Kroměříž (; ) is a town in the
Zlín Region of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It is known for
Kroměříž Castle with its castle gardens, which are a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and is protected as an
urban monument reservation.
Administrative division
Kroměříž consists of ten municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
*Kroměříž (24,415)
*Bílany (323)
*Drahlov (155)
*Hradisko (226)
*Kotojedy (221)
*Postoupky (598)
*Těšnovice (419)
*Trávník (601)
*Vážany (1,174)
*Zlámanka (148)
Etymology
The name is derived from the personal name Kroměžir, meaning "Kroměžir's (property)".
Geography
Kroměříž is located about northwest of
Zlín
Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 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 modern city ...
. About two thirds of the municipal territory lies in the
Litenčice Hills, the eastern part lies in the
Upper Morava Valley. A small southern part extends into the
Chřiby
Chřiby (, the "Mars Mountains") is a geographic region of the Czech Republic, part of the Central Moravian Carpathians of the Outer Western Carpathians.
The area is a nature park and tourist park, offering a variety of natural features, rock f ...
range. The highest point of the territory is the Obora hill at above sea level. The town is situated on both banks of the
Morava River. The
Haná
Haná or Hanakia ( or ''Hanácko'', or ''Hanakei'') is an ethnographic region in central Moravia in the Czech Republic.
Etymology
The region was named after the Haná (river), Haná River.
Description
Its core area is located along the ep ...
River flows into the Morava on the northern outskirts of the town.
History
The first written mention of Kroměříž (under its Latin name ''Cromezir'') is in a document written between 1107 and 1125, when the settlement was bought by
Olomouc bishop Jan II.
Some sources cite a deed of another Olomouc bishop
Jindřich Zdík from 1141 as the first unquestionable written mention of Kroměříž.
In the Middle Ages, it was a market village on the crossroads of the
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...
and
Salt roads. It was located at a
ford across the Morava where the toll was collected.
[
In the 13th century, Kroměříž became the centre of a dominion owned by the Olomouc bishopric. The ]Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
settled here and built a church and a commandery in 1238. In 1241 and 1253, Kroměříž suffered raids by the Tatars
Tatars ( )[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
, Cumans
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...
and Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
.[ The settlement got depopulated and had to be recolonized.][ Kroměříž is last referred to as a market village in a document by King Ottokar II from 1256. After 1256, the Olomouc bishop Bruno von Schauenburg came to power over Kroměříž. He improved the town and fundamentally contributed to its development. He founded the market square on the hill above the original settlement and had it surrounded with walls. He also had the Church of Saint Maurice built and had ]vineyard
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s planted around the settlement. In 1266, Kroměříž was first referred to as a town.[
In 1322, Jews were allowed to settle in the town. In the mid-16th century, the Kroměříž Jewish community was the largest Jewish community in ]Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
. The bishops protected the community for the income flowing from it. In 1423, 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...
, the bishops lost control over the town. They regained the town in 1455.
During the rule of bishop Stanislav I Thurzo, the local bishop's residence was repaired and rebuilt into a late Gothic and Renaissance castle. His followers further refined the town and provided costly building repairs.
The town and the castle were badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
. It was plundered by Swedish troops under command of Lennart Torstensson in 1643. Most of the buildings were burned down. The town was further damaged by a large fire in 1656. Kroměříž recovered during the rule of Bishop Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn, who had rebuilt the town and the castle. The castle was first repaired, and in 1686 completely rebuilt. The bishop also has repaired town walls, and founded a mint and representative gardens in 1666–1675. Kroměříž again became an important town.
The Constitutive Imperial Congress sat in Kroměříž in 1848. In August 1885 a meeting took place here between the Austrian and the Russian emperors.
Demographics
Economy
On the outskirts of the town there is the Agricultural Research Institute Kroměříž (formerly the Research Institute of Grain, etc., founded in 1951), which is engaged in research and breeding of cereals.
There is a hospital and a psychiatric hospital in Kroměříž. Both are among the main employers in the town.
Transport
The D1 motorway from Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
to Ostrava
Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
passes through the northern part of the town.
Kroměříž is located on the railway lines Rožnov pod Radhoštěm– Kojetín and Bystřice pod Hostýnem
Bystřice pod Hostýnem (; ) is a town in Kroměříž District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,000 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Bystřice pod Hostýnem consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population acc ...
– Zborovice. In addition to the main train station, the town is also served by the stops ''Kroměříž-Oskol'' and ''Kotojedy''.
Culture
Kroměříž lies in the ethnographic region of Haná
Haná or Hanakia ( or ''Hanácko'', or ''Hanakei'') is an ethnographic region in central Moravia in the Czech Republic.
Etymology
The region was named after the Haná (river), Haná River.
Description
Its core area is located along the ep ...
. It has rich cultural life for which it earned a nickname "Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
of Haná". The town has traditionally held an international festival of military brass music and the international festival of sacred music FORFEST.
The Castle Gallery has collection of about 500 paintings and is among the most significant in Europe. It includes '' Flaying of Marsyas'', a late painting by Titian
Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno.
Ti ...
.
Sport
The town is home of the football club SK Hanácká Slavia Kroměříž. The club plays mainly in the third tier of the Czech football system, but in 2023–24, it played in the Czech National Football League.
Sights
The town is best known for Baroque Kroměříž Castle with its valuable gardens. The polygonal tower of the castle is the main landmark as well as the oldest remnant of the old Bishop's Castle. The gardens and castle at Kroměříž were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
s in 1998.
Despite several reconstructions after the war damage, the Church of Saint Maurice retained its early Gothic appearance. Bishop Bruno von Schauenburg is buried in the church.
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was the oldest church in the town. The original church from the 13th century was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. The current structure was built in the late Baroque style the first half of the 18th century. It has preserved bell tower from the 13th century.
The town's main museum is Kroměříž Region Museum. There is also Karel Kryl's exposition on life and work of one of the most famous natives. In the former Bishop's Mint from 1665 is a mint exposition.
In popular culture
Kroměříž Castle was used to film some scenes from '' Amadeus'' (1984), '' Immortal Beloved'' (1994), '' Četnické humoresky'' (1997), '' A Royal Affair'' (2012), '' Angélique'' (2013), '' The Musketeers'' (2015), and '' Maria Theresia'' (2017). Other films shot in the town include '' The Ear'' (1970) and '' Requiem pro panenku'' (1992).
Notable people
* Jan Milíč (1320/1325–1374), ideal predecessor of Jan Hus
Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...
* Pavel Josef Vejvanovský (1633/1640–1693), baroque composer
* Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704), composer and violinist
* Edmund Pascha (1714–1772), preacher, organist and composer
* Karel Josef Adolf (1715–1771), painter and restorer
* Václav Jan Frierenberger (1759–1823), general of the Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
* Ferdinand Stoliczka (1838–1874), traveller, geologist and naturalist
* Max Švabinský (1873–1962), painter
* Hermann Pokorny (1882–1960), Austro-Hungarian cryptologist
* Václav Talich (1883–1961), conductor
* Jan Rypka (1886–1968), orientalist and translator
* Robert Land (1887–1942), film director
*Augustin Krist
Augustin Gustav Krist (12 December 1894 – 2 March 1964) was the first Czechoslovakian to be appointed to officiate at a FIFA World Cup final match when he was linesman in the 1938 final between Hungary and Italy in Paris. He was born in K ...
(1894–1964), football referee
* Martin Miller (1899–1969), actor
* Josef Silný (1902–1981), footballer
* Alexej Čepička (1910–1990), communist politician
* Jaroslav Koutecký (1922–2005), chemist
* Karel Prager (1923–2001), architect
* Miloš Macourek (1926–2002), screenwriter and writer
* Milan Pitlach (1943–2021), architect and photographer
* Karel Kryl (1944–1994), musician
* Boris Krajný (born 1945), pianist
* Josef Stejskal (born 1945), poet and surrealist
* Petr Uličný (born 1950), footballer and football manager
* Michal Peprník (born 1960), professor of American literature
* Pavel Štercl (born 1966), slalom canoeist
* Petr Štercl (born 1966), slalom canoeist
* Pavel Hapal (born 1969), footballer and football manager
* Pavel Novotný (born 1973), footballer
* Renata Berková (born 1975), triathlete
* Andrea Kalivodová (born 1977), opera singer
* Rytmus (born 1977), Slovak rapper
* Tomáš Břečka (born 1994), footballer
* Filip Chytil (born 1999), ice hockey player
Twin towns – sister cities
Kroměříž is twinned with:
* Châteaudun, France
* Nitra, Slovakia
* Krems an der Donau, Austria
* Piekary Śląskie, Poland
* Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania
* Ružomberok, Slovakia
References
External links
*
Official tourist portal
VisitKroměříž – tourist guide
Photos of Kroměříž and background information
Virtual tour of Kroměříž
UNESCO listing for Kroměříž
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kromeriz
Cities and towns in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Kroměříž District