Vítkov (; german: Wigstadtl, pl, Witków) is a town in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region 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 5,700 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Jelenice, Klokočov, Nové Těchanovice, Podhradí, Prostřední Dvůr, Lhotka and Zálužné are administrative parts of Vítkov. Jelenice 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

Vítkov is located about southwest of

Opava Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava (river), Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a histori ...

and west of

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

. It lies in the

Nízký Jeseník Nízký Jeseník (german: Niederes Gesenke, pl, Niski Jesionik) is a flat highland and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the east of the country in the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions. Nízký Jeseník is ...

range. The highest point is the hill Horka with an altitude of . The Moravice River forms the northern municipal border.

History

The first written mention of Vítkov is from 1301. The town and the Vikštejn Castle were founded by Vítek of Kravaře in the second half of the 13th century. In the following centuries, the town often changed owners, who were among the lower nobles. In 1713–1714, the then owner of the Vítkov estate, Wipplar of Ulschitz had built a Baroque mansion. The Vikštejn Castle (today outside of municipal territory of Vítkov) was abandoned in 1776 and became a ruin. The inhabitants subsisted mainly on cloth and linen crafts and agriculture. During the industrialisation in the second half of the 19th century, several textile factories were established. Gloves, ribbons and silk products were made here. According to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

census of 1910 the town had 3,570 inhabitants, almost all of them were German-speaking. Most populous religious group were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

with 3,513 (98.4%). After the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, by 24 November 1918, the town became part of the Czechoslovak Republic. In 1938, Vítkov was annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and administered as part of

Reichsgau Sudetenland The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the ''Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from Czechoslovakia according to the 30 September 1938 Munich Agreement. ...

. After the World War II, the German population was expelled and the town was resettled by Czechs. On 19 April 2009, an

arson attack Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, water ...

with three molotov cocktails thrown on house inhabited by a Roma family happened here.

Demographics

Transport

Vítkov lies on a railway line of local importance heading from Suchdol nad Odrou to

Budišov nad Budišovkou Budišov nad Budišovkou (; german: Bautsch) is a town in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monume ...

Sights

The landmark of the town is the parish Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was built in the neo-Gothic style in 1914–1918.

Notable people

* Ferdinand Hanusch (1866–1923), Austrian politician *

Franz W. Seidler Franz Wilhelm Seidler (born 2 March 1933) is a German historian, author and expert on German military history. From 1973 to 1998, he was a professor of Modern History at the Bundeswehr University Munich. Since retirement, he has published wo ...

(born 1933), German historian * Helmut Kohlenberger (born 1942), German philosopher * Jan Zajíc (1950–1969), student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest * Martin Čížek (born 1974), footballer * Lukáš Milo (born 1983), athlete * Radek Faksa (born 1994), ice hockey player

Twin towns – sister cities

Vítkov is twinned with: * Kalety, Poland * Vrbové, Slovakia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitkov Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Opava District