Vizovice (; german: Wisowitz) is a town in

Zlín District Zlín District ( cs, okres Zlín) is a district ('' okres'') within the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Zlín. List of municipalities Bělov - Biskupice - Bohuslavice nad Vláří - Bohuslavice u Zlína - Bratře ...

in the

Zlín Region Zlín Region ( cs, Zlínský kraj; , ) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Moravia. It is named after its capital Zlín. Together with the Olomouc Region it fo ...

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 4,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

The village of Chrastěšov is an administrative part of Vizovice.

Geography

Vizovice is located about east of

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; german: Zlin) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 73,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice river. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the ...

. It is located on the small river of Lutoninka. It lies in the

Vizovice Highlands The Vizovice Highlands ( cs, Vizovická vrchovina) is an area of relatively modest but rugged highlands within the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic, named after the town of Vizovice. Geologically, the highlands are part of the Slovak-Moravian C ...

, which is named after the town.

History

The first written mention of Vizovice is from 1261, when it was owned by the newly established Smilheim monastery. 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 ...

, the monastery and the village were badly damaged and looted. In 1483, the estate was acquired by the lords of Kunštát, and in 1485 the Cistercian monastery was definitely abolished. In 1567, the estate was bought by Zdeněk Kavka of Říčany, who had built a Renaissance residence called Nový Smilheim in the fortified area of the abolished monastery. Vizovice received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1570. In the second half of the 17th century, the estate became a property of the Gollen family. Shortly after the town and the castle were burned down by Turkish invaders. In 1750–1770, during the rule of Count Hermann Hannibal of Blümegen, a new Baroque castle with French and English garden was built.

Demographics

Economy

Vizovice has long history of the alcohol production. A distillery in Vizovice was first documented in 1585. The local climate is suitable for fruit trees, especially plums, and in the mid-18th century,

slivovitz Slivovitz is a fruit spirit (or fruit brandy) made from damson plums, often referred to as plum spirit (or plum brandy). If anyone else has a dictionary of some Slavic language that translates your word for slivovitz as "plum brandy", please a ...

started being produced here. The Rudolf Jelínek distillery was founded here in 1882.

Culture

The annual Masters of Rock heavy metal festival takes place in Vizovice.

Sights

The Vizovice Castle is the main landmark. In 1945, the castle was nationalized. It is open to the public

Notable people

Alois Hába Alois Hába (21 June 1893 – 18 November 1973) was a Czech composer, music theorist and teacher. He belongs to the important discoverers in modern classical music, and major composers of microtonal music, especially using the quarter-tone scal ...

(1893–1973), composer *

Jan Graubner Jan Graubner (born 29 August 1948) is a Czech prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been appointed Archbishop of Prague. He was Archbishop of Olomouc in the Czech Republic from 1992 to 2022, after serving as an auxiliary there for two years ...

(born 1948), Roman Catholic archbishop of Olomouc; worked here as a parson in 1982–1990 * Bolek Polívka (born 1949), actor

References

External links

*
Vizovice Castle
{{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Zlín District Moravian Wallachia