Velké Opatovice (german: Groß Opatowitz) is a town in

Blansko District Blansko District ( cs, okres Blansko) is one of seven districts ('' okres'') within South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Blansko. List of municipalities Adamov - Bedřichov - Benešov - Blansko - Borotín - B ...

in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region ( cs, Jihomoravský kraj; , ; sk, Juhomoravský kraj) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia (an exception is Jobova Lhota which trad ...

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 3,600 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Bezďečí, Brťov, Korbelova Lhota, Svárov and Velká Roudka are administrative parts of Velké Opatovice.

Geography

Velké Opatovice is located about north of

Blansko Blansko (; german: Blanz) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Svitava River on the border of the Moravian Karst. It is mainly an industrial town. Administrative parts Vill ...

and north of

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. It lies on the border between the

Boskovice Furrow Boskovice (; german: Boskowitz) is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. The area of the historic town centre, Jewish quarter, château complex and castle ruin is well preser ...

and Podorlická Uplands. It is situated on the Jevíčka stream. The municipality of Malá Roudka forms an

enclave 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 ...

in the municipal territory of Velké Opatovice.

History

The first written mention of Opatovice is from 1308. There were two fortresses owned by different lords. It was originally two separate villages called Horní ("Upper") Opatovice and Dolní ("Lower") Opatovice. In 1848 they were merged and name Opatovice. The "Velké" adjective (meaning "great") was added in 1888. It 1969, the municipality became a town.

Economy

Velké Opatovice is home to one of the largest employers in the region, P-D Refractories CZ company, which is a manufacturer and distributor of refractory products and raw materials. The predecessor of the company, which mined claystone in the area, was founded in 1892. From 1950, the company was known as ''Moravské šamotové a lupkové závody'' (i.e. "Moravian

grog Grog is a term used for a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to rum diluted with water (and later on long sea voyages, also added the juice of limes or lemons), which British Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon introduced in ...

and

fire clay Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumin ...

plants"). In 2000, it was acquired by the international Preiss-Daimler Group and renamed.

Transport

Velké Opatovice is located on the Velké Opatovice –

Skalice nad Svitavou Skalice nad Svitavou is a municipality and village in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Skalice nad Svitavou lies approximately north of Blansko, north of Brno, and south-east o ...

railway of local importance.

Sights

The Velké Opatovice Castle is the main monument. The Baroque castle was built on the site of a Gothic fortress in 1757. The Art Nouveau modifications were made in 1913. Since 1924, it is a property of the town. After a fire in 1973, it was partially repaired in the late Baroque style. Today the castle complex houses the town hall, a cinema, and two museums. The Moravian Cartographic Centre is focused on historical development of cartography, especially in the Czech Republic and on geodetic and cartographic instruments and aids. The main exhibit is a plastic map of the lands of

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

and

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

with an area of . The Museum and Monument of Velké Opatovice presents historic and ethnographic collections, local industry, and works of local artists. It also includes the memorial hall of the sculptor

Karel Otáhal Karel Otáhal (19 January 1901 – 23 August 1972) was a Czech sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad a ...

, who lived here for 29 years. Otáhal is also the creator of a lifesize statue of

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

located in the castle grounds. The Church of Saint George was built in 1790–1791 and replaced an old Gothic church from the late 14th century. Its main attraction is the altar sculpture from 1951 by Karel Otáhal, depicting St. George fighting with the dragon.

Notable people

(1901–1972), sculptor; lived and died here

Twin towns – sister cities

Velké Opatovice is twinned with: *

Elbingerode Elbingerode is an ''Ortsteil'' of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The former town was incorporated into the newly established municipality on 1 January 2010. Geography It is situated in the eastern ...

, Germany * Stari Grad, Croatia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velke Opatovice Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Blansko District