation in Bohemia. Along with the rest of the Kutná Hora town centre, it was listed as a UNESCO ...

and its ossuary, was designated a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 1995 because of its outstanding architecture and its influence on subsequent architectural developments in other Central European city centres. Since 1961, the town centre is also protected by law as an urban monument reservation, the fourth largest in the country.

Administrative parts

The town is made up of twelve town parts and villages: *Kutná Hora-Vnitřní Město *Hlouška *Kaňk *Karlov *Malín *Neškaredice *Perštejnec *Poličany *Sedlec *Šipší *Vrchlice *Žižkov

Geography

Kutná Hora is located about east of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. It lies on the Vrchlice stream. The eastern part of the municipal territory lies in a flat agricultural landscape of the Central Elbe Table lowland. The western part lies in the

Upper Sázava Hills Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found f ...

and includes the highest point of Kutná Hora, the hill Malý Kuklík at .

History

Bronze Age and Iron Age

Archaeological finds show that the area around the Kaňk hill was populated by

Celts The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

during the

Hallstatt Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...

and La Tène periods. At the Celtic settlement site between

Libenice Libenice (german: Libenitz) is a municipality and village in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants. Etymology The name is derived from the personal name Ljuben, who was probably a local ...

and Kaňk, numerous ceramic finds from the 5th–1st century BC were discovered in 1981. One of the most important finds is a smelting furnace with 10 kg of slag from the 2nd–1st century BC with traces of pyrrhotine, chalcopyrite,

sphalerite Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in sedimentary exhalative, Mississippi-V ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

, which also testify to early underground mining in the Kaňk hill.

Establishment

The earliest traces of silver have been found dating back to the 10th century, when Bohemia already had been in the crossroads of long-distance trade for many centuries. Silver

dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin ...

s have been discovered belonging to the period between 982 and 995 in the settlement of Malín, which is now a part of Kutná Hora. The town began in 1142 with the settlement of

, the first

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

monastery in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. The Cistercian order based in the Sedlec Monastery was brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, close to the border with the Czech Republic. By 1260, German miners began to mine for

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

in the mountain region, which they named Kuttenberg, and which was part of the monastery property. The name of the mountain is said to have derived from the monks' cowls (the ''Kutten'') or from the word mining (''kutání'' in old Czech).

Middle Ages

From the 13th to 16th centuries, the town competed with

economically, culturally, and politically. Under Abbot , the territory greatly advanced due to the silver mines which gained importance during the economic boom of the 13th century. In 1300, King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia issued the new royal mining code ' (also known as ''Constitutiones Iuris Metallici Wenceslai II''). This was a legal document that specified all administrative as well as technical terms and conditions necessary for the operation of mines.

Prague groschen The Prague groschen ( cz, pražský groš, la, grossi pragenses, german: Prager Groschen, pl, grosz praski) was a groschen-type silver coin that was issued by Wenceslaus II of Bohemia since 1300 in the Kingdom of Bohemia and became very commo ...

were minted between 1300 and 1547/48. In December 1402, the town was sacked by King Sigismund after the imprisonment of

Wenceslaus IV Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; cs, Václav; german: Wenzel, nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he ...

. It was heavily defended by its residents. After several bloody skirmishes, Sigismund prevailed and forced the defenders to march to Kolín and kneel in subjugation. Although Sigismund was successful in his conquest, his hetman Markvart of Úlice died after being struck by an arrow during the siege on 27 December. The town developed with great rapidity, and at the outbreak of the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, Eur ...

in 1419 was the second most important town in Bohemia after

, having become the favourite residence of several Bohemian kings. It was here that, on 18 January 1409, Wenceslaus IV signed the famous Decree of Kutná Hora, by which the Czech university nation was given three votes in the elections to the faculty of

Prague University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , underg ...

as against one for the three other nations. In 1420, Sigismund made the town the base for his unsuccessful attack on the Taborites during the Hussite Wars, leading to the

Battle of Kutná Hora The Battle of Kutná Hora ( Kuttenberg) was an early battle and subsequent campaign in the Hussite Wars, fought on 21 December 1421 between German and Hungarian troops of the Holy Roman Empire and the Hussites, an early ecclesiastical reformist ...

. Kutná Hora was taken by Jan Žižka, and after a temporary reconciliation of the warring parties was burned by the

imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

troops in 1422, to prevent its falling again into the hands of the Taborites. Žižka nonetheless took the place, and under Bohemian auspices it awoke to a new period of prosperity.

Modern era

Along with the rest of Bohemia, Kuttenberg (Kutná Hora) passed to the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1526. In 1546, the richest mine was severely flooded. In the insurrection of Bohemia against Ferdinand I the town lost all its privileges. Repeated visitations of the plague and the horrors of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

completed its ruin. Half-hearted attempts after the peace to repair the ruined mines failed; the town became impoverished, and in 1770 was devastated by fire. The mines were abandoned at the end of the 18th century. In May 1742 during the First Silesian War, a Prussian force under

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

stopped in the town prior to the Battle of Chotusitz. Bohemia was a crownland of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

in 1806, and remained controlled by the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

. Until 1918, Kuttenberg was the capital of the district of the same name, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in

. Together with the rest of Bohemia, the town became part of the newly founded

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the collapse of Austria-Hungary. Kutná Hora was incorporated into the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in the period 1939–1945, but was restored to Czechoslovakia after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The town became part of the Czech Republic in 1993, after the

dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries ...

Demographics

Sights

Sedlec is the site of the Gothic Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist and the famous Sedlec Ossuary. It is estimated that the ossuary is decorated with bones of more than 40,000 skeletons. Among the most important buildings in the town are the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

, five-naved St. Barbara's Church, begun in 1388, and the Italian Court, formerly a royal residence and mint, which was built at the end of the 13th century. The Gothic Stone House, which since 1902 has served as a museum of silver, contains one of the richest archives in the country. The

Church of Saint James the Great, with its tower, is another prominent building. Other sights include: *Jesuit College *

Plague Column Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

*Church of St. John of Nepomuk *Church of Saint Ursula's Convent *Church of Saint Stephan in Malín

Notable people

* Bohuslav Bílejovský (c. 1480–1555), historian and theologian * Jakob Jakobeus (1591–1645), Slovak writer *

Václav Bernard Ambrosi Wenzel Bernhard Ambrozy (2 July 1723 – 26 April 1806) was a Czech painter. Ambrozy, who was born at Kuttenberg, in Bohemia, in 1723, received instruction in art at Prague from his brother Joseph, who was a miniature painter. He was court paint ...

(1723–1806), painter * Jan Erazim Vocel (1803–1871), poet, archaeologist and historian *

Josef Kajetán Tyl Josef Kajetán Tyl (4 February 180811 July 1856; ) was a significant Czech dramatist, writer, and actor. He was a notable figure in the Czech National Revival movement and is best known as the author of the current national anthem of the Czech R ...

(1808–1856), dramatist and writer, author of the national anthem * Antonín Lhota (1812–1905), painter and art teacher * Felix Jenewein (1857–1905), painter and illustrator *

Gabriela Preissová Gabriela Preissová, née Gabriela Sekerová, sometimes used pen name Matylda Dumontová (23 March 1862 in Kutná Hora – 27 March 1946 in Prague), was a Czechoslovakia, Czech writer and playwright. Her play ''Její pastorkyňa'' was the basis f ...

(1862–1946), writer and playwright * Emanuel Viktor Voska (1875–1960), intelligence agency officer * Karel Domin (1882–1953), botanist and politician *

Jaroslav Vojta Jaroslav Vojta (27 December 1888 – 20 April 1970) was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1921 and 1970. Selected filmography * ''Karel Havlíček Borovský'' (1925) * '' The Lantern'' (1925) * '' Hraběn ...

(1888–1970), actor * Vera Prasilova Scott (1899–1996), Czech-American photographer and sculptor * František Zelenka (1904–1944), architect, graphic, stage set and costume designer * Jiří Orten (1919–1941), poet * Zbyněk Zbyslav Stránský (1926–2016), museologist *

Radka Denemarková Radka Denemarková (born 14 March 1968 in Kutná Hora) is a Czech novelist, dramatist, TV screenplay writer, translator, essayist. Denemarková is the only Czech writer who has received Magnesia Litera Award four times (in different categories � ...

(born 1968), writer and translator * Alena Mills (born 1990), ice hockey player

Twin towns – sister cities

Kutná Hora is twinned with: * Bingen am Rhein, Germany * Eger, Hungary * Fidenza, Italy *

Jajce Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, wit ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina *

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

, Ukraine *

Kremnica Kremnica (; german: Kremnitz, hu, Körmöcbánya) is a town in central Slovakia. It has around 5,300 inhabitants. The well-preserved medieval town built above important gold mines is the site of the oldest still-working mint in the world. Name ...

, Slovakia *

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

, France * Ringsted, Denmark * Stamford, England, United Kingdom * Tarnowskie Góry, Poland

Gallery

KUTNA HORA (js) 16.jpg, St. Barbara street along Jesuit College KUTNA HORA (js) 11.jpg, St. Barbara's Church Kostnice Sedlec.JPG, Sedlec Ossuary Klášter cisterciácký, s omezením bez budovy jídelny (Sedlec).jpg, Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist Kutna Hora CZ St James Church 08.jpg, Church of Saint James the Great Kutna Hora bd memorial.JPG,

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

memorial Ursuline monastery, Kurna Hora.jpg, Church of Saint Ursula's Convent Kutna Hora CZ main square.JPG, Palackého Square

References

External links

*
Photo Gallery of Kutná Hora and Travel Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kutna Hora World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Kutná Hora District Mining communities in the Czech Republic