Nové Hrady (České Budějovice District)

Nové Hrady (; german: Gratzen) is a town in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,500 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages of Byňov, Nakolice, Obora, Štiptoň, Údolí, Veveří and Vyšné are administrative parts of Nové Hrady.

Etmyology

The name literally means "new castles."

Geography

Nové Hrady is located about southeast of České Budějovice, on the Czech-Austrian border. It lies in the Gratzen Mountains ( cz, Novohradské Hory), which are named after the town. The highest peaks are Vyhlídka with above sea level and Veveří with , the highest point of the municipal territory overall is the border with Austria in the Gratzen Mountains with an altitude of about .

The town lies on the Stropnice river. The area is rich in fish ponds, the establishment of which has a long tradition here. The largest ponds are Byňovský with , Nakolický and Kachní.

History

The first written mention of Nové Hrady is from 1279. It was founded as a guard point at the entrance to the Kingdom of Bohemia, later an important manor house was established here, near which a settlement with a predominance of German-speaking population raised.

At the beginning of the 14th century, Nové Hrady was a property of Lords of Landštejn. In 1359, they sold the manor to the Rosenberg family, who significantly extended the manor. In 1368, Nové Hrady became a town with privileges similar to royal towns. In 1425, the town and the castle were conquered and burned down by Hussites. Nové Hrady recovered ten years later. In 1488, Vladislaus II gave the town new privileges and confirmed its coat of arms.

In 1589, during the rule of William of Rosenberg, the first glassworks was established and until the 19th century, many other were established. In the late 16th century, Jakub Krčín worked here and established new ponds. In 1611, Nové Hrady was inherited by Jan Jiří of Schwamberg. During the Thirty Years' War in 1619, the town was conquered, looted and burned down, but the castle survived. In 1620, Charles Bonaventure, Count of Bucquoy acquired the castle by negotiating, and the Nové Hrady manor was donated to him by Ferdinand II for his services. Since then until the revolution in 1848, Nové Hrady was owned by Lords of Bucquoy.

Sights

*Old Castle – of medieval origin, local museum with a memorial of Bucquoy family and a collection of glass from Bucquoy glassworks
*New Castle – late baroque building with French park
*Church of Saints Peter and Paul – with an old Bucquoy tomb (1648)
*Bucquoy Residence – built in 1635–1640, later bought by Mary Magdalene Bucquoy and changed in a town palace
*Monastery of the Charity – early baroque buildings, built for the Servite Order, between 1950 and 1989 housed by army, after 1990 renewed with help of German and Austrian donors
*Town hall – renaissance building
*Bucquoy Funeral Chapel – on the cemetery, houses 28 family tombs from the 19th and 20th centuries
*Terčino Valley – baroque park with a summer palace, renewed in 2016; a part of so-called "Bucquoy baroque landscape"

Notable people

*Johann Ritter von Oppolzer (1808–1871), physician
*Ignaz Kreidl (1869–1947), Austrian-American chemist and industrialist
*Robert Martinek (1889–1944), Austrian general
*Franz Schafranek (1930–1991), Austrian theatre director

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nove Hrady (Ceske Budejovice District)
Populated places in České Budějovice District
Cities and towns in the Czech Republic