Strážný (until 1955 Kunžvart, german: Kuschwarda) is a market town in

Prachatice District Prachatice District ( cs, okres Prachatice) is a district ('' okres'') within South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Prachatice. History A German minority historically used to live in Prachatice, composing 47% of the region ...

in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region ( cs, Jihočeský kraj; , ) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western part ...

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 400 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Hliniště, Kořenný and Řasnice are administrative parts of Strážný.

Geography

Strážný is located about southwest of

Prachatice Prachatice (; german: Prachatitz) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts Prac ...

and west of

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

, on the border with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It lies in the

Bohemian Forest The Bohemian Forest, known in Czech as Šumava () and in German as Böhmerwald, is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and South Bohemia in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in ...

, most of the territory lies in the

Šumava National Park The Šumava National Park ( cs, Národní park Šumava, usually shortened as NP Šumava), or Bohemian Forest National Park, is a national park in the South Bohemian regions of the Czech Republic along the border with Germany (where the smaller ad ...

and a smaller part lies in the Šumava Protected Landscape Area. The highest point of is the mountain Strážný with an altitude of , there are also several other mountains above 1,000 m. Two tributaries of the

Vltava Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at M ...

river, Řasnice and Častá, flow through the territory. The built-up area is located in the valley of Častá, below the Strážný mountain.

History

The first written mention of Strážný, then named Kunžvart, is from 1359, when existence of a castle on the Strážný mountain is documented. For 200 years it served to protect an important trade route and border of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. Since 1547, the castle was uninhabited, and during the 16th century, it became a ruin. In 1689, a settlement was founded near the castle and named Kunžvart after the castle. The new village grew rapidly and already in 1833, the international road from

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, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

passed through here and one of the first bus lines in the country was in operation. In 1844, the village 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 ...

. After the end of the World War II, in 1946 the German population was expelled.

Transport

There is the ''Strážný / Philippsreut'' road border crossing to Germany.

Sport

In Strážný, there is the Ski Resort Strážný.

Sights

The ruin of Kunžvart Castle in open to the public. It is located below the top of the Strážný mountain in an altitude of , which makes it one of the highest placed castles in the country. The Chapel of the Virgin Mary was built in 1834. It is accessible only once a year during Mass. The most valuable building was the Church of the Holy Trinity from 1780. In 1965, it was demolished and the cemetery was moved. Today there is a place of reverence with a stone ground plan of the church on the site of the cemetery and a model of the church.

Notable people

Karl Hoschna Karl Hoschna (1876–1911) was a Tin Pan Alley-era composer most noted for his songs "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine", " Every Little Movement" and "Yama Yama Man", and for a string of successful Broadway musicals. Hoschna was born on 16 A ...

(1876–1911), Austrian-American musician and composer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strazny Market towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Prachatice District Bohemian Forest