Polná
Encyclopedia
Polná (ˈpolnaː) is a town
with around 5,000 inhabitants in the Vysočina Region
of the Czech Republic
.
Founded in the second half of the 12th century, it is first mentioned in a written document in 1242. At that time, there had already been a church in Polná. Originally, Polná was a forest collier settlement, and not far from it there was built a castle called Polná, originally Polmna. The town lies on the line between two historic Czech lands - Bohemia
and Moravia
, therefore the town became an important mercantil and tactical point.
, Hynek Ptáček of Pirkenštejn, a hussite nobleman, ruled over Polná and bought also the nearby town of Přibyslav
. Viktorin of Kunštát
, son of the Czech king George of Poděbrady
who bestowed Polná significant town rights and the coat of arms, got Polná by marriage with Žofie Ptáčková (Sofia Ptáček, daughter of Hynek Ptáček).
In the 15. century, Trčeks of Lípa owned the town followed by the Wallensteins, lords of Hradec and Žejdlices of Šenfeld. In 1623 Rudolf Žejdlic’s property was confiscated because of his revolt against the Emperor
. All the domain was bought by cardinal František of Ditrichštejn who changed the town’s privileges and the coat of arms. Polná belonged to the Ditrichštejns’ property almost 300 years.
In the 17. century a Jewish community settled in Polná.
In 1794 the castle (rebuilt to a chateau) burned down and was never completely restored again.
. In the half of the 19. century 6 500 people lived in Polná, which made it be the third biggest town in the Vysočina region (after Jihlava and Třebíč
).
From 1840 to 1842, Božena Němcová
, a significant Czech female writer, stayed in Polná.
August 1863 was tragic for Polná. A giant fire destroyed 189 houses and 456 families lost their homes. Many baroque and renaissance houses were ruined. Many people moved from the city.
The fact that the Northwest Railroad were built 6 kilometers far from Polná caused another economical decline of the town. Railroad Dobronín-Polná was built in 1903 but since 1982 the passenger traffic does not carry on.
The most significant incident of the 19. century was the murder of a 19-year-old Anežka Hrůzová in the Březina forest. A Polná Jew, Leopold Hilsner, was wrongfully accused of the crime. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, later the first president of Czechoslovakia
engaged himself in this affair. (see Hilsner Affair
)
In 1949 Polná became part of the Havlíčkův Brod
okres. In 1960, after another territorial reorganization it became part of the Jihlava okres.
Every second weekend in September, the so called „carrot fun fair“ or „carrot-bun fun fair“ (mrkvancová pouť in Czech) is organized in Polná.
A glen where there led an ancient merchant path from Moravia to Bohemia. Klešter is a unique technical landmark of the Middle Ages. It was about 500 m long, partially cut in a rock.
Polná Castle (Polenský hrad)
Polná Castle was built approximately in 1320 on a point above the junction of the Šlapanka river and the Ochozský brook. It was rebuilt to a large gothic castle. In the 15. century its rampart was extended (incl. three ponds; one of them, Peklo, meaning Hell, exists to date). After a fire in 1584 the castle was reconstructed to a renaissance chateau. In 1645 and 1647 it was burned down by Swedes. After a vast fire in 1794 it started to wasteaway. In recent days the chateau was repaired and today it serves as a branch of the Vysočina Museum.
Church of Assumption of the Virgin Mary
(Chrám Nenebevzetí Panny Marie)
The church was built between 1700-1705, the tower in 1714. Author of the project was Italian builder Domenico D’Angeli. The building is 63 m long, 26 m wide and 22 m high. Inside the church there is a rich stucco decoration, tapestry, 10 altars, a font of tin (1617) and an organ by Jan David Sieberg (it is the biggest organ preserved organ in the Czech lands). The tower was destroyed by the 1863 fire and rebuilt in 1895. It is 64 m high.
Church of Saint Catherine (Kostel svaté Kateřiny)
Built 1378-1389 by Jan Ptáček of Pirkenštejn. 1906-1910 fragments of wall frescoes from the 15. and 16. centuries were discovered.
Jewish Town and Jewish Cemetery
The Jewish Town (today’s Charles Square) is situated South-East from the town’s main square (Hus Square). There is a preserved and reconstructed synagoge there. The Jewish cemetery can be found North-West of the town. The oldest gravestones are from the 17. century, the youngest one from 1940.
Else:
personality, town mayor
Božena Němcová
(1820-1862), a female writer, lived in Polná between 1840-1842
Karel Knittl (1853-1907), a composer and conductor
Vlasta Pittnerová (1853-1926), a female writer
Karel Ludvík Klusáček (1865-1929), a painter
Leopold Hilsner (1876-1928), a victim of judicial error
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
with around 5,000 inhabitants in the Vysočina Region
Vysocina Region
Vysočina Region , is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located partly in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia and partly in the south-west of the historical region of 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....
.
Founded in the second half of the 12th century, it is first mentioned in a written document in 1242. At that time, there had already been a church in Polná. Originally, Polná was a forest collier settlement, and not far from it there was built a castle called Polná, originally Polmna. The town lies on the line between two historic Czech lands - Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, therefore the town became an important mercantil and tactical point.
Middle Ages
Polná became the center of Polná (later Polná-Přibyslav) domain. During its existence, Polná was, most of the time, part of significant aristocrat families’ property. After the lords of Polná, the lords of Lipá owned the town, from the half of the 14. century Polná was owned by the lords of Pirkenštejn. During the Hussite WarsHussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
, Hynek Ptáček of Pirkenštejn, a hussite nobleman, ruled over Polná and bought also the nearby town of Přibyslav
Pribyslav
Přibyslav is a town in the Czech Republic....
. Viktorin of Kunštát
Victor of Poděbrady
Victor, Duke of Münsterberg Victor, Duke of Münsterberg Victor, Duke of Münsterberg (also: Victor, Duke of Münsterberg and Opava; ; (29 May 1443 in Cieszyn – 30 August 1500 in Cieszyn) was an Imperial Count from 1459 and Count of Kladsko...
, son of the Czech king George of Poděbrady
George of Podebrady
George of Kunštát and Poděbrady , also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad , was King of Bohemia...
who bestowed Polná significant town rights and the coat of arms, got Polná by marriage with Žofie Ptáčková (Sofia Ptáček, daughter of Hynek Ptáček).
In the 15. century, Trčeks of Lípa owned the town followed by the Wallensteins, lords of Hradec and Žejdlices of Šenfeld. In 1623 Rudolf Žejdlic’s property was confiscated because of his revolt against the Emperor
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
. All the domain was bought by cardinal František of Ditrichštejn who changed the town’s privileges and the coat of arms. Polná belonged to the Ditrichštejns’ property almost 300 years.
In the 17. century a Jewish community settled in Polná.
In 1794 the castle (rebuilt to a chateau) burned down and was never completely restored again.
19. century
In the 19. century Polná was the center of Czech culture for large locality and formed a counterbalance to the German-speaking city of JihlavaJihlava
Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...
. In the half of the 19. century 6 500 people lived in Polná, which made it be the third biggest town in the Vysočina region (after Jihlava and Třebíč
Trebíc
Třebíč is a city in the Moravian part of the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic.Třebíč is situated 35 km southeast of Jihlava and 65 km west of Brno on the Jihlava River. Třebíč is from 392 to 503 metres above sea-level....
).
From 1840 to 1842, Božena Němcová
Božena Nemcová
Božena Němcová was a Czech writer of the final phase of the Czech National Revival movement.-Biography:...
, a significant Czech female writer, stayed in Polná.
August 1863 was tragic for Polná. A giant fire destroyed 189 houses and 456 families lost their homes. Many baroque and renaissance houses were ruined. Many people moved from the city.
The fact that the Northwest Railroad were built 6 kilometers far from Polná caused another economical decline of the town. Railroad Dobronín-Polná was built in 1903 but since 1982 the passenger traffic does not carry on.
The most significant incident of the 19. century was the murder of a 19-year-old Anežka Hrůzová in the Březina forest. A Polná Jew, Leopold Hilsner, was wrongfully accused of the crime. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, later the first president of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
engaged himself in this affair. (see Hilsner Affair
Hilsner Affair
The Hilsner Affair was a series of anti-semitic trials following an accusation of blood libel against Leopold Hilsner, a Jewish inhabitant of the village of Polná in Bohemia in 1899 and 1900...
)
20. century
In 1906, the telephone network were installed in Polná. A power plant was built in 1911. During the Second World War most of the Jewish community died in concentration camps. Only three Polná Jews survived the war.In 1949 Polná became part of the Havlíčkův Brod
Havlíckuv Brod
Havlíčkův Brod , Německý Brod until 1945 is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It is also the capital of the Havlíčkův Brod district. It is located on the Sázava River in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and has a population of 24,321 as of 2003...
okres. In 1960, after another territorial reorganization it became part of the Jihlava okres.
Nowadays
Polná is a smaller town with many small businessmen. Most important types of industries are wood-working industry and food industry (especially dairy products). Also textile industry is present in the town.Every second weekend in September, the so called „carrot fun fair“ or „carrot-bun fun fair“ (mrkvancová pouť in Czech) is organized in Polná.
Sights
KlešterA glen where there led an ancient merchant path from Moravia to Bohemia. Klešter is a unique technical landmark of the Middle Ages. It was about 500 m long, partially cut in a rock.
Polná Castle (Polenský hrad)
Polná Castle was built approximately in 1320 on a point above the junction of the Šlapanka river and the Ochozský brook. It was rebuilt to a large gothic castle. In the 15. century its rampart was extended (incl. three ponds; one of them, Peklo, meaning Hell, exists to date). After a fire in 1584 the castle was reconstructed to a renaissance chateau. In 1645 and 1647 it was burned down by Swedes. After a vast fire in 1794 it started to wasteaway. In recent days the chateau was repaired and today it serves as a branch of the Vysočina Museum.
Church of Assumption of the Virgin Mary
(Chrám Nenebevzetí Panny Marie)
The church was built between 1700-1705, the tower in 1714. Author of the project was Italian builder Domenico D’Angeli. The building is 63 m long, 26 m wide and 22 m high. Inside the church there is a rich stucco decoration, tapestry, 10 altars, a font of tin (1617) and an organ by Jan David Sieberg (it is the biggest organ preserved organ in the Czech lands). The tower was destroyed by the 1863 fire and rebuilt in 1895. It is 64 m high.
Church of Saint Catherine (Kostel svaté Kateřiny)
Built 1378-1389 by Jan Ptáček of Pirkenštejn. 1906-1910 fragments of wall frescoes from the 15. and 16. centuries were discovered.
Jewish Town and Jewish Cemetery
The Jewish Town (today’s Charles Square) is situated South-East from the town’s main square (Hus Square). There is a preserved and reconstructed synagoge there. The Jewish cemetery can be found North-West of the town. The oldest gravestones are from the 17. century, the youngest one from 1940.
Other sights
On Hus Square:- Baroque Trinity Column
- Fountain „Hastrmanka“ or colloquially „Vodník“ (water sprite)
- Dean’s office
Else:
- Church of Saint Barbara with cemetery
- „Kaplanka“ or „Old School“ (Stará škola) – one of Vysočina Museum expositions
Important personalities
Antonín Pittner (1814-1897), a Czech national revivalCzech National Revival
Czech National Revival was a cultural movement, which took part in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th century. The purpose of this movement was to revive Czech language, culture and national identity...
personality, town mayor
Božena Němcová
Božena Nemcová
Božena Němcová was a Czech writer of the final phase of the Czech National Revival movement.-Biography:...
(1820-1862), a female writer, lived in Polná between 1840-1842
Karel Knittl (1853-1907), a composer and conductor
Vlasta Pittnerová (1853-1926), a female writer
Karel Ludvík Klusáček (1865-1929), a painter
Leopold Hilsner (1876-1928), a victim of judicial error
External links
- Municipal website (cz)