Přelouč () is a town 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 9,300 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Klenovka, Lhota, Lohenice, Mělice, Škudly, Štěpánov and Tupesy are administrative parts of Přelouč. Tupesy forms an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the municipal territory.

Etymology

The name is derived from Czech ''přes louku'', i.e. "across the meadow". It refers to the place where people walked across the meadows.

Geography

Přelouč lies approximately west from

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 ...

. It lies on the border between the

Svitavy Uplands The Svitavy Uplands or Svitavy Hills ( cs, Svitavská pahorkatina) are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Pardubice Region and it belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. Geomorphology ...

and 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 Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

. It is located on the left 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 ...

in the

Polabí Polabí (german: Elbeland) is the traditional and informal name for a lowlands region located mainly in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Etymology The name comes from Czech ''po Labi'', meaning "along the Elbe". The same linguist ...

region. There are several water bodies in the municipal territory. North of the town are flooded

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

quarries, which today are used mainly for recreation and water sports. North of the town is also the

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 ...

Buňkov, the largest water body of Přelouč. In the urban area there is the small Račanský Pond.

History

Přelouč is one of the oldest historically documented settlements in the region. A settlement for probably founded here in the 10th century. The first written mention of Přelouč dates back to 1086 when the village became a part of the Benedictine monastery in

Opatovice nad Labem Opatovice nad Labem is a municipality and village in Pardubice District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. Administrative parts The village of Pohřebačka is an administrative part of Opatovice nad Lab ...

. It was owned by the monastery for 300 years. In 1261, Přelouč was promoted to a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

by King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...

. Since then, the town has used its coat of arms which consists of a black gridiron in the golden field. This symbol is associated with

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...

who lived in the 3rd century in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and was burnt alive on a gridiron. Because of the town's affiliation with the Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Lawrence, the town coat of arms includes the gridiron. Thanks to its location, Přelouč was an important strategic transit place in the 13th and 14th centuries. During the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

, Přelouč was conquered and badly damaged. As a result, its importance declined and it became a small agricultural market town. In 1518, it was joined to the Pardubice estate. New economical and cultural development occurred in the second half of the 16th century and in 1580, it was promoted to a town by

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...

. The

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

again damaged the town, which again became a small agricultural town. It was not until the first half of the 19th century, thanks to the construction of a new imperial road and then the railway, that Přelouč became the second most economically important town in the region. From 1850 to 1960, Přelouč was a district town.

Demographics

Economy

The largest employer is the industrial company Kiekert-CS. The production plant of the multinational company was founded in Přelouč in 1993 and focuses on the production of closure systems for the automotive industry.

Culture

František Filipovský Award is a film and television dubbing ceremony award held in Přelouč since 1994. This ceremony aims to increase the prestige of this artistic discipline and to popularize artists who excel in this field. It commemorates the actor and voice actor

František Filipovský František Filipovský (23 September 1907 – 26 October 1993) was a Czechoslovak stage, television, and film actor. Life and career Early life and theatre Filipovský was born on 23 September 1907 in the Czech town of Přelouč, then part of A ...

, a local native.

Sights

The most significant building is the Church of Saint James the Great. It was originally built in the

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...

. After it was damaged by fire in 1641, it was renovated in the

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

in 1646. The cemetery Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary was built in the Baroque style in 1684. Its interior is decorated with paintings by

Josef Kramolín Josef Kramolín (11 April 1730 – 27 April 1802) was a Czech Jesuit brother and painter. He primarily painted religious-themed frescoes. Early life The registry records in Nymburk parish show a record of the baptism of 12 April 1730. He was ...

. The former Civil Savings Bank is a

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

building from 1899–1901 and the

building of the elementary school from 1880–1881 are landmarks of the town square and whole town. The Hydroelectric Power Station on the Elbe has been working since 1924 and is a technical monument. It has an installed capacity of 2,340 kW.

Notable people

* Ladislav Quis (1846–1913), poet and writer; lived here * František Dvořák (1862–1927), painter * Rudolf Bruner-Dvořák (1864–1921), photographer *

František Flos František Flos (27 July 1864, Přelouč – 8 January 1961, Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Pr ...

(1864–1961), writer *

(1907–1993), actor and voice actor *

Jiřina Petrovická Jiřina Petrovická (30 January 1923 – 10 October 2008) was a Czechoslovak film actress. She appeared in 20 films and television shows between 1943 and 1985. Selected filmography * '' Fourteen at the Table'' (1943) * ''Men Without Wings'' ...

(1923–2008), actress; raised here *

Stanislav Brebera Stanislav Brebera (10 August 1925 – 11 May 2012) was a Czech chemist. He was born in Přelouč and died in Pardubice. Brebera spent his career in Czechoslovakian state-hold ''Research Institute for Chemical Industry'', currently Explosia Pa ...

(1925–2012), chemist,

Semtex Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and Pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications. Semtex was developed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia, or ...

inventor

Gallery

Prelouc CZ old school 01.jpg, Old school Přelouč nádražní budova.JPG, Railway station Vodní elektrárna s mostem (Přelouč) 06.JPG, Hydro-electric power plant

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prelouc Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Pardubice District