Skuteč (; german: Skutsch) is a town in

Chrudim District Chrudim District ( cs, okres Chrudim) is a district ('' okres'') within Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Chrudim. Overview The district has mostly flat terrain with slopes of Iron Mountains appearing on the sout ...

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 5,000 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Borek, Hněvětice, Lažany, Lešany, Lhota u Skutče, Nová Ves, Radčice, Skutíčko, Štěpánov, Zbožnov, Zhoř and the town part of Žďárec u Skutče are administrative parts of Skuteč. Lešany 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.

Geography

Skuteč is located about southeast of Chrudim and southeast 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 ...

. It lies mostly the undulating and hilly landscape of the

Iron Mountains The Iron Mountains are a mountain range, subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains are located around the common meeting point of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. A portion of the Appalachian Trail runs the crest of the Iron ...

, the northern part of the municipal territory extends into 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 ...

. A part of the Anenské Valley Nature Reserve around the Anenský Brook is located in the territory.

History

The first written mention of Skuteč is from 1289. The settlement was located on a side trade route. Skuteč was promoted to a town probably in the first half of the 14th century. It was one of the larger towns in the region. Its development was slowed down by 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 ...

. In 1862 and 1867, the town was severely damaged by large fires.

Economy

Skuteč is significantly associated with shoemaking tradition, represented by the company Botas, a.s, and for mining of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. While mining is still active, shoe production in Skuteč has ended in 2022, and it is being considered to move the brand's production elsewhere.

Education

The town has two elementary schools and

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important e ...

Art School. Since 2000, there is the Gymnasium of the Sovereign Maltese Knights Order.

Culture

Since 2003, the town hosts ''Tomášek's and Novák's Musical Skuteč'', an annual festival of classical music and choir singing.

Sights

The most notable buildings are the churches. In Skuteč there are Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Church of the Corpus Christi. The Church of Saint Wenceslaus is located in Lažany and the Church of Saint Matthias is in Štěpánov. The birthplace of the most famous native, composer

Václav Tomášek Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek (in German: Wenzel Johann Tomaschek; 17 April 1774, Skuteč, Bohemia – 3 April 1850, Prague) was an Austrian-Bohemian, by other accounts a Czech composer and music teacher. He was known as the Musical Pope of P ...

, is a folk architecture house from the 18th century with a small exhibition of his life and work.

Notable people

(1774–1850), composer and music teacher *

(1870–1949), composer; lived and died here *

Jaromír Funke Jaromír Funke (1 August 1896 – 22 March 1945) was a leading Czech photographer during the 1920s and 1930s. Early life Funke was born to a wealthy family in house No. 238 in Skuteč on 1 August 1896, the son of Antonín Funke, Bohemian-German ...

(1896–1945), photographer * Jiří Zástěra (1913–1983), football player and manager *

Jan Tesař Jan Tesař (born 26 March 1990) is a Czech sprinter specialising in the 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the ...

(born 1933), historian *Tomáš Malinský (born 1991), footballer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skutec Populated places in Chrudim District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic