Jindřichův Hradec

Jindřichův Hradec
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	South Bohemian
District	Jindřichův Hradec
Commune	Jindřichův Hradec
River	Nežárka
Elevation	475 m (1,558 ft)
Coordinates	CZ 49°9′N 15°0′E / 49.150°N 15.000°ECoordinates: CZ 49°9′N 15°0′E / 49.150°N 15.000°E
Area	74.27 km^2 (28.68 sq mi)
Population	22,604 (2007-03-01)
Density	304 / km^2 (787 / sq mi)
First mentioned	1220
Mayor	Karel Matoušek
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	377 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Jindřichův Hradec
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.jh.cz

Jindřichův Hradec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪndr̝ɪxuːf ˈɦradɛts]; German: Neuhaus) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has approximately 22,700 inhabitants.

History

The first written mention of the town is in 1220. Before that, it was probably a Slavic settlement. At the end of the 12th century more people arrived. At the beginning of the 13th century a Gothic castle was built (it was gradually rebuilt into a Renaissance château in the 16th century). In the census following the Thirty Years' War, Jindřichův Hradec was the second largest city in the Kingdom of Bohemia. Between 1831-1935 it was the first city in the area to get electricity for lighting, in 1888 the water mill was converted to electricity.

Main sights

The city castle and palace is the third largest in the country after those in Prague and Český Krumlov. It covers three ha. and contains 320 rooms. More than 10,000 works of art and a similar number of books may be found there.

The district museum, which is in a renaissance building that was once the Jesuit seminary appeared in the city in 1882 and is one of the oldest regional museums in Bohemia. The most well-known item in the museum is the Kryza, the largest mechanical Christmas manger scene in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

• Preserved Jewish Cemetery (Dates back from 15th century)
• The Church of Ascension
• The Chapel of Saint Mary Magdalene
• The Church of Saint John the Baptist with the nearby building that once housed minorite monks and was later an infirmary.
• The Church of the Most Holy Trinity
• The Church of Saint Catherine
• The Church of Saint James
• The Church of Saint Wenceslas

Houses in the marketplace (Friendensplatz) with the pristine gothic city hall

Surroundings

Jindřichův Hradec's neighbourhood includes sites such as Červená Lhota Castle, the historical town of Třeboň and Stráž nad Nežárkou. The UNESCO World Heritage town of Telč lies 40 kilometres (25 miles) to the east.

People

von Neuhaus

• Lords of Neuhaus (German: Herren von Neuhaus, Herren von Hradec, Czech: Páni z Hradce, Latin: de Novo Domo)
• Kurt Adler (1907–1977), a Jewish conductor, chorus master, and pianist; the Chorus Master and Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, United States and Author (forced to flee under Nazism)
• Martin Aumüller (1697, Maihingen ?–1757), a sculptor and woodcarver; since 1714 lived here
• Florian Baucke (1719–1779), a Silesian Jesuit missionary, lived and died here
• Karel Berman (1919–1995), a Jewish opera singer and composer
• Václav Chalupa (* 1967), rower
• Pavel David (* 1978), a footballer
• Petr Fical (* 1977), a Czechoslovak and German ice hockey player
• Jan Fidler (* 1927), diplomat
• Leoš Friedl, a tennis player
• Ernst Gamillscheg (1887–1971, Göttingen), Austrian and German Romance linguist (German: Romanist)
• Marie Hoppe-Teinitzerová (1879–1960), textile designer, founder of textile art workshop of this city
• Miroslav Jiroušek (1903–1983), mathematician and composer
• Stanislav Komárek (* 1958), biologist, philosopher, write
• Josef Kořínek (1829–1892), classical philologist, gymnasium professor
• Aleš Kotalík (* 1978), an ice hockey player
• Pavel Kroupa (* 1963), professor of astrophysics
• Eduard Lederer (1859–1944), writer, lawyer, journalist
• Jan Marek (1979–2011), an ice hockey player
• František Daniel Merth (1915–1995), a Catholic priest and poet
• Milan Michálek (* 1984), an ice hockey player
• Zbyněk Michálek (* 1982), an ice hockey player
• Adam (Václav) Michna z Otradovic (1600–1676), an organist, composer, singer and poet
• Emanuel Miřiovský (1846–1914), writer, literary critic and translator
• František Nušl (1867–1951), astronomer
• Karel Poborský (* 1972), a footballer
• Stanislaus von Prowazek (1875–1915), zoologist and parasitologist
• (Jan) Antonín Reichenauer (German: Johann Anton Reichenauer; ca. 1694, Prague–1730), a Baroque composer
• Antonín Rezek (1853–1909), historian, Austrian Minister of the Czech Government Affairs
• Hanuš Schwaiger (1852–1912), painter
• Tomáš Vladimír Sládek (1862–1926), national worker, teacher, Sokol member
• Vladimír Špidla (* 1951), European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs & Equal Opportunities, 4th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
• Renáta Tomanová (* 1954), tennis player
• Jaroslav Václav Vacek (1865–1935), priest, composer and writer

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Jindřichův Hradec is twinned with:

• Neckargemünd, Germany
• Steffisburg, Switzerland
• Zwettl, Austria

Trivia

• Asteroid 21873 Jindřichůvhradec is named in honour of city
• Gymnasium Vitězslava Nováka was founded in 1595, making it one of the oldest non-university schools in Central Europe

External links

• Municipal website (cs, de, en)
• Jindrichuv Hradec - travel guide ( basic facts, history, sights, one-day trips)