Lomnice is a market town in

Brno-Country District Brno-Country District ( cs, okres Brno-venkov) is one of seven districts (''okres'') within South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative center is in the city of Brno. The most populated town of the district is Kuřim. The dist ...

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 1,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages of Brusná, Řepka and Veselí are administrative parts of Lomnice.

Geography

Lomnice lies about northwest of Brno. It is located 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 the hill Veselský chlum with an elevation of . The built-up area lies above the stream Besének, which flows across the municipal territory.

History

The first written mention of Lomnice is from 1265 or 1281. A church consecrated to Saints John the Baptist and Vitus was mentioned here in 1407. In the 15th century, the settlement developed and in 1502, it was first referred to as a market town. Until 1570, Lomnice was ruled by the Lords of Lomnice. Lomnice was inherited by the House of

Zierotin The House of Žerotín or House of Zierotin was a Czech noble family in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, one of the oldest and most illustrious noble families from Bohemia and Moravia. The family was first mentioned around the year 1200 as ''B ...

, who had rebuilt the Gothic castle from the 13th century into a Renaissance residence. In In 1571, the Jewish population in Lomnice was first documented. After the manor changed hands several times in the following decades, it was bought by Count Gabriel Serényi in 1662. His son František Gabriel Serényi reorganized the economy, had completely rebuilt the castle in the Baroque style, had a new planned urban concept laid down, and had a new large church and the town hall built. The Serényi family owned Lomnice until the abolishment of

manorialism Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes forti ...

. Properties of the Serényi family were confiscated in 1945.

Sights

Church of the Visitation of Our Lady is an early Baroque building from 1669–1683. It is an architectonically valuable example of the Baroque style 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 m ...

. The town hall is the second landmark of the square. It was built between 1669 and 1680. It has an advanced prismatic tower. In the middle of the town square is a Marian column from 1709. The castle in inaccessible to the public. It is surrounded by a castle forest, which is protected as a nature monument. The forest contains a unique neo-Gothic gazebo from the 19th century. The synagogue was built in 1792–1794. Today it serves cultural and educational purposes.

Notable people

Leo Eitinger Leo Eitinger (12 December 1912 – 15 October 1996) was a Norwegian psychiatrist, author and educator. He was a Holocaust survivor who studied the late-onset psychological trauma experienced by people who went through separation and psychologi ...

(1912–1996), Norwegian psychiatrist and author

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places in Brno-Country District Market towns in the Czech Republic