Velké Losiny
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Velké Losiny () is a spa municipality and village in
Šumperk District Šumperk District () is a Okres, district in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Šumperk. Administrative division Šumperk District is divided into three Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with extende ...
in the
Olomouc Region Olomouc Region (; , ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia (''Morava'') and in a small part of the historical region of Czech Silesia (''České Sl ...
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 2,500 inhabitants. It is known for the Velké Losiny Castle and for the
Paper Mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
, which is a national cultural monument.


Administrative division

Velké Losiny consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Velké Losiny (2,077) *Bukovice (79) *Ludvíkov (35) *Maršíkov (170) *Žárová (117)


Geography

Velké Losiny is located about northeast of
Šumperk Šumperk (; ) is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. It is an industrial town, but it also contains valuable historical and architectural monuments. The historic town centre is well preserved and i ...
and north of
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 ...
. It lies mostly in the
Hanušovice Highlands Hanušovice Highlands (, ) are highlands within the Eastern Sudetes mountain range that runs between Poland and the Czech Republic. It is named after Hanušovice town. The area is 793 km² and its average elevation is 527.2 meters. The hig ...
. A small part of the municipal territory in the east extends into the Hrubý Jeseník mountains. The highest point is the hill Bukový vrch at above sea level. The village is located in the valley of the Losinka Creek.


History

The first written mention of Velké Losiny is from 1296. The most notable owners were the
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 ...
family, who acquired it in the second half of the 15th century and held it more than 300 years. The family had rebuilt the local fortress into a castle, had built new church and founded here a spa and a paper mill. In 1678–1692, Velké Losiny was the centre of the most infamous witch trials in the nowadays Czech Republic. They were conducted by Heinrich Franz Boblig von Edelstadt, who was summoned to Velké Losiny by Countess Galle and eventually stopped by the brothers Joachim and Maximilian of Zierotin. At the end of the 18th century, the Zierotins fell into debt and began selling their estates. In 1802, they had to sell Velké Losiny with the castle to the
House of Liechtenstein The House of Liechtenstein (), from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only Dynasty#Dynast, dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the thro ...
, in whose possession it remained until 1945.


Demographics


Transport

Velké Losiny is located on the railway line from
Nezamyslice Nezamyslice is a market town in Prostějov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,500 inhabitants. Administrative division Nezamyslice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 cen ...
to Kouty nad Desnou via
Prostějov Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...
, Olomouc and Šumperk. There are four train stations and stops in the municipal territory, including ''Loučná n.Desnou-Filipová'', which serves the neighbouring municipality of
Loučná nad Desnou Loučná nad Desnou (until 1948 Vízmberk; ) is a municipality and village in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,400 inhabitants. Administrative division Loučná nad Desnou consists of six municipal part ...
.


Sights

The most significant monuments are the castle and the handmade
paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
, which is the oldest in Europe. Notable is also the late Renaissance Church of Saint John the Baptist, built in 1599–1603. A popular tourist destination is the thermal spa and its thermal water park called Termály Losiny.


Castle

The castle was built by Jan the Younger of Zierotin approximately in 1567–1589, on the site of an earlier Gothic fortress. The castle consists of three wings overlooking the courtyard with three floors of arcade galleries and is crowned by a narrow octagonal tower. At the turn of the 18th century, the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
buildings were extended with a further three, also arcaded,
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 wings, to which a Baroque-style garden featuring romantic little structures and statues was added. From 1945, the castle is owned by the state. It is protected as a national cultural monument and is open to the public. The most valuable element of the castle interiors is the knight's hall with a Renaissance
coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...
ed ceiling. Notable are the castle chapel, decorated with
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es by
Johann Christoph Handke Johann Christoph Handke (; 18 February 1694 in Rýmařov – 31 December 1774 in Olomouc) was a baroque painter from Moravia. He was the brother-in-law of the painter Joseph Ignatz Sadler. He made frescos as well as oil paintings. Works Regimini ...
, and the castle gallery with paintings of the most important European painting schools.


Spa and water park

Velké Losiny is a minor spa municipality with one of the oldest spas 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 spa was founded in 1562 by Jan the Younger of Zierotin, and a wooden spa building was built here in 1592. The sulfur curative thermal water pumped from a depth of underground reaches temperatures up to 37 °C. The spa buildings are today situated within a park created in 1861, which contains rare trees,
rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan region, b ...
and
azaleas Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Oc ...
. The spa specialises in treating mobility disorders and neurological and skin diseases. The spa water park is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Olomouc Region. The main attraction of the park is four outdoor pools and five indoor pools filled with natural thermal water. They are the only such pools in the country.


Paper mill

The distinguishing feature of the municipality is an old handmade paper mill. It is a national cultural monument and an applicant for inclusion on the 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 list. It was established by the Zierotins between 1591 and 1596 but only produced real wealth in the second half of the 19th century. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the set of buildings acquired its present-day late Baroque and Neoclassical appearance. Not only it is one of the oldest paper mills in Europe, but it has also been in continuous operation since it was founded. Since 1987, the factory houses the Museum of the Paper, which is the only one of its kind in the country. It presents the history of paper-making from the use of the old traditional techniques right up to the deployment of modern industrial technologies.


Notable people

*
Milan Horáček Milan Horáček (born 30 October 1946 in Velké Losiny, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech-born German politician, a founding member of the German Green Party, a former member of the Bundestag (1983–1985) and a former Member of the European Parliam ...
(born 1946), German politician


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velke Losiny Villages in Šumperk District Spa towns in the Czech Republic