Sloup is a market town in

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 ...

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 1,000 inhabitants.

Geography

Sloup is located about northeast of

Blansko Blansko (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the Moravian Karst. It is mainly an industrial town. Administrative division Blansko consi ...

and 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 Bučí at above sea level. Sloup lies on the northern 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 ...

Protected Landscape Area. In the municipality is located part of the ''Sloupsko-šošůvské jeskyně'' Nature Reserve ("Sloup-Šošůvka Caves").

History

The first written mention of Sloup is from 1373. The estate often changed hands; the most notable owners were the

Pernštejn family The House of Pernštejn () was one of the oldest and most important (uradel) families originating from Moravian nobility, along with the House of Rosenberg, that played an important role in the medieval history of Bohemian nobility from the 13th ...

in the first half of the 16th century. At the end of the 16th century, Sloup became part of the Rájec estate, which lasted until the establishment of a separate municipality in 1848. In 1862, Sloup 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 ...

Demographics

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipal territory.

Sights

The main landmark of Sloup is the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. The church was built in the Baroque style in 1751–1754. It is an important regional Marian pilgrimage site, connected with a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows. The cave system is the largest accessible cave system in the country. Its part, which is located in the municipal territory, includes the Kůlna Cave, which became a remarkable European

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

site since the 1880s.

References

External links

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