Vlašim (; ) is a town in

Benešov District Benešov District () is a Okres, district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Benešov. Administrative division Benešov District is divided into three Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities wit ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

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 11,000 inhabitants. Vlašim is known for the Vlašim Castle and its English park.

Administrative division

Vlašim consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Vlašim (9,990) *Bolina (408) *Domašín (618) *Hrazená Lhota (57) *Nesperská Lhota (80) *Polánka (28) *Znosim (103)

Etymology

The name is derived from the personal name Vlašim, meaning "Vlašim's (property)".

Geography

Vlašim is located about southeast of Benešov and southeast of

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 ...

. It lies in the Vlašim Uplands. The highest point is at above sea level. The Blanice River flows through the town.

Climate

Vlašim's climate is classified as

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''; Trewartha: ''Dobk''). Among them, the annual average temperature is , the hottest month in August is , and the coldest month is in January. The annual precipitation is , of which May is the wettest with , while February is the driest with only . The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from on 10 February 1956 to on 13 August 1935.

History

The castle is Vlašim was probably built in 1303 by local noble family, which started calling itself the Vlašim family. The first written mention of the castle and therefore of Vlašim is from 1318. After the Vlašim family, the town was owned by the Trčka of Lípa family and then by the Ostrovec family. As a result of the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

in 1620, the properties of the Ostrovec family were confiscated and Vlašim was acquired by the Talmberk family in 1622. They owned the town until 1744. From 1744 until the end of World War II, the Vlašim estate was owned by the Auersperg family.

Demographics

Economy

The most significant industrial company in Vlašim is Sellier & Bellot, a manufacturer of ammunition. It employs more than 1,500 people.

Transport

There are no major roads passing through the town. Vlašim is located on the Benešov– Trhový Štěpánov railway line. In the northern part of the territory of Vlašim is a small airport, available for national public traffic.

Culture

The castle park hosts an annual festival on 1 May, which is a public holiday in the Czech Republic.

Sport

The town is home to an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team, FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim, which plays in the

Czech National Football League The Czech National Football League (, ''FNL''), known as Chance Národní Liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the second level professional association football league in the Czech Republic. Before 2013 it was known as 2. liga or Druhá liga. The ...

, the second tier of Czech football.

Sights

The main landmark of the town is the Vlašim Castle. The original Gothic castle was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the 16th century.> It is surrounded by a large

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

with many pieces of romantic architecture such as the Chinese pavilion, Old Castle and its three gates. The Church of Saint Giles is a late Gothic building, built in 1522–1523.

Notable people

* Jan Očko of Vlašim (?–1380), Archbishop of Prague * Miluše Poupětová (born 1963), artist * Marcela Krinke-Susmelj (1965–2024), Czech-Swiss

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

rider * Luboš Kozel (born 1971), football player and manager * Libor Procházka (born 1974), ice hockey player * Stanislav Vlček (born 1976), footballer * Michal Rozsíval (born 1978), ice hockey player * Michal Řepík (born 1988), ice hockey player

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vlasim Populated places in Benešov District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic