Bílovec
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Bílovec (; german: Wagstadt) is a town in
Nový Jičín District Nový Jičín District ( cs, okres Nový Jičín) is a district (''okres'') within Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Nový Jičín. List of municipalities Albrechtičky - Bartošovice - Bernartice nad O ...
in the
Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region ( cs, Moravskoslezský kraj; pl, Kraj morawsko-śląski; sk, Moravsko-sliezsky kraj) is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region ( cs, Ostravský ...
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 7,300 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.


Administrative parts

Villages of Bravinné, Lhotka, Lubojaty, Ohrada, Stará Ves and Výškovice are administrative parts of Bílovec. Výškovice forms an exclave of the municipal territory.


Geography

Bílovec is situated mostly 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 ...
mountain range. A small part of the territory extends into the
Moravian Gate The Moravian Gate ( cs, Moravská brána, pl, Brama Morawska, german: Mährische Pforte, sk, Moravská brána) is a geomorphological feature in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the Upper Silesia region in Poland. It is formed by the ...
. Bílovec lies on the banks of the Bílovka River. Bílovec Reservoir is located on the outskirts of the town.


History

The first written mention of Bílovec is from 1324. The town was probably founded by Vok V of Kravaře between 1293–1324. It was located on the crossroads of two trade routes and belonged to
Duchy of Troppau The Principality of Opava ( cs, Opavské knížectví; pl, Księstwo Opawskie) or Duchy of Troppau (german: Herzogtum Troppau) was a historic territory split off from the Margraviate of Moravia before 1269 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia to prov ...
. Bílovec was heavily fortified with walls with two gates and a fortress. In 1575–1576, the then-owner Bernard Pražma of Bílkov had rebuilt the fortress into a four-wing Renaissance castle. From 1652 until the 20th century, the estate was held by the Sedlnický of Choltice family. The town gained various privileges, which allowed it further development. After the large fire in 1729, the castle was baroque reconstructed. In the second half of the 19th century, Bílovec was industrialized. A cloth factory(later a hat factory and then an iron factory), a steam saw, a book printer and a liqueur factory were established. In 1890, the railway was opened. Until 1918, Bílovec was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (the Austrian side after the compromise of 1867), in the district with the same name, one of the eight ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in
Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...
. In 1938, it was occupied by the Nazi Germany as part of the
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. ...
, the portion of Czechoslovakia turned over to Germany in wake of the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
. After the conclusion of World War II, the German speaking population was expelled from the region in 1945 according to the Beneš decrees and replaced by Czech settlers. After World War II, the construction of prefabricated houses took place, which disrupted the ancient character of the town.


Education

There is one secondary school in Bílovec, the Gymnasium of Nicolas Copernicus.


Sights

The town square is lined by preserved burgher houses. The landmarks of the square are the town hall and the Church of Saint Nicholas. The Renaissance town hall with gothic cellars dates from 1593. In a baroque burgher house from the 18th century there is the town museum. The originally Gothic church was built in the 14th century. In 1771, baroque modifications of the church were made. The tower was built in 1614–1615. It is high and open to the public. In the middle of the square is a giant chessboard, with an area of the largest one in the Czech Republic. Bílovec Castle is open to the public. It containts several expositions and a gallery.


Notable people

* Johann Ignaz Cimbal (1722–1795), Bohemian-Austrian painter * Felix Ivo Leicher (1727–1812), Bohemian-Austrian painter *
Miloš Holaň Miloš Holaň (born April 22, 1971) is a retired Czech professional ice hockey player and currently the head coach of HC Poruba of the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League, the second tier in the Czech Republic. He played 49 games in the National Ho ...
(born 1971), ice hockey player and coach *
Květa Peschke Květoslava Peschke (née Hrdličková; born 9 July 1975) is a Czech retired professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 26 in November 2005, winning one WTA singles title ...
(born 1975), tennis player *
Rostislav Olesz Rostislav Olesz (born 10 October 1985) is a professional ice hockey left winger for HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). Olesz was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Playing c ...
(born 1985), ice hockey player * Lukáš Hejda (born 1990), footballer *
Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová, OLY ( , ; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 29 career singles titles, including two major titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and ...
(born 1990), tennis player * Adam Pavlásek (born 1994), tennis player


Twin towns – sister cities

Bílovec is twinned with: *
Bad Neustadt an der Saale Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often simply called Bad Neustadt, is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Rhön-Grabfeld district in Lower Franconia. It is situated on the rivers Fränk ...
, Germany * Kietrz, Poland *
Lipany Lipany ('lindens;' hu, Héthárs, german: Siebenlinden, la, Septemtiliae all lit. 'seven lindens') is a town in the Sabinov District, Prešov Region in northeastern Slovakia. History The first written mention about Lipany comes from 1312. I ...
, Slovakia


References


External links

*
Tourist Information Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilovec Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Nový Jičín District