Vítkov (; , ) is a town in

Opava District Opava District () is a Districts of the Czech Republic, district in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Opava. Administrative division Opava District is divided into four Districts of the Czech Republic#M ...

in the

Moravian-Silesian Region The Moravian-Silesian Region () is one of the 14 administrative regions of the Czech Republic. Before May 2001, it was called the Ostrava Region (). The region is located in the north-eastern part of its historical region of Moravia and in most ...

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.

Administrative division

Vítkov consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Vítkov (4,464) *Jelenice (97) *Klokočov (450) *Lhotka (75) *Nové Těchanovice (67) *Podhradí (67) *Prostřední Dvůr (109) *Zálužné (56) Jelenice 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

Vítkov is located about southwest of

Opava Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava (river), Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Sile ...

and west of

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

. It lies in the

Nízký Jeseník Nízký Jeseník (, ) is a flat highland and Geomorphological division of the Czech Republic, geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the east of the country in the Olomouc Region, Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian Region, M ...

range. The highest point is the hill Horka with an altitude of . The Moravice River forms the northern municipal border.

History

The first written mention of Vítkov is from 1301. The town and the Vikštejn Castle were founded by Vítek of Kravaře in the second half of the 13th century. In the following centuries, the town often changed owners, who were among the lower nobles. In 1713–1714, the then owner of the Vítkov estate, Wipplar of Ulschitz had built a Baroque mansion. The Vikštejn Castle (today outside of municipal territory of Vítkov) was abandoned in 1776 and became a ruin. The inhabitants subsisted mainly on cloth and linen crafts and agriculture. During the industrialisation in the second half of the 19th century, several textile factories were established. Gloves, ribbons and silk products were made here. According to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

census of 1910 the town had 3,570 inhabitants, almost all of them were German-speaking. Most populous religious group were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

with 3,513 (98.4%). After the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, by 24 November 1918, the town became part of the

Czechoslovak Republic Czechoslovak Republic (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá republika'', ČSR), was the official name of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1960. See: *First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) *Second Czechoslovak Republic ...

. In 1938, Vítkov was annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and administered as part of

Reichsgau Sudetenland The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the ''Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from Czechoslovakia according to the 30 September 1938 Munich Agreement. ...

. After World War II, the German population was expelled and the town was resettled by Czechs. On 19 April 2009, an

arson attack Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

with three

molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

s thrown on house inhabited by a Roma family happened here.

Demographics

Transport

Vítkov is located on the

Suchdol nad Odrou Suchdol nad Odrou () is a market town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. Administrative division Suchdol nad Odrou consists of two municipal parts (in brackets populatio ...

–

Budišov nad Budišovkou Budišov nad Budišovkou (; ) is a town in Opava District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mo ...

railway line of local importance.

Sights

The main landmark of the town is the parish Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was built in the neo-Gothic style in 1914–1918.

Notable people

Ferdinand Hanusch Ferdinand Hanusch (9 November 1866 – 28 September 1923) was an Austrian writer and politician ( SDAP) who served as the second Vice-Chancellor of Austria The vice-chancellor of Austria is a member of the Government of Austria and is the de ...

(1866–1923), Austrian politician * Franz W. Seidler (born 1933), German historian *

Helmut Kohlenberger Helmut Kohlenberger (born 1942 in Vítkov) is a German philosopher, translator, editor and university lecturer at both the Universities of Vienna and Salzburg. He is the author of several works, including ''The European Idea and Culture'', ''Theor ...

(born 1942), German philosopher *

Jan Zajíc Jan Zajíc (died 25 February 1969) was a Czechs, Czech student who killed himself by self-immolation as a political protest. Biography He was a student of the Střední průmyslová škola železniční (Industrial Highschool of Railways) techn ...

(1950–1969), student who committed suicide by

self-immolation Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire. It is mostly done for political or religious reasons, often as a form of protest or in acts of martyrdom, and known for its disturbing and violent nature. Etymology The English word ' ...

as a political protest * Martin Čížek (born 1974), footballer * Lukáš Milo (born 1983), athlete * Radek Faksa (born 1994), ice hockey player

Twin towns – sister cities

Vítkov is twinned with: * Kalety, Poland *

Vrbové Vrbové ( (modernized: ''Werbau''); ) is a village in the Trnava Region of Slovakia. It has a population of about 6,000. The village lies around northwest from Piešťany. Characteristics The village features an originally Gothic church from 1 ...

, Slovakia

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitkov Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Opava District