Staré Město (; in 1950–1996 Staré Město u Uherského Hradiště) is a town in Uherské Hradiště District in the

Zlín Region Zlín Region () is an administrative unit () 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 forms a cohesion area of Central M ...

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 6,600 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name means literally 'old town' in Czech.

Geography

Staré Město is located about southwest 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 ...

and creates a conurbation with

Uherské Hradiště Uherské Hradiště (; ) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. The agglomeration with the two neighbouring towns of Staré Město (Uherské Hradiště District), Staré Město and Kunovice has over ...

. It lies mostly in a flat agricultural landscape of the

Lower Morava Valley The Lower Morava Valley (; ; ) is a geomorphological formation (special type of valley) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is formed by the depression in the Western Carpathians (Ždánice Forest, Kyjov Hills and Pálava Protected Landscap ...

, but a small western part of the municipal territory also extends into the Kyjov Hills. Staré Město is situated on the right bank of the Morava River, which forms the town's border with Uherské Hradiště. The Baťa Canal flows through the eastern part of the town.

History

In the 9th century, the area of Staré Město was part of Velingrad, one of two capital cities of the

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

n Empire. After the fall of Great Moravia, Velingrad lost its importance and became a village with two churches. The first written mention of Velingrad is from 1141. In 1205, the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks founded nearby a monastery and named it

Velehrad Velehrad is a municipality and village in Uherské Hradiště District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,100 inhabitants. It is known for the former Cistercian monastery with the Basilica of the Assumption of Mary and Saints ...

. The market village of Velingrad became their property. The Great Moravian rotunda was rebuilt to the parish Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in 1250. In 1321, Velingrad was renamed Staré Město. In 1841, the railway was built. From 1971 to 1990, Staré Město was part of Uherské Hradiště. From 1990, it has been a separate municipality. Staré Město was hit by the

1997 Central European flood The 1997 Central European flood or the 1997 Oder Flood of the Oder and Morava (river), Morava river basins in July 1997 affected Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany, taking the lives of 114 people and causing material damages estimated at $4. ...

. In the same year, the municipality was promoted to a town.

Demographics

Transport

The I/55 road (the section from

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

) runs through the town. The I/50 road (part of the European route E50) 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 Uherské Hradiště passes through the southern part of the municipal territory. Staré Město is a railway junction. The town is located on the railway lines

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

–

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

–

Luhačovice Luhačovice (; ) is a spa town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,000 inhabitants. It is known for the largest spa in Moravia and for architecturally valuable buildings designed by the architect Dušan Jurko ...

and Brno–Olomouc.

Sights

Staré Město is known for the

Monument. It was built above the foundations of the first discovered Great Moravian building in Czech territory, which was the church "Na Valách". Great Moravia Monument is a museum with expositions dedicated to the Great Moravian Empire and life in the 9th century. The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel dates from the first thalf of the 13th century. Its core contains remnants of a Great Moravian rotunda. The Church of the Holy Spirit is a modern church from 2002. Kovozoo is a unique "

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

" with animals and other exhibits created from metal. It is an entertainment complex that also serves for environmental education.

Notable people

* Josef Panáček (1937–2022), sport shooter, Olympic champion * Miroslav Grebeníček (born 1947), politician, former leader of the

Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (, KSČM) is a communist party in the Czech Republic. As of 2022, KSČM has a membership of 20,450. Sources variously describe the party as either left-wing or Far-left politics, far-left on the polit ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Staré Město is twinned with: * Sées, France * Tönisvorst, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stare Mesto (Uherske Hradiste District) Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Uherské Hradiště District Moravian Slovakia