Slavonice is a Renaissance town in the South Bohemian Region on the border of Bohemia, Moravia and Austria, an urban heritage reservation since 1961.
Slavonice lies on the border of three historical lands, Bohemia, Moravia and Austria. Until 1960 it belonged to south-western Moravia, and after the administrative reform it was assigned to the South Bohemian Region. It was declared an urban heritage reservation in 1961.[2]
History
The first mention of the border settlement dates from 1260, and one can speak of a town from 1277, when the ruler Ottokar II of Bohemia strengthened the border centres. From the 12th century the population consisted mainly of German colonists. From the 13th century the town belonged to the Lords of Hradec, of the Vítkovci branch.[1][2] In 1423 it was unsuccessfully besieged by the Hussite troops of Jan Hvězda of Vícemilice.[1]
A flourishing period came in the 16th century. From 1560 Slavonice was the seat of a post office on the Vienna to Prague route, which supported trade. A strong patriciate brought about building development and the reconstruction of all the houses on both squares; the Renaissance character of the town has been preserved.[1][2] In 1575 the town had 156 burgher houses, of which 28 were in the suburb. After the Thirty Years' War, after 1624, 73 of 164 houses were deserted or burned. In 1680 and 1681 the town was struck by plague, and in 1750 by a great fire.[1][2] At the end of the 18th century the main Czech-Austrian trade route came to concentrate on Znojmo and Jihlava, and Slavonice remained on the periphery.[1]
From the middle of the 19th century it belonged under the district captaincy in Dačice; in 1911 the judicial district of Slavonice with 27 municipalities was established there. At the end of the 19th century a strong Jewish community arose and became the driving force of the textile industry. Most of the inhabitants were Germans. After the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 there was an unsuccessful effort to join Austria. At the beginning of October 1938, after the Munich Dictate, Slavonice was seized and attached to the Landrat of Waidhofen an der Thaya.[1]
After the Second World War the expulsion of the German population took place, first in an unorganised way in May and June 1945, and officially in 1946. New Czech settlers came from nearby towns and villages. After February 1948 and the closing of the borders the town remained in isolation for about forty years, and a new development became possible only in 1989.[1][2]
Landmarks
Both squares arose from the medieval building of burgher houses on long plots with narrow courtyards. Between them stands the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with the town tower, built in 1503 to 1549. The church is a three-aisled basilica built from the middle of the 14th century until 1521. From the end of the 15th century many ponds were created in the surroundings.[2]
The town's website quotes the architect David Vávra, according to whom the greatest asset of the town is time that stopped, the consequences of which are at the same time its greatest weakness.[2]