Broumov (; german: Braunau) is a town in
Náchod District
Náchod District ( cs, okres Náchod) is a district ('' okres'') within Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is the town of Náchod.
Tourism
In the territory of Náchod District is the ''Kladsko Borderland Tour ...
in the
Hradec Králové Region
Hradec Králové Region ( cs, Královéhradecký kraj, ; pl, Kraj hradecki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec K ...
of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an
urban monument zone.
Administrative parts
Town parts and villages of Benešov, Kolonie 5. května, Nové Město, Olivětín, Poříčí, Rožmitál and Velká Ves are administrative parts of Broumov.
Etymology
The name is derived from the old personal Czech name Brum (also written as Brúm, Brun, Brún).
Geography
Broumov is located about northeast of
Náchod
Náchod (; german: Nachod) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It is known both as a tourist destination and centre of industry. The town centre with the castle complex is well preserved ...
and south of the Polish city of
Wałbrzych
Wałbrzych (; german: Waldenburg; szl, Wałbrzich; sli, label= Lower Silesian, Walmbrig or ''Walmbrich''; cs, Valbřich or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. From 1975–1998 it was the capital of W ...
. The municipal territory shortly borders
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
in the north. It lies in the
Broumov Highlands. The highest point is the hill Bobří vrch with an altitude of . The town is situated on the Stěnava River. The territory lies entirely in the
Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area
The Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area ( cs, Chráněná krajinná oblast Broumovsko, abbreviated CHKO Broumovsko) is a protected landscape area in Hradec Králové Region in the Czech Republic, on the border with Poland. It is named after the ...
.
History
13h–14th centuries
In 1213, King
Ottokar I of Bohemia
Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 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 (a ...
had granted the remote area around today's Broumov and
Police nad Metují to the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monks of
Břevnov Monastery
Břevnov Monastery ( cs, Břevnovský klášter, german: Stift Breunau) is a Benedictine archabbey in the Břevnov
Břevnov () is a district in the west of Prague, located in Prague 6. The district is home to the Břevnov Monastery (Czech: ''B ...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, who began to colonize the lands. The wooden Church of the Virgin Mary already stood here. Broumov was probably founded in 1255.
Broumov was first mentioned in 1256 and already referred to as a market village. It was a centre of trade, crafts and administration of the abbatial estates.
In 1275, the drapers in Broumov received from King
Ottokar II the privilege of producing and selling
cloth, and the production soon began to be exported. This laid the foundation for the textile industry in the region.
[
Many fires broke out and destroyed the original buildings except for the Church of the Virgin Mary and damaged the local castle. In 1305 and following years, the castle was largely rebuilt and extended by one of the abbots into a fortified monastery complex with an abbey and Church of Saint Adalbert.][ The town became the administrative centre of the abbey's manors. In 1348, it received privileges by King Charles IV similar to royal towns.][ From 1357 to 1380, the town walls were built.][
]
15th–18th centuriesy
The Broumov Monastery remained strongly tied to Břevnov Monastery
Břevnov Monastery ( cs, Břevnovský klášter, german: Stift Breunau) is a Benedictine archabbey in the Břevnov
Břevnov () is a district in the west of Prague, located in Prague 6. The district is home to the Břevnov Monastery (Czech: ''B ...
, from where the monks fled 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 1420 to Broumov. The town was besieged by Hussites, but never conquered. However, it suffered losses and had to invest heavily in strengthening the walls. During the 15th century, Broumov was affected by war conflicts over the Bohemian throne. In the 16th century, the cloth production flourished and until the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the town was known as one of the biggest Bohemian producers and exporters of this article. Thanks to the wealth, it was possible to carry out renaissance repairs and build stone houses after the great fire in 1549.[
It was incorporated into the ]Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
in 1526. During the Thirty Years' War, the town was damaged and looted several times. Thanks to good work of abbots between 1663 and 1738, the town recovered and reached econimical prosperity. Broumov again suffered in the Silesian Wars from 1740 onwards, when troops of the Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.
The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...
plundered it and upon the 1742 Treaty of Breslau
The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed on 11 June 1742 following long negotiations at the Silesian capital Wrocław (german: Breslau) by emissaries of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria and King Frederick II of Prussia ...
, the adjacent lands of Silesia and Kłodzko were cut off by the newly established Austro-Prussian border. The wars stopped most of the cloth manufactury.[
]
19th–20th centuries
With Bohemia, the town became part of the Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
in 1804 and the Cisleithania
Cisleithania, also ''Zisleithanien'' sl, Cislajtanija hu, Ciszlajtánia cs, Předlitavsko sk, Predlitavsko pl, Przedlitawia sh-Cyrl-Latn, Цислајтанија, Cislajtanija ro, Cisleithania uk, Цислейтанія, Tsysleitaniia it, Cislei ...
n (Austrian) side of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867. From 1868 it was the administrative seat of Braunau District, one of 94 districts in the Austrian Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...
. After the Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
of 1866, more than 400 citizens emigrated to Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, especially to Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, where the village of Nueva Braunau was established near Puerto Varas in 1875.
During the first half of the 19th century, the built-up area of the town stretched outside the town walls. In the late 19th century, the industrialization started and new factories were established. Textile factories have become the mainstay of the economy.[
Upon ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, Broumov with its predominantly German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
population became part of the new state of Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
according to the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
. After the Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Germany, the United Kingdom, French Third Republic, France, and Fa ...
, Broumov was occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in October 1938 and incorporated into the ''Regierungsbezirk Aussig'' of Reichsgau Sudetenland
The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the ''Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from Czechoslovakia according to the 30 September 1938 Munich Agreement. ...
. The Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
officially separated the Benedictine monasteries of Broumov and Břevnov the next year.
Pursuant to the Beneš decrees
The Beneš decrees, sk, Dekréty prezidenta republiky) and the Constitutional Decrees of the President of the Republic ( cz, Ústavní dekrety presidenta republiky, sk, Ústavné dekréty prezidenta republiky) were a series of laws drafted by t ...
, the German-speaking population was expelled, including the monastery's monks, who re-established the Braunau in Rohr Abbey Braunau in Rohr Abbey (Kloster Braunau in Rohr) is a Benedictine monastery, formerly Rohr Abbey, a monastery of the Augustinian Canons, in Rohr in Niederbayern in the district of Kelheim in Bavaria, Germany.
Rohr Abbey: First foundation
The monas ...
in Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
. The Broumov Monastery was finally abolished in 1950; after the Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
of 1989, the premises were restored by the country to Břevnov Monastery.
Demographics
Economy
The tradition of the textile industry continues to this day. The main employer in the town is the textile company Veba.
Sights
Broumov has preserved historical centre similar to Silesian towns with a large rectangular market square
The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.[Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...]
style to plans by Christoph Dientzenhofer, continued by his son, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer
Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer) (1 September 1689, Prague – 18 December 1751) was a Bohemian architect of the Baroque era. He was the fifth son of the German architect Christoph Dientzenhofer and the Bohemian-German ...
in 1728–1738. Today the monastery houses the regional museum. The monastery garden is also accessible. The monastery Church of Saint Adalbert from 1357 was baroquely rebuilt in 1684–1694.[
Besides the monastery church, there are four other significant churches in the town. The rarest is the wooden Church of the Virgin Mary. This cemetery church was founded at the latest in the early 13th century. It was rebuilt in 1450] or 1459[ after it was burnt down by the Hussites, and repaired in 1779. It is one of the oldest wooden sacral buildings in central Europe. The church is exceptional not only for its age, but also for its construction technique. It does not contain any nails and is formed by half-timbered structure made of massive oak beams. It includes a gallery with Renaissance and Empire tombstones.][
The Church of Saint Peter and Paul was first mentioned in 1258. The church was replaced by a stone building in the 14th century and it rebuilt in Baroque style in 1679–1680. The tower was added in 1682.][
The Church of Saint Wenceslaus was built in 1729 from designs made by K. I. Dientzenhofer. The Church of the Holy Spirit was first mentioned in the 14th century. The originally wooden church was replaced in 1689 by the current stone building.][
]
Notable people
*Julius Lippert
Julius Lippert (9 July 1895 – 30 June 1956) was a German politician in the Nazi Party.
Early life and World War I
Born in Basel, Switzerland, he became an extreme anti-Semite in his youth after reading the anti-Semitic philosophers Joseph ...
(1839–1909), historian
*Alois Jirásek
Alois Jirásek () (23 August 1851, Hronov, Kingdom of Bohemia – 12 March 1930, Prague) was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a high school history teacher in Litomyšl and later in Prague until his retirement in ...
(1851–1930), writer; attended school at Broumov Monastery
* Józef Kasparek (1915–2002), historian
*Amadeus Webersinke
Amadeus Webersinke (1920-2005) was a German pianist and organist.
Webersinke studied from at the Institut für Kirchenmusik in Leipzig with Karl Straube, Johann Nepomuk David, and Otto Weinreich (pianist), Otto Weinreich. He was a lecturer at t ...
(1920–2005), pianist
* Jiří Petr (1931–2014), agroscientist; attended school at Broumov
* Peter K. Vogt (born 1932), American molecular biologist and virologist
*Christian Feest
Christian Feest (born July 20, 1945) is an Austrian ethnologist and ethnohistorian.
Biography
Feest was born on July 20, 1945, in Broumov. He specializes in the Native Americans of eastern North America and the Northeastern United States and the ...
(born 1945), ethnologist
* Pavel Krmaš (born 1980), footballer
* Hynek Martinec (born 1980), Czech-British painter
* Tomáš Pöpperle (born 1984), ice hockey player
Twin towns – sister cities
Broumov is twinned with:
* Forchheim, Germany
* Nowa Ruda
Nowa Ruda ( cs, Nová Ruda, german: Neurode, szl, Nowŏ Ruda) is a town in south-western Poland near the Czech border, lying on the Włodzica river in the central Sudetes mountain range. it had 22,067 inhabitants. The town is located in Kłod ...
, Poland
References
External links
*
Broumov region official tourist portal
Broumov airport
{{authority control
Cities and towns in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Náchod District