Vlachovo Březí (german: Wällisch Birken, Wällischbirken) is a 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 1,700 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages of Chocholatá Lhota, Dachov, Dolní Kožlí, Doubrava, Horní Kožlí, Mojkov and Uhřice are administrative parts of Vlachovo Březí.

Geography

Vlachovo Březí is located about north 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 northwest 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 ...

. It lies in the

Bohemian Forest Foothills Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, ori ...

. The highest point is the hill Běleč at above sea level.

History

The first written mention of Vlachovo Březí is from 1274, then called just Březí. Around 1415, Březí was renamed Vlachovo Březí after its owner, knight Vladislav Vlach Malovec. In 1538, the settlement is 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 ...

by Ferdinand I and received its coat of arms. In 1868, it gained the town status from

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

Sights

Vlachovo Březí Castle was a fortress, rebuilt into a Renaissance castle in 1561. In 1698, it was rebuilt into its current early Baroque form. Today it is unused and the premises are offered for rent. The first mention of a brewery in Vlachovo Březí is from 1623. The Manor Brewery in its current form was founded around 1670 and its capacity caused the gradual demise of breweries in the surrounding villages. The Baroque brewery building with distinctive gables was built in the 18th century and forms the western wing of the castle complex. The beer brewing continued until 1924. In 2014–2015, the valuable building was repaired and now it is owned by the town. The beer brewing was renewed in 2017. The original Church of the Annunciation was first mentioned in 1359, when it was built in the Romanesque style. In 1659–1669, the church was rebuilt in the Baroque style, in which form it still stands today.

Notable people

Joseph Drechsler Joseph Drechsler (26 May 1782 – 27 February 1852) was an Austrian organist, teacher, composer and conductor; in Vienna he was organist and choirmaster at several churches, and theatre conductor and composer of incidental music. Life Drechsler wa ...

(1782–1852), Austrian organist and composer *

Jakub Bursa Jakub Bursa (21 July 1813 in Dolní Nekvasovice – 19 August 1884 in Vlachovo Březí) was a Czech architect, folk artist and builder of Bohemian Rustic Baroque architecture. He decorated many gables of houses in Southern Bohemia in the style ...

(1813–1884), architect; died here *

Karel Traxler Karel Traxler (1866 – 1936) was a Czech chess master and composer of chess problems. He is best known for the hyper-aggressive variation named after him, the Traxler Variation in the Two Knights Defense. Traxler Variation The Traxler ...

(1866–1936), chess master *

Jan Matulka Jan Matulka (7 November 1890 – 25 June 1972) was a Czech-American modern artist originally from Bohemia. Matulka's style ranged from Abstract expressionism to landscapes, sometimes in the same day. He has directly influenced artists like Do ...

(1890–1972), Czech-American modern artist

Twin towns – sister cities

Vlachovo Březí is twinned with: *

Sankt Oswald-Riedlhütte Sankt Oswald-Riedlhütte is a municipality in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in E ...

, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vlachovo Brezi Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Prachatice District Prácheňsko