Kroměříž (German Kremsier), nicknamed Hanácké Athens, is a town
in the Zlín Region. It lies on the river Moravia at the southern end
of the Upper Moravian gorge and at the same time at the southern tip
of the fertile Haná. Approximately 29,000 inhabitants live here.
In 1997, Kroměříž was declared the most beautiful historical
town in the Czech Republic, and a year later the local Archbishop's
Castle, together with the Květná and Podzámecká Gardens, was
inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The city
traditionally hosts the International Festival of Military Wind
Music and the International Festival of Sacred Music FORFEST. On the
outskirts of the city is the Agricultural Research Institute
Kroměříž (formerly the Research Institute of Cereals, etc., founded
in 1951), which deals with research and breeding of cereals.
In the Middle Ages, there was a ford across the Morava
River and the intersection of the Amber and Salt Trails (which was a
de facto continuation of the famous Silk Road).
The first
written record of Kroměříž dates from 1110. On the Arabic map, known
as Tabula Rogeriana, the city is referred to as Agra. In 1207,
Přemysl Otakar I confirmed to Bishop Robert of Olomouc the
possession of the village of Kroměříž, which was bought by his
predecessor, Bishop Jan II. from Prince Ota Černý for 300 hryvnia.
The town was founded by the Bishop of Olomouc, Bruno of
Schauenburg, in 1260. The bishops of Olomouc built a representative
summer residence in Kroměříž and moved part of the administration of
the diocese here. During the Moravian Margrave Wars, John IX found
refuge here. from Wednesday. During the Hussite wars, when John XII
was the bishop. Iron, the city suffered greatly. At the turn of the
15th and 16th centuries, Bishop Stanislav I. Thurzo began the
reconstruction of the Gothic castle into a chateau. In 1550, Bishop
Jan Skála of Doubravka, who was also an important historian and
writer, granted privileges to the Kroměříž miller's guild. At the
beginning of the 17th century, Bishop Francis of Dietrichstein began
the construction of a Franciscan monastery. During the Thirty Years'
War, the city suffered a lot twice in a row from the invasion of
Swedish troops (1643 and 1645) and subsequently by the plague. The
tragic fate of Kroměříž Jews during the Thirty Years' War is
colorfully described in the mourning song Kroměřížská selicha, which
is preserved in a manuscript from 1702. In the 1760s, Bishop Charles
II of Olomouc began an extensive renovation of the town.
Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn. In the years 1806–1813, 1815–1821 and
1845–1847, the headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Regiment was located
in Kroměříž. In 1848, the Reichstag met in Kroměříž. On April 15 and
16, 1905, Professor Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk lectured in Kroměříž on
the topic of the problem of a small nation. On August 27, 1929,
Masaryk officially visited the city as President of the Czechoslovak
Republic.
Due to its enormous cultural significance (the city
has been the cultural center of Haná and the whole of Central
Moravia since the 17th century), the city has earned the nickname of
Haná Athens. The town of Kroměříž, the second largest town in the
Zlín Region in terms of population and a former district town, is a
strong natural regional center located on the Morava River.
20th century
The city was known as a city of soldiers (two
barracks) and students (a number of secondary schools) and retirees.
Today, Hanácké náměstí is located on the site of Žižek's barracks,
and Tesco on the site of Rybalek's barracks. Soldiers from Rybalka's
barracks also served in the Hvězda area near Velké Těšany
(anti-aircraft defense, the so-called "rockets").