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Svitavy

East Bohemian Svitavy is located in the southeastern part of the Czech Plateau, in the foothills of the Eagle Mountains, which can be considered a great starting point for hiking and biking trips to the surrounding area, which has many interesting places, as well as the city itself.

Information for visitors

Adress: nám. Míru, Svitavy
GPS: 49.75607000, 16.46794830
Svitavy map

Interesting facts Svitavy

History of the town

Svitavy can be found at the border of Moravia and Bohemia and the name was given to it by the river on which the town is situated, the river Svitava. Sometime around 1167, the Premonstratensian Order of Litomyšl built a church of St. Jiljí and a century later Bruno of Schauenberg sent German settlers here to build the Church of the Virgin Mary. Later, Svitavy was promoted to a town by Bishop Bruno of Schauenburg in Olomouc.

In 1389, walls were built in Svitavy, however, in 1424 the town was conquered and plundered by the Hussites. The period of prosperity did not occur until the 16th century, when crafts flourished here, houses with arcades were built on the square, but during the Thirty Years' War there was a decline again, the city was empty and depopulated. In addition, epidemics of cholera and plague raged in Svitavy shortly afterwards, which is commemorated by the plague column from 1703, which can be found in the square today.

In 1781, a fire broke out in the town, which damaged the local town hall, the church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and three hundred houses. Subsequently, new construction took place, during which the city was wounded by the Napoleonic and Prussian-Austrian wars.

Svitavy has historically been exposed to ethnic conflicts between the Czechs and Germans, and in 1938 the town even fell under the Great German Empire, and the Czech population in Svitavy began to prevail only after World War II.

Sights and interesting places

The town of Svitavy offers its visitors a number of remarkable places, architectural monuments and routes in the area. The center of the city is naturally a square, in which burgher houses with arcades promise a pleasant walk.

Of the church buildings, the church of St. Giles and the Visitation of the Virgin Mary.

The local library with more than 25,000 volumes is also a remarkable place. It is a gift of the city from its famous native Valentin Oswald Ottenik from 1892.

Author: Andrea Štyndlová