Horní Benešov (; until 1926 Benešov, german: Bennisch) is a town in

Bruntál District Bruntál District ( cs, okres Bruntál) is a district (''okres'') within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Bruntál, but the largest town is Krnov. Part of the district belongs to Moravia, while another part belongs to ...

in the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region ( cs, Moravskoslezský kraj; pl, Kraj morawsko-śląski; sk, Moravsko-sliezsky kraj) is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region ( cs, Ostravský ...

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 2,200 inhabitants. Horní Benešov has a long mining tradition.

Administrative parts

The village of Luhy is an administrative part of Horní Benešov.

Geography

Horní Benešov lies about east of

Bruntál Bruntál (; german: Freudenthal) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is located in the historical region of Czech Silesia. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected ...

and about west of

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital of ...

. It is located in the

Nízký Jeseník Nízký Jeseník (german: Niederes Gesenke, pl, Niski Jesionik) is a flat highland and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the east of the country in the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions. Nízký Jeseník is ...

mountain range.

History

The first written mention of Horní Benešov is from 1226, when it was a mining settlement. The silver mines were one of the oldest in

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands ( cs, České země ) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic since ...

. The town of Benešov was founded on the site of the settlement in 1253, and the town rights were confirmed in 1271 by King Ottokar II. The town was destroyed by a Hungarian invasion in 1474 and then during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

. The mining was in decline since 17th century. During the 19th and 20th centuries, economic development of Benešov was driven mostly by textile industry. According to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

administration census of 1910 the town had 3,826 inhabitants, 3,800 (99.9%) were German-speaking. Most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 3,766 (98.4%), followed by Protestants with 30 (0.8%) and the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

with 25 (0.6%). Before

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 ...

, the town was part of the

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

region. After World War I, the town was within the state of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and in 1926 was given its present name. From 1938 to 1945 Horní Benešov was annexed 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 ...

and administered as a part 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. ...

. After the war, the German population was expelled. In 1902–1914 and in 1951–1992, baryte was mined here.

Sights

The Church of Saint Catherine was built in the Neoclassical style in 1719. It has preserved elements from the original building from the 16th century.

Twin towns – sister cities

Horní Benešov is twinned with: *

Pszów Pszów (german: Pschow) is a town in Wodzisław County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 13,896 inhabitants (2019). It is located on ''Rybnik Plateau'' (''Płaskowyż Rybnicki''), in close vicinity to such cities, as Rybnik, Wodzisław Śląski ...

, Poland

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horni Benesov Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Bruntál District