Blansko (German: Blanz) is a town in the South Moravian Region. It lies in the valley of the river Svitava, 19 km north of Brno. The center has an altitude of 276 m, most of the city is located on a slope above the left bank of the Svitavy. Blansko covers an area of 18.29 km2 and has a population of approximately 20,000.
The Moravian Karst Protected Area covers the territory of Blansko. There are many forests in the administrative territory of the city. Among the attractions is the sought-after flooded quarry near the train station next to the railway line with crystal clear water.
Blansko is located on the Brno-Česká Třebová railway line, and due to the fact that it is the starting point for tourist routes to the Moravian Karst region, it is called the gateway to the Moravian Karst. Blansko had this phrase registered as a trademark in 2009. To the east of the city are the ruins of Blansek Castle. South of Blansko lie the ruins of the Devil's Castle and the New Castle.
náměstí Republiky – square in the city center; on the square there is
the Komerční banka building, the Municipal Office building, a rest area
called "Poduklí" on the site of the Dukla hotel (demolished in 2015);
there is a water fountain, benches and also parking spaces; during the
holidays, a summer cinema is shown here or musical performances take
place, in winter a Christmas tree is erected here
náměstí Svobody –
the square in front of the Blanen town hall building; in the middle of
the square there is a park with benches, a fountain with swans, a bronze
statue of foals (a reminder of the agricultural buildings that stood
here in the past) and a memorial to those who died in the First World
War
Wankel Square – an elongated square in the heart of Blansko with
decorations made of cast iron sculptures
náměstí Míru – the
intersection of 9. května, Stareckého, Čapkova and Bartošova streets
Rožmitálova street – newly repaired street (pedestrian zone) with red
brick paving, benches
park near Zborovák – a park near the train
station with a monument to the battle near Zborová
Baroque church of St. Martin from 1672–1691 on the site of the
original Romanesque (later Gothic) church, founded in the first half of
the 12th century by Olomouc bishop Jindřich Zdík. The ancient bell in
the church tower is one of the oldest in Moravia. The church is an
important stop on the European St. Martin's "Via Sancti Martini", which
is evidenced by the information board on the wall of the parish garden,
as well as the symbolic bronze foot of St. Martin located in the nave of
the church.
Blanenský castle with castle park - today the Blansko
Museum is located in the castle with several permanent exhibitions:
history of ironworks, Blanensk artistic cast iron of the 19th and 20th
centuries, Moravian Karst, historical interiors. Doctor and
archaeologist Jindřich Wankel, writer Ferdinand von Saar and Karolina
Meineke stayed in the castle.
ADAST – the administrative building of
ADAST Blansko a. s. built in 1911 in the Windsor style after the
Miramare castle; the building serves as administrative space for local
companies and is not accessible to the public
Klam's smelter from
1855 – the last preserved ironworks smelter from the 19th century,
formerly a museum of artistic cast iron, now production premises again
17th-century wooden church of St. Paraskiva, originally from
Subcarpathian Rus, transferred to Blansko in 1936
The town hall -
from 1885, acquired its current form in 1904, when the clock tower was
completed.
Blansko Cinema - built in 1921 as Bio Invalidů, in 2012 it
was completely digitized
The waterworks complex was built in the
1930s according to the design of the architect Bohuslav Fuchs
Hotel
Skalní mlýn – the most important center of the Moravian Karst
Božena Němcová monument, located in the park at the intersection of
Žižkova and Havlíčkova streets
memorial to those who died in the 1st
World War. It stands in the park on Náměstí Svobody.
the monument to
the heroes of the Battle of Zborovo, was unveiled in 1947 and survived
the period of communist totality unscathed. In 2007, the statue was
repaired and the lost bayonet returned to its original place. It is
located in the park on Svatopluka Čecha street near the ČD Blansko-město
stop. The monument to the Zborovsky fighter is apparently the only one
in the world, it was cast in the 1930s at the ČKD Blansko company.
Furthermore, the same monument intended for Prague was created, which
was unveiled in front of the church of St. Agnes in June 1937 by General
Stanislav Čeček, and the third, which was installed in eastern Galicia.
However, the Prague statue was destroyed by the Nazis during World War
II, and the fate of the third monument is completely unknown. The author
of the statue is the Russian legionnaire Karel Babka. A public
fundraiser was announced for the restoration of the Prague monument (for
example, Masaryk's Democratic Movement provided CZK 50,000 for the
bronze statue in addition to the contributions of its members), but the
implementation at the original location in Prague 4 - Spořilov is
encountering a number of difficulties.
the liberation monument -
"Rudoarmějec", is in the park at the intersection of Sadové, Seifertovy
and Hybešovy streets, it was built in 1955 to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of the liberation of Czechoslovakia.
"Allegory of War" -
two-ton cast iron statue (Ares resting on war trophies). In 1918, it was
cast for Trident (Trento), but due to the turbulent events at the end of
the First World War, it no longer arrived at its destination. It still
stands in the park near the ČKD building.
grave monument of the first
wife of the English king William IV. Karoliny Meineke, surrounded by a
newly built rosary, is located near the church of St. Martin
Blansko City Library – public library
Gallery of the city of
Blansko - exhibition of fine arts
City Club "Worker's House" - club
facilities with a large hall and stage, small halls and clubhouses; part
of the club is a restaurant with a summer garden
Blansko Hospital
Engineering complex ČKD Blansko
Other
Ježk's cable-stayed
bridge – dating from the mid-19th century, maintained as a cultural
monument
Blansko High School
Business Academy and Secondary Medical School
Blansko Technical and Gastronomic Secondary School
Secondary School
of Tourism and Gastronomy, s.r.o.
Primary school Salmova
Elementary school Dvorská
Primary school
of Tomáš Garrigu Masaryk
Elementary school Erbenova
ZŠ Nad
Čertovkou (intended for pupils with special educational needs)
ZUŠ
Blansko, Castle
The name of the settlement is originally the nominative form of the adjective blanský derived from the noun blan or blané - "lawn, pasture (especially in the place of felled forests and stony soil)". The name thus indicated a settlement based on a pasture.
Pottery shards, which were found in 2017 during construction work at
the Blanen church, date from the first half of the eleventh century. The
first written mention of the local settlement, today's Staré Blansk, on
the right bank of the Svitava, appears in the Annals of the so-called
Canon of Vyšehrad and dates back to 1136, when there was a sharp
property dispute (but mainly political in the background) over the right
to build a church in Blansk between Olomouc by Bishop Jindřich Zdík and
Brno Regional Prince Vratislav. Blansko, along with other settlements,
became the property of the Olomouc bishopric, and its holders received
these goods as a fief. In the second half of the 13th century, the
Blansek castle east of Blansko became the center of this estate.
In 1277, Olomouc bishop Bruno of Schauenburg founded a new settlement on
the left bank of the river, which became the core of the later city as
the so-called Nové Blansko. A number of fief owners took turns in
possession of both villages, the most famous of which belonged to the
family of lords from Kunštát and Černohorský from Boskovice. From 1526,
the Blansko estate belonged to a family of lords from Doubravka and
Hradiště, under whom the neglected estate was improved and repaired, and
the settlements of Staré and Nové Blansko were merged into one unit. Jan
Dubravius bought the Blanen manor from Jaroslav Černohorský of
Boskovice, which he combined with other goods. In 1580, Matyáš Žalkovský
from Žalkovice elevated Blansko to a small town. In the years 1631–1694,
Blansko was held by the family of lords from Rožmitál. The Silesian
family of the Gellhorn Counts founded the first ironworks here in 1698.
The development of Blansko took place in the 19th century precisely in
connection with the expansion of local ironworks and machine shops,
which were built by Hugo František Salm. The Brno - Česká Třebová
railway line, which was inaugurated on January 1, 1849, contributed to
the city's further expansion. In this period, when the robots and noble
estates were abolished, Blansko became the center of one of the three
judicial districts that fell under the governorship in Boskovice .
Blansko was elevated from a township to a city by Emperor František
Josef I in 1905. In this year, a commemorative document was drawn up
that describes conditions in Blansko, the state of industry, education,
associations, etc. At that time, Blansko had 417 houses with 3,350
inhabitants and was a developed an industrial city. The largest factory
was Salma's ironworks, which produced a wide range of not only iron
products and employed 2,000 workers. Another plant was the factory and
foundry of the Ježek company employing 400 workers. The Carl Mayers
Söhne factory produced clay stoves and fireclay goods and employed 120
workers. Other smaller companies were František Šauman's farm machinery
factory, the Druzhstvo železářů farm machinery factory, the Nejezchleb
brothers' machine shop, Martin Kala's brickworks, etc. In 1911, engineer
Erich Roučka founded a factory in Blansk for the production of
electrical measuring devices and control systems, which he sold 23 years
later Robert Sochor. In 1945, the factory was nationalized and named
Metra Blansko. Together with ČKD Blansko and Adast Blansko, it formed
the core of the Blansko industry until 1989. In 1949, Blansko became a
district town. To this day, it has retained its industrial character,
although its importance for employment in the district has declined
considerably.
Cadastral territory and parts of the city
The city is divided into
eight cadastral territories and 12 parts of the city. The cadastral
territories and parts of the city located on them are:
k. ú. Blansko
- part of Blansko
k. ú. Dolní Lhota - part of Dolní Lhota
k. ú.
Horní Lhota u Blansko - part of Horní Lhota
k. ú. Hořice u Blansko -
part of Hořice
k. ú. Klepačov - part of Klepačov
k. ú. Lažánky
near Blansko - part of Lažánky and partly also part of Blansko
k. ú.
Olešná u Blanska - Olešná part
district of Těchov - parts of Těchov,
Obůrka, Skalní mlýn, Žižlavice and Češkovice
In the years 1980–1999,
the separate municipality of Spešov was part of the city, even today.
Urban districts
Unofficially, the city is divided into the
following urban districts:
Choir members
North
Old apartment
buildings (May 9)
Sandy
Underwood
Blansko-city
Old Blansko
Soldiers
Arnošt's valley
Blansko used to be a district town, currently it is a municipality with extended powers and an authorized municipal office. However, Blansko district still exists and consists of 116 municipalities, the administrative district of the municipality with extended jurisdiction of 43 municipalities.
In 1849, the railway line Brno – Česká Třebová was put into operation. In 1899, there were talks about the creation of a railway line to Vyškov, but it was not implemented. In the same way, at the beginning of the 20th century, proposals to build railway lines to the Moravian Karst, Líšně, Prostějov or Tišnov were not implemented. There was no further development of railway lines, and since the 1920s Blanensko concentrated on bus transport, which was carried out by private carriers. In 1949, the company ČSAD Blansko was established, which was a transport plant of the national company ČSAD Brno. After 1989, other carriers entered the market, on January 1, 1994, the transport company ČSAD Blansko was privatized and renamed ČAD Blansko. Current public transport in the city and to surrounding towns and villages is provided by bus lines that are part of the Integrated Transport System of the South Moravian Region.
Currently, Blansko is also referred to as the "city of sports". A
number of sports clubs and sections operate here, from which many
important names in top Czech sports have emerged (especially Ludvík
Daněk, a native of Blané and Olympic champion in the discus throw).
There are modern sports facilities in the city, such as an indoor spa,
an aqua park, newly reconstructed playgrounds and gymnasiums.
Important sports and cultural events of supra-regional importance are
held in the city every year, e.g. the international Moravian Karst Half
Marathon, You Dream We Run, BAMBIfest (bambirade), Blanenská desítka,
Blanenské vítání st. Martin and the autumn RAJBAS festival of films,
meetings and adventures organized by the Horizont Blansko Association.
The Blanno football club FK Blansko still played in the 1.A class in
the 2005/2006 season, thanks to the annual promotion in 2008 it plays in
the MSFL. Two relegations followed in 2009–2011, then promotion in 2013,
and today the club plays in the Moravian-Silesian Division D. In 2020,
after the prematurely ended 2019/20 season, it advanced to the Fortuna:
National League.
The hockey club HC Blansko played in the 2nd
National Hockey League in 2003–2008. The biggest success is the double
participation in the final of the 2nd NL in the seasons 2005/2006 and
2006/2007. Before the 2008/2009 season, he sold the second league
license to the Vsetín team for economic reasons. In the 2009/2010
season, the Blansko team merged with Technika Brno and under the name
VSK Technika Blansko played in the third highest hockey league in
Blansko. However, the cooperation was terminated after a year and the
hockey club in Blansko ceased to exist. In the 2010/2011 season,
however, a new team, DYNAMITERS Blansko HK, started playing at the
Blansko winter stadium and consisted mainly of alumni of the original
hockey club.
Since 1940, Blansko has been home to the swimming
club ASK Blansko (formerly Metra Blansko). The most successful swimmers
who started in this division and made their native Blansko famous in the
world include, for example, Yvetta Hlaváčová, Dana Chalupová, Michal
Špaček or Silvie Rybářová. The department managed to raise champions and
champions of the republic in the pupil and adolescent categories. The
swimmers of the Blanen section are regular participants in the Czech Cup
competitions. Every year, the department organizes several races in the
Blanen swimming pool.
There is also a very successful judo
section that has produced several national champions.
The city is
also successfully represented by the baseball and softball club Olympia
Blansko, z.s., which works with youth and, in addition to several club
medal positions at the MČR, has trained several dozen youth and senior
representatives of the Czech Republic. The men's team in the years
1991–2008 was a continuous participant in the highest competition in
baseball (since 1993, the Czech Baseball Extra League). After relegation
in 2008, it is a participant in the Czech-Moravian Baseball League,
where it won bronze in 2009 and 2010, and in 2011 Olympia managed to win
the competition. In the playoff for the extra league, they beat the
Skokani Olomouc team 3:2 to the games and returned to the highest Czech
baseball competition after three years. However, in 2012, it did not
hold and was relegated again. In 2016, it won promotion again in the
play-off and in 2017 it retained the extra league. Since 2012, thanks to
former softball players, the softball teams of schoolgirls, female
cadets and women have also managed to be maintained, which participate
in national competitions. The Blanen baseball and softball complex,
which hosted the European Cadet Championship in 2004 (the Czech team won
first place) and where part of the Men's European Championship took
place in 2005 and part of the European Junior Championship in 2017, is
one of the most beautiful in the Czech Republic.
In recent years,
the floorball club FBK Atlas Blansko has also experienced a great rise.
In the 21st century, the city was governed by a broad coalition of ČSSD, ODS, KDU-ČSL and the Association for the City for four electoral terms. The change occurred after the municipal elections in 2022, when the coalition was formed by ODS, ANO 2011, Volba pro město with the support of the ČSSD. Jiří Crha was re-elected mayor at the constituent meeting of the council on October 21, 2022. Lenka Dražilová (YES 2011) became the unvacated 1st deputy mayor and Ivo Stejskal from Volba pro město became the vacated 2nd deputy mayor.
Karel Ježek (1851–1919), founder of an industrial enterprise in
Blansko, long-term mayor of Blansko, was responsible for its promotion
to the city in 1905
Karel Jaroslav Maška (1851–1916), archaeologist,
discoverer of the archaeological sites Předmostí near Přerova and Šipka
cave near Štramberk
Hugo Václav Sáňka (1859–1929), speleologist,
archaeologist, Blanen chronicler
Jaroslav Bakeš (1871–1930),
physician, surgeon, founder of the institute for oncology patients in
Brno
Josef Pilnáček (1883–1952), Moravian historian and genealogist
Rudolf Barák (1915–1995), civil servant, minister of the interior in
1953–1961
Ludvík Daněk (1937–1998), Olympic champion in the discus
throw
Jiří Šimkůj (1959–2021), chairman and one of the founders of
the association of railway enthusiasts Kolejová. At the head of the
association, he advocated for the preservation of Ježko's cable-stayed
bridge and its declaration as a cultural monument.
Roman Meluzín (*
1972), two-time world champion in ice hockey
Václav Kolář (* 1991),
multiple world champion in bike trial
Filip Král (*1999), hockey
defenseman playing in the AHL
In addition to the natives, there
are also other personalities associated with the city who lived here for
some time and worked/work:
Karel Reichenbach (1788–1869), chemist,
metallurgist and industrialist who invented paraffin in 1833 in Blansko
Ludwig Georg Treviranus (1790–1869), engineer, designer of the first
industrially usable steam engines produced in Central Europe
Jindřich
Wankel (1821–1897), physician, Moravian archaeologist and speleologist
Karel Absolon (1877–1960), researcher in the Moravian Karst
Erich
Roučka (1888–1986), inventor and founder of the factory for the
production of electrical measuring devices (later Metra Blansko)
Miloslav Kala (* 1963), economist and politician
Jozef Regec (*
1965), representative of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic in road
cycling and politician
Jaromír Blažek (* 1972), football goalkeeper
and former representative of the Czech Republic
Yvetta Hlaváčová (*
1975), representative of the Czech Republic in long-distance swimming
and occasional model
At the church of St. Martin, there is a plaque
commemorating Karolina Meineke, the first wife of the later King William
IV of England, who spent the last years of her life at the castle in
Blansko, where she also died in 1815.