Velké Bílovice () () is a town in

Břeclav District Břeclav District () is a district in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Břeclav. Administrative division Břeclav District is divided into three administrative districts of municipalities with extended c ...

in the

South Moravian Region The South Moravian Region (; , ; ), or just South Moravia, is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-western part of its historical region of Moravia. The region's capital is Brno, th ...

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 3,900 inhabitants. It is known for

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

Etymology

The name Bílovice was derived either from the personal name Biela/Bíla, who could be the founder of the settlement, or from the name of the first documented owner of the village, Sigfried Sirotek, by mistranslating his name (Czech word ''sirotek'' = 'orphan', in German ''waise''; but German ''weisse'' means 'white' = ''bílý'' in Czech). The attribute Velké means 'great'.

Geography

Velké Bílovice is located about north of

Břeclav Břeclav (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Located at the Czech-Austrian state border and near the Czech–Slovak state border, it is an important railway hub. Administrative divis ...

and southeast 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 ...

. The southern half of the municipal territory with the town proper lies in 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 ...

. The northern half lies in the

Kyjov Hills The Kyjov Hills () is an area in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. These relatively modest hills and undulating plateaus form a part of the Central Moravian Carpathians, within the Outer Western Carpathians. The hills spread ove ...

and includes the highest point of Velké Bílovice, the Zimarky hill (also called Hradištěk) at above sea level. The Prušánka Stream flows through the municipal territory. There are two fishponds: Velký Bílovec and Šísary.

History

The first written record of Velké Bílovice comes from 1306 but the area was settled much earlier. Houses of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

and

Zierotin The House of Zierotin or House of Žerotín () was a Czech Bohemian nobility, noble family in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, one of the oldest and most illustrious noble families from Bohemia and Moravia. The ancestors of the family were first m ...

were the most important owners in the history of Velké Bílovice. In the 16th century, group of

Hutterites Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptism, Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16 ...

settled in the area, cultivated grapevine and built many large

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...

s. At the beginning of the 20th century, many citizens of Velké Bílovice migrated to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Velké Bílovice was promoted to a town in 2001. However, due to agriculture and wine growing, it still retains its village character.

Demographics

Economy

Velké Bílovice is known for

and

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

. It lies in the Velkopavlovická wine subregion. The town boasts more than 650 privately owned

s located in 40 named cellar streets and more than of officially registered

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. This area makes it the largest grapevine-growing town in the country.

Transport

The D2 motorway from Brno to Břeslav runs along the western municipal border.

Culture

'' Hody'' ("The Feasts") is the most important folk festival in Velké Bílovice. It begins on the first Sunday after the Day of the Virgin Mary's Birth (8 September),

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of the local church, and continues till Tuesday. On the Saturday before the Feasts festive

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European List of folk festivals, folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on May Day, 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some co ...

is manually erected. The main celebration takes place on Sunday, when many visitors even from far away come to admire the folk costume parade, which is annually attended by more than 50 costumed couples. "From wine cellar to wine cellar" is a traditional cultural event, consisting of walking around wine cellars and tasting plenty of different varieties of wines from many different winemakers. It is regularly held on Saturday at the turn of March and April. "Wine exhibition" is a traditional social event since 1965. In the town's Culture House, 600 to 900 wine samples of local winemakers and winemakers from the surrounding villages, especially from the Velkopavlovická wine-growing sub-region, are exhibited. It is held at the turn of April and May.

Sights

Hutterite Hutterites (; ), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century and have formed intent ...

wine cellars are well known wine cellars. The biggest one was built around 1614. Its current owner is the company Habánské sklepy. Town Museum is a museum with local folk costumes, many archaeological finds from the area, old farm tools and other things associated with the history of the town. Hradištěk-Zímarky Hill is a distinctive landscape element with an excellent outlook. On the hilltop there is a chapel which is consecrated to four saints: St. Urban (patron saint of winemakers),

St. Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( ; 907 – 28 September 935), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Prince (''Knyaz, kníže'') of Duchy of Bohemia, Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his you ...

(patron saint of the

Czech Lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands (, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia out of which Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, were formed. ...

) and

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cyril (; born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (; born Michael, 815–885) were brothers, Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are ...

(patrons saints of Christianity in the Czech Lands). Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built in late

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style in 1764–1765.

Twin towns – sister cities

Velké Bílovice is twinned with: *

Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña (normally known as Sáenz Peña) is a city in the . It is the second largest in the province. It is located west-northwest of the provincial capital Resistencia, Chaco, Resistencia, on the main rail and road route ...

, Argentina * Šenkvice, Slovakia

Gallery

Velké Bílovice - vlastivědné muzeum obr01.jpg, Town museum Velke Bilovice kaple3.JPG, The road between the vineyards leading to the chapel Velke Bilovice vinohrad3.JPG, Vineyard in the north of Velké Bílovice

References

External links

*
Winemakers Guild of Velké Bílovice

Town Museum of Velké Bílovice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velke Bilovice Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Břeclav District