Kladruby nad Labem is a municipality and village in

Pardubice District Pardubice District ( cs, okres Pardubice) is a district (''okres'') within the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Pardubice. Overview Pardubice District is the smallest district of the region but has the highest po ...

in the

Pardubice Region Pardubice Region ( cs, Pardubický kraj; , ; pl, Kraj pardubicki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It ...

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 600 inhabitants. It is known as the home of the

Kladruber The Kladruber (Czech ''Starokladrubský kůň'') is the oldest Czech horse breed and one of the world's oldest horse breeds. It is considered very rare. The chief breeder and the keeper of the studbook is the National Stud at Kladruby nad La ...

horse breed. The village with the surrounding landscape is a UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Administrative parts

Villages of Bílé Vchynice, Kolesa and Komárov are administrative parts of Kladruby nad Labem.

Geography

Kladruby nad Labem is located about west of

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

. It lies in the

East Elbe Table East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

, in the

Polabí Polabí (german: Elbeland) is the traditional and informal name for a lowlands region located mainly in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Etymology The name comes from Czech ''po Labi'', meaning "along the Elbe". The same linguist ...

region. The river

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

forms the southern municipal border. The Strašovský Stream flows through the municipality.

History

Kladruby nad Labem was first mentioned in 1295 as the property 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 of the Catholic Church ...

monastery at

Litomyšl Litomyšl (; german: Leitomischl) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,900 inhabitants. It is former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see. Litomyšl is known for the château-type castle c ...

. During the second half of the 14th century, it came into the possession of the Cistercian

Sedlec Abbey Sedlec Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, part of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1142, it was the first Cistercian foundation in Bohemia. Along with the rest of the Kutná Hora town centre, it was listed as a UNES ...

near

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...

. In 1500, the village was acquired by

Vilém II of Pernštejn Vilém II of Pernštejn (german: Wilhelm II. von Pernstein or ''Wilhelm II. von Bernstein'', cs, Vilém II. z Pernštejna or ''Vilém z Pernštejna a na Helfštejně''; 1438 – 8 April 1521) was a Czech nobleman. He held the office of High Tre ...

, who already owned large parts of the

region. Kladruby remained in possession of the

Pernštejn family The Pernštejn (german: Pernstein) was one of the seven Moravian dynasty families and the most important (uradel) family originating from Moravian nobility. The first mentioned member of House of Pernštejn lived in the 13th century. They took th ...

until 1560, when it was purchased by Emperor Ferdinand I from his master of the horse, Jaroslav of Pernštejn. In 1579, Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...

established the Imperial Stud at Kladruby, from which Spanish-blood horses were bred for ceremonial purposes. Following the fall of the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

monarchy in 1918, the stud farm at Kladruby came under state administration.

Sights

On 6 July 2019, the Landscape for Breeding and Training of Ceremonial Carriage Horses at Kladruby nad Labem was inscribed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The site includes the villages of Kladruby nad Labem and Selmice, the Imperial Stud Farm, and the surrounding farmsteads, gardens, pastures, and watercourses. The landscape was uniquely designed in the 16th and 17th centuries to effectively breed and train the Kladruber horses. In addition, the area demonstrates an outstanding example of the

ferme ornée The term ''ferme ornée'' as used in English garden history derives from Stephen Switzer's term for 'ornamental farm'. It describes a country estate laid out partly according to aesthetic principles and partly for farming. During the eighteenth ce ...

style of landscape architecture made popular in the 18th century.

Notable people

Gottlieb Polak Gottlieb Polak (13 January 1883 in Kladruby nad Labem – 5 July 1942 in Vienna) was Chief Rider and Riding Master of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during the 1930s, serving until his death in 1942. Polak was a multitalented individual who p ...

(1883–1942), horse rider

References

External links

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Landscape for Breeding and Training of Ceremonial Carriage Horses at Kladruby nad Labem
{{authority control Villages in Pardubice District World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic