Opatovice 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 2,800 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

The village of Pohřebačka is an administrative part of Opatovice nad Labem.

Etymology

The name Opatovice is derived from ''opatství'', i.e. "abbey". It indicated a village in the vicinity of the monastery that was founded here.

Geography

Opatovice nad Labem is located about north 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 ...

and south of

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; german: Königgrätz) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

. It lies in a flat landscape of 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 Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

lowland. It is situated on the right bank of the

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 ...

river. There are several flooded

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

used for recreational purposes. The largest of them is Opaťák in the northern part of the municipality. The Opatovice Canal flows through the village. It was built in the 15th century to supply the large pond system and is a cultural technical monument. Today it is long.

History

Archaeological research confirmed that mild climate and fertile surroundings of the Elbe had been exploited by ancient peoples. The first written mention of Opatovice nad Labem is from 1073, when Benedictine monks founded here a monastery. The Opatovice Monastery was finished in 1086 and existed until 1421, when it was burned down by the

Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hussit ...

. In the 15th century, the village was shortly owned by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek and by

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 ...

, and in 1491, it was acquired by 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 ...

. The Pernštejns built here the first

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

on the Elbe and the Opatovice Canal to feed the system of breeding

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 1560, however, they lost the manor for financial reasons and it was acquired by the royal chamber. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, Opatovice was looted by the

Swedish army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

Demographics

Economy

Opatovice nad Labem is known for its large

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

that was first activated in 1959.

Transport

The D35 motorway passes through Opatovice nad Labem. The municipality is known for commissioning one of the largest

road junction A junction is where two or more roads meet. History Roads began as a means of linking locations of interest: towns, forts and geographic features such as river fords. Where roads met outside of an existing settlement, these junctions often led ...

s in the country.

Sights

The Church of Saint Lawrence was built in the Gothic style in the second half of the 13th century and rebuilt in 1421. The current appearance is after the Baroque reconstructions in the second half of the 18th century.

Notable people

Emanuela Nohejlová-Prátová Emanuela Nohejlová-Prátová (1900-1995) was a Czechoslovak numismatist, archaeologist and historian. She is considered to be a founder of modern Czech numismatics. Early life Nohejlová-Prátová was born on 3 June 1900 in Opatovice nad Labem, ...

(1900–1995), numismatist, archaeologist and historian

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Pardubice District