Milotice (german: Milotitz) is a municipality and village in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants.

Geography

Milotice is located about north of Hodonín and southeast of

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. It lies in a flat landscape of the

Lower Morava Valley The Lower Morava Valley ( cs, Dolnomoravský úval, Jihomoravská pánev; sk, Dolnomoravský úval; german: Nieder March Talsenke) is a geomorphological formation (special type of valley) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is formed by the ...

. In the eastern part of the municipality is located the Písečný pond, protected as a nature reserve.

History

The first written mention of Milotice is from 1341. A fortress in Milotice was first mentioned in 1360. During 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 Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

in 1427, the Hussites founded a fortified military camp around the fortress. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the village often changed its owners. The owners include lords of Moravany, lords of Kravaře, lords of Ojnice, lords of Zástřizly, the

Zierotin The House of Žerotín or House of Zierotin was a Czech noble family in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, one of the oldest and most illustrious noble families from Bohemia and Moravia. The family was first mentioned around the year 1200 as ''Bl ...

family, and Václav Hagvic of Biskupice. Thanks to income from viticulture and fish farming, it prospered. In 1586, Milotice was acquired by Bernard Ludwig Tovar of Enzesfeld. He had rebuilt the old water fortress into a Renaissance residence. Until 1648, Milotice changed owners very frequently, which led to a loss of its value. From 1648 to 1811, it was property of the Serényi noble family, then it was managed by female descendants of the house. In 1670, the corner towers and additional floor were added to the castle. From 1888 until 1945, the castle was owned by the Seilern-Aspang family. In 1945, the castle was confiscated from them by the state.

Demographics

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

The current appearance of the Milotice Castle is from the first half of the 18th century, when Baroque reconstructions were made. Today Milotice Castle is one of the main tourist destinations in the region. The castle includes a

French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the (), is a style of garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the ...

, which was partly changed to an English park in the early 19th century. The castle is protected as a national cultural monument. A notable landmark of Milotice is the Church of All Saints. It was built in the early Baroque style in 1697–1703. In 1787, the cemetery next the church was abolished and a wall was built around the church, which was decorated with a set of nine valuable Baroque statues of saints.

Geography

History

Demographics

Transport

Sights

Notable people

References

External links