Velká Bíteš (until 1924 Velká Byteš) is a town in
Žďár nad Sázavou District in the
Vysočina 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 5,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an
urban monument zone.
Administrative division
Velká Bíteš consists of 11 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
*Velká Bíteš (3,499)
*Bezděkov (72)
*Březka (127)
*Holubí Zhoř (156)
*Jáchymov (80)
*Janovice (833)
*Jestřabí (50)
*Jindřichov (78)
*Košíkov (188)
*Ludvíkov (42)
*Pánov (15)
Pánov forms an
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of the municipal territory.
Geography
Velká Bíteš is located about southeast of
Žďár nad Sázavou
Žďár nad Sázavou (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The town is an industrial and tourist centre. It is known for the Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk, which is a UNESCO Wor ...
and west of
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 ...
. It lies in the
Křižanov Highlands. The highest point is at above sea level. The Bítýška Stream flows through the town.
History
The first written mention of Velká Bíteš is from 1240, when the church was mentioned.
The settlement was founded in the first half of the 13th century. In the mid-14th century, it was 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 rura ...
and in 1408, it was promoted to a town.
The greatest development occurred after 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 ...
, but the town was severely damaged during 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 ...
and recovered slowly. Velká Bíteš was not industrialized until 1950, when a large engineering company was founded. Thanks to this, the population increased significantly.
[
]
Demographics
Economy
The largest employers based in the town are ITW Pronovia, manufacturer of plastic products for the automotive industry, and První Brněnská Strojírna Velká Bíteš, manufacturer of aerospace technologies.
Transport
The D1 motorway from 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 ...
to Brno runs next to the town.
Sights
Velká Bíteš is known for the unique fortified Church of Saint John the Baptist. The original wooden structure was replaced by the stone Romanesque church in the 13th century. In the 15th century, it was surrounded by stone ramparts with an entrance tower.[
]
Notable people
* Martin Roháč (?–1571), serial killer
* Vojtěch Řepa (born 2000), cyclist
Twin towns – sister cities
Velká Bíteš is twinned with:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velka Bites
Cities and towns in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Žďár nad Sázavou District