Mladá Vožice
Encyclopedia
Mladá Vožice is a town in the South Bohemian Region
South Bohemian Region
South Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia...

 of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 about 17 km north-east of Tábor
Tábor
Tábor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region. It is named after Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the place of the Transfiguration of Christ; however, the name became popular and nowadays translates to "camp" or "encampment" in the Czech language.The town was...

.

History

The town originated from a settlement around a royal castle built on a hill and is known to have two churches as early as Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

's period. According to local resources, the castle was erected by Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

 Spytihněv's order to house silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 from the nearby mines. One of the earliest owners of the town might have been Stanimír z Vožice (Ztanimirum de Bazychce), as known from a 1273 written resource. The town then belonged to several dynasties
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

, one of which gave the town its coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

: a tower set on fortification walls with two coats of arms on the sides.

Vožice goods were probably owned by the royal chamber but were frequently pawned or lent to feudal lords
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

 for services to the king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

. One of the first ones was Vilém of Vožice who possessed the estate till 1318. From 1318 to 1425 Vožice was owned by the lords of Landštejn
Landštejn
Landštejn Castle is a massive fortress built in the early 12th century, it is located in the southern Czech Republic. The structure was first mentioned in 1231. At the time, it was the biggest Romanesque castle in the Czech lands. To this day, it remains one of the oldest and best preserved...

, Janovice, Orlík
Orlík
Orlík is a term in the Czech language for a small or young eagle.Orlík may refer to:* Orlík nad Vltavou, a village in the Czech Republic** Orlík Dam** Orlík Chateau* 11339 Orlík, an asteroid...

, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 and Ronov houses.

In March 1420, after the Battle of Sudoměř
Battle of Sudomer
The Battle of Sudomĕř was fought on the 25th of March, 1420, between Catholic and Hussite forces. The Hussites were led by Břeněk of Švihov - who was killed in battle - and Jan Žižka, whose forces proved victorious...

, Vožice was occupied by about 2000 horse riders
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 led by Mikeš Divůček of Jemniště, the master of the Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora is a city in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic in the Central Bohemian Region.-History:The town began in 1142 with the settlement of the first Cistercian Monastery in Bohemia, Kloster Sedlitz, brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey...

 mint. On Great Friday morning, 1420, Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka
Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha , Czech general and Hussite leader, follower of Jan Hus, was born at small village Trocnov in Bohemia, into a gentried family. He was nicknamed "One-eyed Žižka"...

 attacked the town and set it on fire. Many lords were captured or killed and just those who had escaped to the castle got away with their lives. Žižka also seized a lot of horses for his army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

.

In September 1425 commander Jan Hvězda of Vícemilice aka Bzdinka conquered the castle after 5 weeks' besiegement, had the castle destroyed and the town was attached to Vlašim
Vlašim
Vlašim is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has 12,689 inhabitants. River Blanice runs through Vlašim.Medium age of inhabitants is 36.8 years.History...

. Mladá Vožice was then owned by many feudal houses, of which Přehořovští of Kvasejovice had a chapel built on top of a hill from the castle ruins in 1646. In 1678 the estate changed owners for the Küenburgs, who adjoined other smaller possessions in the area and established it a hereditary estate.

Community life

Long before 1848 up to the 1860s German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 was spoken among the rich while Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

 was only spoken by the common people, who just strived to make a decent living. However, the first signs of community life in Mladá Vožice can be observed as early as late 18th and early 19th centuries but the highlight came after the events of 1848, which marked a breakthrough in the Czech national development. After 1860 the town's teachers and clerks, who had arrived after the school enlargement and establishment of a regional office, tax office and financial pension control, enlivened the town. The ideals of the new national life were also brought to Mladá Vožice by students from their schools and cities.

In 1862 the choir Vlastislav was founded by the patriotic teacher Čeňek Sedmík. At that time a Reading Club strived in the town but later it ceased to exist. Obviously, the national and cultural initiatives came mainly from the immigrant intelligence. For example, the local theatre club established in 1865 was run by educated people including immigrants.

In 1875, the Voluntary Fire Brigade
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...

 was established. It has expanded since, built a large fire brigade garage in 1945 and at present runs four large fire engines
Fire apparatus
A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...

. One year later, the Vožice Academics Club was founded, focusing especially on re-establishing the library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

 after the Reading Club and performing plays.

The magazine Vožičan (Vožice citizen) was issued in 1884 and the young generation published the hand-written magazine Potěr (Spawn). 1885 was marked by the founding of the gymnastics organization Sokol
Sokol
The Sokol movement is a youth sport movement and gymnastics organization first founded in Czech region of Austria-Hungary, Prague, in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner...

. Josef Joachimsthal, the steward of the Küenburg estate, tried hard to bring railroad
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 to the town from Tábor
Tábor
Tábor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region. It is named after Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the place of the Transfiguration of Christ; however, the name became popular and nowadays translates to "camp" or "encampment" in the Czech language.The town was...

. Although negotiations were held until the period of the Czechoslovak Republic
Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)
The First Czechoslovak Republic , refers to the first Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938. The state was commonly called Czechoslovakia . It was composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia...

, they failed and postal bus transport was established instead in 1921, which was taken over by the Czechoslovak State Railways
Czechoslovak State Railways
Czechoslovak State Railways was a state-owned railway company in Czechoslovakia.The company was created in 1918, after the end of First World War and the breakup of Austria-Hungary...

 in 1945 and by ČSAD company (the Czechoslovak Automibole Transport) in 1949.

20th century

There used to be a district court in Mladá Vožice, a forestry administration office, a tax office, a gendarme office, a financial pension control, a chemist
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

, two physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

s, two veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

s and a gelder
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...

, a notary
Notary
A notary is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the state to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents...

, two lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

s, two taxis, two hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

s, 6 pubs with three skittles
Skittles (sport)
Skittles is an old European lawn game, a variety of bowling, from which ten-pin bowling, duckpin bowling, and candlepin bowling in the United States, and five-pin bowling in Canada are descended. In the United Kingdom, the game remains a popular pub game in England and Wales, though it tends to be...

, and 3 cartmen. There also was an almshouse
Almshouse
Almshouses are charitable housing provided to enable people to live in a particular community...

, a poor hospital, an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...

, a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 and the cinema Legie (Legion) of the Czech Legionary
Czechoslovak Legions
The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...

 club. There were 4 small savings bank
Savings bank
A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits. It may also perform some other functions.In Europe, savings banks originated in the 19th or sometimes even the 18th century. Their original objective was to provide easily accessible savings products to...

s and representatives of 4 insurance companies
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

. Mladá Vožice held annual markets, monthly markets and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 markets, and Thursday piglet markets.

The citizens of Mladá Vožice and surroundings were employed mainly on the count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

, at the sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

, brickyard
Brickyard
A brickyard is a place or yard where the earthen building material called bricks are made, fired, and stored, or sometimes sold or otherwise distributed from.-See also:...

, brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....

 and fish hatchery
Fish hatchery
A fish hatchery is a "place for artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of animals, finfish and shellfish in particular". Hatcheries produce larval and juvenile fish primarily to support the aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems...

, they worked on other farms in the area, local distilleries but also in the Vožice quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...

, slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...

, agricultural cooperative and granary
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...

, mill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

s, state stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...

 or were employed in the forest administration.

After 1918 there were also two car repair service
Service (motor vehicle)
A motor vehicle service is a series of maintenance procedures carried out at a set time interval or after the vehicle has travelled a certain distance...

s, a hosiery mill, laundry and pressing shop as well as a steam power plant, which was later taken over by the company Jihočeské elektrárny (South Bohemian power plants] in Mydlovary near České Budějovice
Ceské Budejovice
České Budějovice is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the largest city in the South Bohemian Region and is the political and commercial capital of the region and centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of České Budějovice and of the University of South Bohemia and the Academy of Sciences...

. By 1945 there were 74 various craftsmen and 37 various shops in the town. There was also a small furniture factory and two building companies.

Mladá Vožice citizens made a living by cutting wood for households, bringing water from the fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....

s, and picking fruit. In the 19th and early 20th centuries they went to work to the gold mine Roudný. Apart from the above mentioned jobs they found seasonal and round-the-year ones all over the republic and before around Austria–Hungary.

The town and neighbourhood of Mladá Vožice was a purely agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 area till 1945, and the change towards industrialization only began after the liberation. Until 1947 Mladá Vožice had been a court district in the political district of Tábor
Tábor
Tábor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region. It is named after Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the place of the Transfiguration of Christ; however, the name became popular and nowadays translates to "camp" or "encampment" in the Czech language.The town was...

 which occupied an area of 268 km2 and had 17422 inhabitants in 141 villages and remote settlements, associated in 39 political municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

. It had two towns, Mladá Vožice and Miličín, and one township Kamberk (formerly Zlaté Hory, before that Kamberk). It ranked among the purest Czech regions by nationality.

Since 1949, after the change in the political and state system, Mladá Vožice was included in the newly established district of Votice in Prague region. After the land reorganization of 1960 Mladá Vožice fell under the district of Tábor
Tábor
Tábor is a city of the Czech Republic, in the South Bohemian Region. It is named after Mount Tabor, which is believed by many to be the place of the Transfiguration of Christ; however, the name became popular and nowadays translates to "camp" or "encampment" in the Czech language.The town was...

 in South Bohemian Region
South Bohemian Region
South Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia...

. In 1975-1980 small villages and hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 were unified with the town of Mladá Vožice under one national committee (i.e. town council as used between 1945-1990) but after 1989
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...

 some of the villages recovered their independence.

Sights

  • The St. Martin church is situated on a reinforced terrace above the main Žižka Square. All the church bells were seized in 1942 except for the passing bell; the bell called Jan was returned and blessed as late as 1952 and three new bells, Maria, Václav and Martin sounding Gloria in concord, were bought thanks to fund-raising in 1986.

  • A chateau was built in the same square between 1570–1603. It ows its present Baroque
    Baroque
    The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

     look to the Küenburgs, who owned it for 250 years. In 1946 the chateau was confiscated and its interiors were used by the Koh-i-Noor
    Koh-I-Noor (company)
    Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth a.s. is a Czech manufacturer of a full line of pencils, pens, and art supplies. Formed in 1790 by Joseph Hardtmuth of Austria, the company was named after the Koh-i-Noor, a famous Indian diamond...

     factory. At present the building is closed to the public and its condition is poor, owing mainly to unsuccessful restitutions.

  • The Assumption of the Virgin Chapel is situated on top of a hill above the town where the royal castle used to stand. It was built by Krištof Karel Přehořovský z Kvasejovic, the owner of the Vožice estate, in 1646.

  • The ruin of the castle Šelmberk can be found about 2 km north-east of the town. Unfortunately, just the round keep
    Keep
    A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

     has been preserved till the present day. It is freely accessible except for the tower, which was made into a museum and observation tower
    Observation tower
    An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision. They are usually at least tall and made from stone, iron, and wood. Many modern towers are also used as TV towers, restaurants, or churches...

     and can be visited in the opening hours.

Personalities

  • Matthew of Janow
    Matthew of Janow
    Matthew of Janow was a fourteenth century Bohemian ecclesiastical writer.He was the son of Wenzel of Janow, a Bohemian knight, and began his studies at the University of Prague, before leaving to complete them in Paris. He graduated nine years later...

     - ecclesiastical writer
  • Jan Jeník of Bratřice - Austrian military officer and Czech patriot
  • August Sedláček
    August Sedlácek
    August Sedláček was a distinguished Czech historian and archivist. Notably, he worked in medieval history, detailing the history of Medieval castles in the Bohemian Kingdom. He wrote among others extensively on autonomous region of Prachens in the southwest of Bohemia in 1926 .-External links:*...

     - Czech historian, genealogist, sigillographist
    Sigillography
    Sigillography is one of the auxiliary sciences of history. It refers to the study of seals attached to documents as a source of historical information. It concentrates on the legal and social meaning of seals, as well as the evolution of their design...

     and heraldist
  • Ota Bubeníček
    Ota Bubenícek
    Ota Bubeníček was a famous Czech landscape painter. He was also widely regarded as Bohemia's greatest marionnetter.-References:*...

    - landscape painter

External links

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