Uničov (; ) is a town in
Olomouc District
Olomouc District () is a district in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Olomouc.
Administrative division
Olomouc District is divided into four administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence: ...
in the
Olomouc Region
Olomouc Region (; , ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia (''Morava'') and in a small part of the historical region of Czech Silesia (''České Sl ...
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 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an
urban monument zone.
Administrative division
Uničov consists of nine municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
*Uničov (9,205)
*Benkov (204)
*Brníčko (338)
*Dětřichov (122)
*Dolní Sukolom (276)
*Horní Sukolom (119)
*Nová Dědina (112)
*Renoty (192)
*Střelice (396)
Etymology
The name Uničov is derived from the personal name Unič. At the beginning of the 13th century, a town was founded on the site of the original village, which is the cause of the Latin name ''Nova civitas'' and German name ''Neustadt'', both meaning 'New Town'. The German adjective ''Mährisch'' (i.e. '
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
n') was given in the 18th century to distinguish it from other places with the same name.
Geography
Uničov is located about northwest of
Olomouc
Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region.
Located on the Morava (rive ...
. It lies in a flat agricultural landscape of the
Upper Morava Valley
The Upper Morava Valley () is a lowland and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Olomouc and Zlín regions. Its name is derived from the Morava river that forms the axis of the territory.
Geomorphology
The Up ...
lowland. The
Oslava
The Oslava is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River. It flows through the Vysočina Region, Vysočina and South Moravian Region, South Moravian regions. At , it is the List of rivers of the Czech Rep ...
River flows through the town. The western tip of the municipal territory extends into the
Litovelské Pomoraví Protected Landscape Area.
History
Uničov is one of the seven royal Moravian towns. It was founded around 1213 by the Margrave
Vladislaus III, the brother of King
Ottokar I of Bohemia
Ottokar I (; 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (as hereditary) from ...
. It received
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...
in 1223 and was granted further privileges by Ottokar's successor King
Wenceslaus I in 1234. The town was to become a centre of ore and precious metal mining, but the deposits were not so plentiful. The town therefore reoriented itself to trade and crafts, and in 1327 it was fortified.
Until 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, a ...
, town administration of Uničov was controlled by German colonizers. In 1422,
Hussite
file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century
file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...
forces under the command of
Sigismund Korybut
Sigismund Korybut (; ; ; ; , 1395 – 1435 near Vilkmergė) was a duke and knight from the Korybut dynasty, best known as a military commander of the Hussite army and a governor of Bohemia and Prague during the Hussite Wars.
Sigismund was most ...
occupied the town and got rid of the German administration. After the accession of the Hussite king
George of Poděbrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...
in 1458, the town became a centre of the new confession until it fell to his rival
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
in 1479.
[
A part of the ]Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
from 1526, Uničov prospered until the Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years.
It was fought on 8 November 16 ...
in 1620. For participating in the Bohemian rebellion, the town was divested of its privileges by Emperor Ferdinand II and made a subject of the Austrian House of Liechtenstein
The House of Liechtenstein (), from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only Dynasty#Dynast, dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the thro ...
, a verdict that however was overruled a few years later.[
The citizens nevertheless suffered severely in the ]Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, when in 1642 the town was occupied by Swedish troops. In 1643, a large fire further damaged Uničov. The Swedes did not leave the town until 1650. The town recovered only slowly from the consequences of the war and had economic problems. Uničov became a small rural town.[
After the ]Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...
met here with the Prussian
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
king Frederick the Great
Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
in 1770, a rapprochement of the former enemies that would lead to the First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
two years later.[
After ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the remaining German population was expelled. In 1948, the construction of a large engineering plant began, which led to the migration of new residents to the town.[
]
Demographics
Economy
The main commercial activity of Uničov nowadays takes place at the engineering-metallurgical complex UNEX. This heavy engineering company is worldwide known for its production of bucket-wheel excavator
A bucket-wheel excavator (BWE) is a large heavy equipment machine used in surface mining.
Their primary function is that of a continuous digging machine in large-scale open-pit mining operations, removing thousands of tons of overburden a day. Wh ...
s.
Transport
Uničov lies on a railway line heading from Olomouc to Šumperk
Šumperk (; ) is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. It is an industrial town, but it also contains valuable historical and architectural monuments. The historic town centre is well preserved and i ...
.
Sights
The town hall is landmark of the town square, located in the middle of the square. It was built in the late 14th or early 15th century and originally served as a market house. The town hall was rebuilt several times and lost its Gothic character. Gradually a high tower and a chapel (now a ceremonial hall) were added. In the 19th century, it was rebuilt to its current pseudo-Renaissance form.
In the middle of the square is also a high Marian column
Marian may refer to:
People
* Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name
* Marian (surname), a list of people so named
Places
* Marian, Iran (disambiguation)
* Marian, Queensland, a town in Australia
* Marian, a village in toe c ...
, one of the most significant in Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
. It was completed in 1743.
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary comes from the first half of the 14th century. It is a significant example of Gothic and late Renaissance architecture. The church burned down a total of eight times and was therefore repaired and modified many times. it has two towers, one of them being octagonal.
The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a remnant of a Minorite
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest contem ...
monastery complex that was abolished in the 19th century. In addition to the baroque rebuilt part, the original gothic part is also visible. Today it serves as a concert hall.
''Vodní branka'' ("water gate") is an architecturally valuable Renaissance building that was part of the town fortifications and served as armory. Today it is the town museum.
Notable people
*Sigismund Albicus
Sigismund Albicus () (c.1360 – July 23, 1427) was a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Prague and a Moravian.
Albicus was born at Uničov, Moravia, and entered the University of Prague when quite young, taking his degree in medicine in 138 ...
(–1427), Archbishop of Prague
* Leopold Waber (1875–1945), Austrian lawyer and politician
* Petr Uličný (born 1950), football player and manager
*Jan Březina
Jan Březina (born 14 April 1954) is a Politics of the Czech Republic, Czech politician and Member of the European Parliament with KDU-ČSL, part of the European People's Party and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Researc ...
(born 1954), politician; served as Uničov mayor in 1995–1997
* Jan Hruška (born 1975), bicycle racer
* Lukáš Plšek (born 1983), ice hockey player
Twin towns – sister cities
Uničov is twinned with:
* Bieruń-Lędziny County
__NOTOC__
Bieruń-Lędziny County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in ...
, Poland
* Dubno
Dubno (, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the capital city, administrative center of Dubno Raion ...
, Ukraine
* Jelšava
Jelšava ( or ''Jelschau''; ; ) is a town and municipality in Revúca District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia.
Etymology
The name is derived from Slovak language, Slovak ''jelša'' (Alnus glutinosa, alder). ''Jelšava'' means "a place ...
, Slovakia
* Lędziny
Lędziny (; ; ) is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Outer town of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million which is located in the Silesian Highlands. The population of the town is 16,776 (2019).
It ...
, Poland
* Roccagorga, Italy
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unicov
Cities and towns in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Olomouc District