Nová Bystřice (, german: Neubistritz) is a town in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,200 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages and hamlets of Albeř, Artolec, Blato, Hradiště, Hůrky, Klášter, Klenová, Nový Vojířov, Ovčárna, Senotín, Skalka and Smrčná are administrative parts of Nová Bystřice.

Geography

Nová Bystřice is located about southeast of Jindřichův Hradec. It lies on the border with Austria, close to Austria's northernmost point near

Haugschlag Haugschlag is a municipality in the district of Gmünd in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography It is Austria's northernmost municipality, located in the Waldviertel region close to the Czech border. It comprises the Katastralgemeinde ...

. Nová Bystřice lies in the

Javořice Highlands The Javořice Highlands ( cs, Javořická vrchovina, german: Jaborschützer Bergeland) is a mountain range in the Czech Republic. The highlands, together with the Jevišovice Highlands threshold, form the Western-Moravian part of Moldanubian Zon ...

. Most of the municipal territory lies in the nature park called Bohemian Canada. The highest point of the territory is the hill Kunějovský vrch with above sea level. There are several

fish pond A fish pond or fishpond is a controlled pond, small artificial lake or retention basin that is stocked with fish and is used in aquaculture for fish farming, for recreational fishing, or for ornamental purposes. Fish ponds are a classical g ...

s in the area, the largest of them is Osika with an area of .

History

The first written mention of Nová Bystřice is from 1175 when the area was colonized by Knights Hospitaller of the Mailberg commandry, at the behest of the Nuremberg burgrave

Conrad II of Raabs Conrad II of Raabs ( – ) was from about 1160 until his death Burgrave of the medieval Burgraviate of Nuremberg. Life Conrad was a count of Raabs, a family of edelfrei nobility, named after their first castle, Burg Raabs an der Thaya in ...

. From the 13th to 16th century, Bystřice was a part of

Landštejn Castle Landštejn Castle ( cs, hrad Landštejn) is a 13th-century castle in Staré Město pod Landštejnem in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The first written record of the castle is from 1231, at whic ...

estate. With Conrad's death in 1191, the Raabs dynasty became extinct and in 1260 the estates were finally enfeoffed to the Rosenberg family by

Margaret of Babenberg Margaret of Austria (german: Margarethe von Österreich; – 29 October 1266), a member of the House of Babenberg, was German queen from 1225 until 1235, by her first marriage with King Henry (VII), and Queen of Bohemia from 1253 to 1260, ...

, consort of King Ottokar II of Bohemia. When Ottokar was disseized by King Rudolf I of Germany in 1276, the estates became the personal dominion of Rudolf's daughter Judith of Habsburg, who later became Bohemian Queen. During the reign of

John of Bohemia John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...

it became a market town. Around the same time it suffered from great famine. The town was burned down by Jan Žižka in 1420. It was rebuilt and since then it has been called Nová ("New") Bystřice. In July 1533 a group of religious reformers killed 40 Catholic monks, along with other Catholics, and destroyed the monastery. In 1945 the German population was expelled according 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 ...

. During the

cold war The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

garrison was located in the town. The village of Mnich, part of Nová Bystřice, was abandoned in 1952 due to its vicinity to the border.

Economy

Textile industry was the traditional business activity, however the recent years saw a drop in the demand. ''Alma Nová Bystřice'' and ''Otavan'' factories finished their operations. A substantial number of residents work in the agricultural industry. People working in technical and administrative sector usually commute to Jindřichův Hradec. Increasing tourism is leading to the expansion of services (hotels, restaurants) in the town and is an important source of income, especially during summer months.

Transport

In Nová Bystřice is the road border crossing that leads to the village of Grametten. Nová Bystřice is the endpoint of a

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...

to Jindřichův Hradec operated by

Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy (''Jindřichův Hradec Local Railways'') is the company which operates the narrow gauge railway lines from Jindřichův Hradec to Nová Bystřice and Obrataň in the Czech Republic. Both lines are gauge. ...

. During the tourist season, the trains are powered by historic steam engines and offer various entertainment.

Sport

The Monachus golf resort, situated on the town's southwestern edge, is a major attraction for golfers. It consists of 18-hole championship course and nine-hole public golf academy.

Sights

The main landmark of the town square and whole town is Church of Saints Peter and Paul. It was built in 1335. Nová Bystřice Castle was built on the foundations of a Gothic castle from the 13th century. The eastern wing of today's castle with cellars with barrel vaults and a two-storey Renaissance arcade on the courtyard side have been preserved from the original castle. Today it is privately owned and inaccessible. The narrow-gauge railway is one of the main tourist attractions. In the railway station there is the Regional Narrow Gauge Museum. Veteran Museum is the largest museum of American pre-war cars in the Czech Republic.

Twin towns – sister cities

Nová Bystřice is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Heidenreichstein Heidenreichstein (; archaic cs, Kamýk) is a town in the district of Gmünd in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of ...

, Austria

References

External links

Official website

Narrow-gauge railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Bystrice Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Jindřichův Hradec District