Kunštát (; german: Kunstadt) is a town in Blansko District in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...

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 2,800 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Hluboké u Kunštátu, Rudka, Sychotín, Touboř and Újezd are administrative parts of Kunštát.

Geography

Kunštát is located about northwest of

Blansko Blansko (; german: Blanz) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the Moravian Karst. It is mainly an industrial town. Administrative parts Vil ...

and north of

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. It lies in the

Upper Svratka Highlands The Upper Svratka Highlands ( cs, Hornosvratecká vrchovina, german: Hohe Schwarza Bergeland) is a mountain range in Moravia, Czech Republic. The Highlands, together with the Křižanov Highlands threshold, form the Western-Moravian part of Moldan ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The Petrůvka stream flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Kunštát is from 1279, when the owned of the manor and the builder of the castle was Kuna and the settlement was named after him. Lords of Kunštát held the manor until 1521. The most famous of the family was King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

, who was the owner of Kunštát manor from 1427 to 1464. In 1678, the manor was bought by the Counts of Lamberg. The Lambergs had the

Kunštát Castle The Kunštát Castle is a castle in Kunštát in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. History The castle is located on the site of a former Romanesque castle, first mentioned in 1279. The castle was founded not later than in the mid-13 ...

rebuilt into an early Baroque representative family residence. The free lords of Honrichs of Wolfswarffen owned the manor from 1783 to 1901 and made a Neoclassical modification of the castle. The last noble holders of the town were in 1901–1945 Counts Coudenhove-Honrichs. In 1994, Kunštát became a town.

Demographics

Economy

Kunštát has a long tradition of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

which began soon after establishment of the town. A potters guild was set up in 1620, joining together ten local potters. The craft reached its peak in the 19th century. Pottery fairs are held in the town since 1993. Today, private workshops hold the tradition.

Sights

The

is the main sight of the town. The original Romanesque-Gothic castle from the mid-13th century was rebuilt in the 16th and 17th centuries into the current form. It has preserved parts of all construction periods and is one of the oldest aristocratic castles in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

. The castle complex is surrounded by a park and garden. Unique is the dog cemetery located next to the castle. The Church of Saint Stanislaus Church is the landmark of the town centre. It was originally built in the 15th century and was rebuilt in 1687. Other sights on the square are a statue of

from 1885, a Baroque house from 1756, and the rectory from the late 18th century. The second church in the town is the cemetery Church of the Holy Spirit, which was built before 1670 and rebuilt in 1738. In the local part of Rudka on the slope of Milenka hill is a complex with Burian observation tower and Blaník Knights Cave. It is a sandstone cave and underground gallery. Statues of the Knights of Blaník, including the statue of St. Wenceslaus, were created in the cave. The landmark of the complex was a high statue of

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdych ( ...

, but was destroyed during the World War II and only shoes are preserved.

Notable people

František Halas František Halas (3 October 1901 in Brno – 27 October 1949 in Prague) was one of the most significant Czech lyric poets of the 20th century, an essayist, and a translator. Life Born as the son of textile worker, Halas worked as bookseller ...

(1901–1949), poet; lived here and is buried here *

Ludvík Kundera Ludvík Kundera (22 March 1920 – 17 August 2010) was a Czech writer, translator, poet, playwright, editor and literary historian. He was a notable exponent of the Czech avant-garde literature and a prolific translator of German authors. In 20 ...

(1920–2010), poet, dramatist and translator

Gallery

Zámek Kunštát, okres Blansko (14).jpg, View of the town Městský úřad, Kunštát, okres Blansko.jpg, Town hall Kunštát - náměstí.jpg, Fountains on Krále Jiřího Square Socha Jiřího z Poděbrad, Kunštát, okres Blansko.jpg, Statue of George of Poděbrady

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunstat Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Blansko District