The village of Rakvice (German: Rakwitz) is located in the district of Břeclav in the South Moravian Region. Approximately 2,200 inhabitants live here. Rakvice is an important wine-growing center belonging to the Velkopavlovice wine-growing sub-region. There are a number of wineries and smaller family wineries in the village.
Approximately in the places where the village of
Rakvice lies today, but rather closer to the flow of the Dyje, there
was a Slavic settlement until about the 13th century. This is
evidenced by several finds of Slavic pottery.
The first
written mention of the village Rakvice comes from November 6, 1248,
when Prince Oldřich III. Carinthian donated four estates in Rakvice
to the Čejkovice Templars. In the years 1430 to 1434, the chapel of
St. was built in Rakvice. Andrew. In 1498, a cemetery was
established near the chapel.
In 1540, Habans settled in
Rakvice. In 1582, the Catholic priest Albrecht left Rakvice and was
replaced by the Czech parish priest Jan Černovín. In 1605, Rakvice
was looted by an army led by Štěpán Bočkaj. At the end of the Thirty
Years' War in 1648, Rakvice had only 180 inhabitants, compared to
510 before the war. At the end of the 17th century, however, Rakvice
began to be repopulated. According to the purchase contract (sale of
the Hodonín estate) dated September 29, 1692, the church and school
in Rakvice were restored. The bell of the church was cast in 1668.
In 1762, Emperor Francis I bought the Hodonín estate, including
the village of Rakvice. In 1777, houses were numbered in Rakvice. On
May 24, 1788, the head of the village, headed by the mayor Jan
Cabal, confirmed the Josephine cadastre of the village of Rakvice.
In 1793 928 inhabitants lived in Rakvice and in 1840 1172
inhabitants. In 1866, a Prussian garrison of soldiers was
established in Rakvice, which brought cholera to Rakvice. From
August 1 to September 20, 1866, 146 citizens of Rakvice died of
cholera. The Rakvice cemetery was not enough, so it was buried in a
remote cemetery behind the manor.
Although the Břeclav - Brno
railway line was put into operation in July 1839, the village of
Rakvice did not receive its railway stop until 1886, when the
village released 600 gold coins from the budget. In 1932, a burgher
school was built in Rakvice. On May 26, 1936, the pupils of the
primary school in Rakvice went on a trip to Pálava. Along the way,
children with cars had to be transported by barge across the river
Dyje. The first two cars were transported in good condition, while
the third car was transported, the barge sank. 31 children drowned
in this tragedy.
On Sunday, April 15, 1945, the village of
Rakvice was liberated by the Red Army.