Vyškov is a historic town in South Moravia at the crossing of trade routes from Brno to Olomouc and Kroměříž, first mentioned in writing in 1141.
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Vyškov is a historic town at the crossing of old trade routes from Brno to Olomouc and Kroměříž. It gained importance chiefly as a seat of the bishops of Olomouc.[1] Until the Industrial Revolution it developed within the limits set by its old fortifications.[1]
Middle Ages
The first written mention of Vyškov is in a charter of Jindřich Zdík, Bishop of Olomouc, from 1141. At the beginning of the 13th century it became the seat of the ruler's officials and later passed to the bishops of Olomouc. In the middle of the 13th century, under Bishop Bruno von Schauenburg, the settlement, which had belonged to the ruler, was raised to the status of a town. In the 14th century it ranked among the leading towns of the Olomouc bishopric.[1]
The town's location increased the risk of attack in wartime. In the Hussite Wars Vyškov, loyal to the bishop, was captured and laid waste by the Hussites, and during the Hungarian wars it was burned by Duke Jindřich of Münsterberg. The town's recovery in the second half of the 15th century is credited to Tas of Černá Hora, Bishop of Olomouc.[1]
Early modern period
The calmer period of the 16th and early 17th centuries brought economic prosperity. In the 17th century the Thirty Years' War struck the town hard: the Swedes occupied it twice and in the second invasion, in 1643, plundered it completely. It reached its greatest flourishing at the end of the 17th century under the rule of Bishop Charles II of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn, when Vyškov was nicknamed the Moravian Versailles.[1]
A turning point was the fire of 1753, in which almost the whole town, including the château, burned down. The château later hosted a number of visitors but never regained its earlier importance. After the Napoleonic Wars the town expanded beyond its original limits, and in the first half of the 19th century the town gates were partly demolished.[1]
20th century
During the First Republic Vyškov had the character of a town of craftsmen and merchants with relatively little industry. Among the most important events were the electrification of the town in 1923–1925 and the building of a water supply system in 1935. A military garrison was established in the town in 1936. The Second World War affected Vyškov to the extent that it was among the worst-hit towns in the country.[1]
In the following decades the town's position as the cultural, social and economic centre of the region was consolidated. Through boundary extensions, especially in the 1940s, seven more municipalities were added to Vyškov-Střed and Vyškov-Předměstí.[1] After 1989, according to the association, work included the reconstruction of the indoor swimming pool and summer swimming complex (2000) and of the building at Nádražní 4 for the Karel Dvořáček Library and the Basic Art School (2003). Industrial zones with investors were created on the edge of the town, and according to the association the Sochorova zone is among the most successful in the Czech Republic.[1]
Chronology
- — The army tests unmanned systems and defences against them at the Vojenský újezd Březina near Vyškov and at the training ground in Lipník nad Bečvou as part of the third Drone Shield 2026 exercise, in which more than 70 companies from 17 countries took part. → Czech News Agency / České noviny Brněnská Drbna