Nová Včelnice (until 1950 Nový Etynk-Včelnice; ) is a town in

Jindřichův Hradec District Jindřichův Hradec District () is a Okres, district in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Jindřichův Hradec. Administrative division Jindřichův Hradec District is divided into three Districts of the Cz ...

in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

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 2,200 inhabitants.

Geography

Nová Včelnice is located about northeast of

Jindřichův Hradec Jindřichův Hradec (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urb ...

and northeast of

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

. It lies in the

Křemešník Highlands The Křemešník Highlands () are highlands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mainly in the Vysočina Region, but it also extends into the South Bohemian and Central Bohemian regions. With an area of , it i ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The Kamenice River flows through the town. There are several fishponds in the municipal territory.

History

The first written mention of Včelnice is from 1360. In 1649, the estate was bought by Spanish nobleman Bartholomew Paradys de la Saga. His wife Hypolity of Ladron had a chapel built nearby with a copy of a statuette of

Black Madonna The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Jungian scholar, San Begg publ ...

from

Altötting Altötting (, , in contrast to "Neuötting, New Ötting"; , ) is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, capital of the Altötting (district), district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in ...

. Her son had built 54 houses around the chapel and sold them to craftsmen. Thus, he turned a pilgrimage site into a large craft village named Neuötting/Nový Etynk. In the 18th century, Nový Etynk grew and guilds were founded. In 1786, the chapel was rebuilt into the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Nový Etynk-Včelnice 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 ...

in 1790 and to a town in 1884. In the 1930s, it lost the town title. In 1950, the market town was renamed to Nová Včelnice. The title of a town was returned to Nová Včelnice in 1998.

Demographics

Transport

The I/34 road (part of the

European route E551 E 551 is a European B class road in the Czech Republic, connecting České Budějovice and Humpolec. Route and E-road junctions * (on shared signage I 34) ** České Budějovice: , ** Humpolec: External links UN Economic Commission fo ...

, the section from

Pelhřimov Pelhřimov () is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monument reser ...

) passes next to the town. Kamenice nad Lipou is located on a

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...

leading from Jindřichův Hradec to

Obrataň Obrataň is a municipality and village in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants. Obrataň lies approximately west of Pelhřimov, west of Jihlava, and south-east of Prague. Administrativ ...

. It is operated by

Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy (''Jindřichův Hradec Local Railways'') was the company which Operated the narrow gauge railway lines from Jindřichův Hradec to Nová Bystřice and Obrataň in the Czech Republic. Both lines are gauge. H ...

company. It serves mostly as a tourist attraction.

Sights

The Nová Včelnice Castle was originally a medieval fortress, first mentioned in 1454. It was rebuilt into a Renaissance castle at the end of the 16th century. In 1693–1709, it was extended and rebuilt in the Baroque style. Today it is privately owned and inaccessible. A notable landmark of the town is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, dating from 1786. In Nová Včelnice is a Jewish cemetery, founded in 1800. It was used until World War II. It consists of about 120 preserved tombstones on an area of .

Notable people

Rudolf Hrušínský Rudolf Hrušínský (17 October 1920 – 13 April 1994) was a Czech actor. He was one of the most popular Czech actors. Many of his movies such as ''The Good Soldier Švejk'', '' The Cremator'' or '' Capricious Summer'' are considered classics of ...

(1920–1994), actor *

Luděk Munzar Luděk Munzar (20 March 1933 in Nová Včelnice – 26 January 2019 in Modřany, Prague) was a Czech actor. He appeared in the Czech New Wave film ''The Joke (film), The Joke'' (Jaromil Jireš, 1969) and starred in the film ''Poslední propadne ...

(1933–2019), actor *

Miloslav Topinka Miloslav Topinka (July 4, 1945, Nový Etynk near Jindřichův Hradec) is a Czech poet. He graduated from psychology at the Charles University. In 1968 he took part in the student Expedition Lambaréné as the expedition's psychologist. In 196 ...

(born 1945), poet and essayist

Twin towns – sister cities

Nová Včelnice is twinned with: *

Eggiwil Eggiwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Emmental (administrative district), Emmental in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. History Eggiwil is first mention ...

, Switzerland *

Neuötting Neuötting (, , in contrast to "Altötting, Old Ötting"; ) is a Town#Germany, town in the Altötting (district), district of Altötting, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Inn (river), Inn, 2 km north of Altötting, about 70&nb ...

, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Vcelnice Populated places in Jindřichův Hradec District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic