Znojmo (; ) is a town 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 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern

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 ...

and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The historic centre of Znojmo is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation.

Administrative division

Znojmo consists of nine municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Znojmo (26,634) *Derflice (114) *Kasárna (158) *Konice (383) *Mramotice (397) *Načeratice (340) *Oblekovice (1,299) *Popice (187) *Přímětice (4,224)

Etymology

The origin of the town's name is uncertain. According to the most likely theories, it was derived either from the Old Czech words ''znoj'' (i.e. 'heat') and ''znojný'' ('exposed to heat'), or from the personal name Znojem or Znojim.

Geography

Znojmo is located about southwest 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 ...

, near the border with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It lies mostly in the

Jevišovice Uplands Jevišovice () is a town in Znojmo District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urb ...

, with only a small part of the municipal territory in the south extending into the

Dyje–Svratka Valley The Dyje–Svratka Valley () is a valley and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the South Moravian Region. Its name is derived from the rivers Thaya (Dyje) and Svratka. Geomorphology The Dyje–Svratka Valley ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The town is situated mainly on a rock outcropping on the steep left bank of the

Thaya The Thaya (, ) is a river in the Czech Republic and Austria, a right tributary of the Morava (river), Morava River. It flows through the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic and through Lower Austria in Austria. It is formed by the conflue ...

River. The western part of the municipal territory lies within the

Podyjí National Park Podyjí National Park () is a Protected Areas of the Czech Republic#National Park, national park in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Adjacent to Austria's Thayatal National Park on the border, together they are referred to as the I ...

History

A settlement at the site possibly already existed during the time of the

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

n Empire in the 9th century, however, the main Great Moravian gord was situated on the hill across the Gránický brook. From about 1055,

Znojmo Castle Znojmo Castle is a castle in Znojmo in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. History The Znojmo Castle was initially a wooden structure built by the Přemyslid Duke Bretislav I, and completed around 1080. The structure was intended to ...

served as the residence of a Přemyslid principality within the Bohemian

March of Moravia The Margraviate of Moravia (; ) was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire and then Austria-Hungary, existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administered by a margrave in cooperation with a Landtag, provincial ...

and a strategically important outpost near the border with the Bavarian

March of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (; ) was a medieval frontier march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring oc ...

in the south. In 1101,

Luitpold of Znojmo Luitpold of Znojmo (, , ; died 15 MarchThe day of deth: Z ČECHORODU, PEŠINA; ''Mars Moravicus III.3'', p. 286. and NOVOTNÝ, V.; ''České dějiny I.2'', pp. 513–515 (+ footnote 15) 1112) was a Bohemian nobleman and a member of the Přemysl ...

, Duke of Moravia, built the

Rotunda of Saint Catherine The Rotunda of St. Catherine (), known as the Znojmo Rotunda (''Znojemská rotunda''), is a Romanesque rotunda located in Znojmo, Czech Republic. It is the town's most valuable monument, and features one of the oldest fresco compositions in th ...

in the castle. The Znojmo Castle was seized and demolished by Duke Vladislaus II of Bohemia in 1145. In 1190, Duke

Conrad II Conrad II (, – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdom ...

founded the Louka Monastery of the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

order at Znojmo. The first written mention of Znojmo is from 1226. The royal town of Znojmo was founded shortly before 1226 by 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 ...

on the plains in front of the rebuilt castle and was fortified. It was one of the first royal towns in

. At that time, the burghers were mainly German speaking, while the surrounding villages were Czech speaking. The town survived 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 ...

unscathed, when the

Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...

failed to capture the town, and prospered. In the 15th and 16th centuries, networks of burgher houses with a system of underground passages were built as a part of fortifications. The Renaissance and late Gothic houses are preserved to this day. The development ended with 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 ...

. Znojmo was conquered and ransacked repeatedly. It took over a hundred years for the town to recover. From the 19th century, Znojmo is best known as the site for the

Armistice of Znaim Following defeat at the Battle of Wagram, Archduke Charles retreated north into Bohemia hoping to regroup his battered forces. The French army had also suffered in the battle and did not give immediate pursuit. But two days after the battle, Na ...

concluded there on 12 July 1809 after the

Battle of Znaim Following defeat at the Battle of Wagram, Archduke Charles retreated north into Bohemia hoping to regroup his battered forces. The French army had also suffered in the battle and did not give immediate pursuit. But two days after the battle, Na ...

, following the decisive

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor of the French, Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian Empire, Austrian arm ...

, between Emperor Napoleon and the archduke Charles, which had taken place seven days earlier. Since the end of World War I, Znojmo was within the newly established state of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, except for 1938–1945 during the

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

occupation when it was administered as part of the

Reichsgau Niederdonau The Reichsgau Lower Danube (German: ''Reichsgau Niederdonau'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany consisting of areas in Lower Austria, Burgenland, southeastern parts of Bohemia, southern parts of Moravia, later expanded with Devín an ...

. The German population of the town was expelled after World War II according to the

Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees were a series of laws drafted by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II. They were issued by President Edvard Beneš fr ...

Demographics

Economy

Znojmo is famous for local production of

cucumbers The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Znojemská wine sub-region.

Transport

The I/38 (part of the

European route E59 European route E 59 is a north-south Class-A intermediate European route. It begins in Prague, Czech Republic, passes through Vienna, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia, ending near Zagreb, Croatia. The total length of the route is . The E59 larg ...

) from

Jihlava Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihla ...

to the Czech-Austrian border passes through Znojmo. It forks in the centre of Znojmo and connects the town with Brno as the I/53 road. There is a railway station with railway lines leading in three directions: to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in Austria, to

Břeclav Břeclav (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Located at the Czech-Austrian state border and near the Czech–Slovak state border, it is an important railway hub. Administrative divis ...

and to

Okříšky Okříšky () is a market town in Třebíč District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,000 inhabitants. Etymology According to one theory, the name is derived from the personal name Okřeša or Oskora. According to the ...

Culture

Znojmo is known for its Znojmo

Vintage In winemaking, vintage is the process of picking grapes to create wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine ...

Festival which takes place every September. The main attraction of the festival is the historical parade commemorating the visit of King

John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

to Znojmo in 1327. The annual Gherkin Feast is dedicated to tradition of growing

gherkin A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States, Canada and Australia and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, ...

s in the region.

Sport

1. SC Znojmo FK 1. SC Znojmo FK is a association football, football club from Znojmo in the Czech Republic. After the 2018–19 Czech National Football League, 2018–19 season, the club was relegated into the Moravian-Silesian Football League (third-level leagu ...

is a local football club competing in the

Moravian–Silesian Football League The Moravian-Silesian Football League (MSFL) () is one of the third level football leagues in the Czech Republic (the other is the Bohemian Football League) headquartered in Olomouc. The league comprises teams from the historic regions of Moravia ...

(third tier of the Czech football league system).

Orli Znojmo Orli Znojmo (in English Znojmo Eagles) is a Czech-based ice hockey team that currently plays in the 2nd Czech Republic Hockey League. The club Orli Znojmo is based in Znojmo and their home arena is Nevoga Arena. From 1999 to 2009, the club com ...

is an ice hockey club playing in the Czech 2nd Liga (third tier).

Sights

The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

Church of St. Nicholas and the late Gothic Town Hall tower are the most recognizable landmarks. The original church was founded in around 1100, and replaced by a new church gradually built from 1338 until the late 15th century. The town hall with its high tower was built in 1445–1448. Overlooking the

River valley, on the edge of the medieval city, is the

, which was founded by the Přemyslid dukes in the 11th century. The only remaining trace of this castle is the Romanesque

, the interior of which is covered with 11th-century

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es depicting scenes from the Bible and illustrating the life of

Přemysl the Ploughman Přemysl the Ploughman ( ''Přemysl Oráč''; English: Premysl, Przemysl or Primislaus) was the legendary husband of Libuše, and ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty, containing the line of princes (dukes) and kings which ruled in the Lands of t ...

. The rotunda is protected as a national cultural monument. Beneath the grounds of the old town, there is a vast labyrinth of connected passageways and cellars called the

Znojmo Catacombs The Znojmo Catacombs are a vast labyrinth of underground passageways, cellars and subcellars situated under the historic city of Znojmo, in the Czech Republic. They were initially developed for defensive purposes. Development of the cellars T ...

. This system was developed in the 14th and 15th centuries for defence purposes, and it contains wells, drainage, fireplaces, trap doors and escapeways that lead beyond the fortifications of the town. The catacombs are the largest system of underground corridors and cellars in the Czech Republic – they are almost long and up to 4 levels deep. The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel was probably built in the 12th century. It is the second most significant church in the town, after Church of Saint Nicholas. The church was first mentioned in 1226 and completely rebuilt in the late Gothic style in 1508. It is considered a monument of national importance. The Premonstratensian Louka Monastery is among the most valuable buildings in Znojmo. The monastery was founded in 1190, but the current monastery building was built in two phases in the years 1748–1756 and 1761–1778. Architecturally, it is a monument of transnational importance, protected as a national cultural monument. The monastery complex includes the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint Wenceslaus. It is originally a Romanesque basilica with a Gothic presbytery, which was rebuilt in the Baroque style at the end of the 17th century.

Notable people

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

(1368–1437), king of Bohemia; died here *

Prokop Diviš Prokop Diviš Premonstratensian, O.Praem. (; 26 March 1698 – 21 December 1765) was a Czech people, Czech canon regular, theologian and natural scientist. In an attempt to prevent thunderstorms from occurring, he inadvertently constructe ...

(1698–1765), inventor, catholic priest; served here in 1736–1741 *

Clement Mary Hofbauer Clement Mary Hofbauer (; ) (26 December 1751 – 15 March 1820) was a Moravian hermit and later a priest of the Redemptorist congregation. He established his congregation, founded in Italy, north of the Alps. For this he is considered a co-found ...

, C.Ss.R. (1751–1820),

Redemptorist The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

priest and saint; served here as an apprentice baker in 1767–1770 *

Charles Sealsfield Charles Sealsfield was the pseudonym of Austrian-American journalist Karl Anton Postl (3 March 1793 – 26 May 1864), an advocate for a German democracy. He lived in the United States from 1822 to 1826, and then again in 1828/1829. During a fin ...

(1793–1864), German-American writer and lawyer *

Hugo Lederer Hugo Lederer (16 November 1871 – 1 August 1940) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born German sculptor. Biography Lederer was born on 16 November 1871 in Znojmo. He studied in Dresden under sculptor John Schilling from 1890, then briefly ...

(1871–1940), sculptor *

Otte Wallish Otte Wallish (; 1906–1977) was a Czech–Jewish artist and émigré to Mandatory Palestine who established himself as a graphic designer and contributed to the symbolic self-representation of the newly-founded State of Israel as a Jewish stat ...

(1903–1977), Israeli graphic designer *

Anna Spitzmüller Anna Spitzmüller (September 6, 1903 – September 25, 2001) was an Austrian art historian, curator, and educator. She taught art history to generations of American college students through the Austro-American Institute of Education. Early life S ...

(1903–2001), art historian and curator *

Edith Körner Edith Körner, CBE (10 July 1921 – 17 August 2000) was a British magistrate and reformer of the National Health Service. She was the wife of the philosopher Stephan Körner and mother of the mathematician Thomas Körner and the biochemist, w ...

(1921–2000), British magistrate * Franz Woidich (1921–2004), German fighter pilot *

Petr Rosol Petr Rosol (born June 20, 1964) is a Czech former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the 1992 Olympic ice hockey for Czechoslovakia where he won a bronze medal. He was drafted 75th overall by the Calgary Flames The Calgary Fl ...

(born 1964), ice hockey player *

Jitka Schneiderová Jitka Schneiderová (born 23 March 1973) is a Czech film, television and stage actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the ...

(born 1973), actress *

Květoslav Svoboda Květoslav Svoboda () (born 25 August 1982 in Znojmo) is an Olympic freestyle swimmer from the Czech Republic. He swam for the Czech Republic at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics.Michal Ordoš Michal Ordoš (born 27 January 1983) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for FK Blansko. Club career Ordoš is a prolific goalscorer. In the 2008–09 season, he scored nine goals. In the 2009-2010 season Ordoš score ...

(born 1983), footballer *

Jiří Orság Jiří Orság (; born 5 January 1989 in Znojmo) is a Czech Republic, Czech weightlifter. Career In 2014 Orság was sanctioned for the use of Tamoxifen. After the sanction he stopped training for 6 months; during this time he began a differe ...

(born 1989), weightlifter *

Andrea Stašková Andrea Stašková (born 12 May 2000) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Czech Republic women's national team. Club career Stašková was voted talent of the year at the 2017 and 2018 Czech Footballer of the Ye ...

(born 2000), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Znojmo is twinned with: *

Chrudim Chrudim () is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest town of the region. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#M ...

, Czech Republic *

Nové Zámky Nové Zámky (; ) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km fr ...

, Slovakia *

Pontassieve Pontassieve is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about east of Florence, nearby Fiesole, at the confluence of the Arno and Sieve rivers. History The first rulers of the are ...

, Italy * Povo (Trento), Italy *

Retz Retz is a town with a population of 4,168 in the Hollabrunn District in Lower Austria, Austria. Geography Retz is located in the north western Weinviertel in Lower Austria. The municipality's area covers 45,01 km2. 11.83 percent of this a ...

, Austria * Ružinov (Bratislava), Slovakia *

Strzegom Strzegom () is a town in Świdnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the Gmina Strzegom administrative district (gmina). It lies approximately north-west of Świdnica, and west of the regional capit ...

, Poland *

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies first met near ...

, Germany * Villazzano (Trento), Italy

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places in Znojmo District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic 1226 establishments in Europe