Chotěboř (German: Chotieborsch) is a town in the district of Havlíčkův Brod in the Vysočina Region, 14 km northeast of Havlíčkův Brod. The river Doubrava flows east of Chotěboř. It is located on 5,405 hectares at an altitude of 515 m above sea level. Approximately 9,200 inhabitants live here. The historic core of the city is a city monument zone.
The town is located on the western edge of the
Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in an area with silver and uranium ore.
In these places there was a turnoff from the Libická trail (Čáslav –
Žďár nad Sázavou) towards Smilův Brod. According to surviving finds,
the original settlement with a church stood in the 12th century. The
name of the village is derived from Chotěbor's court, it was
probably Chotěbor from Vchynice.
The first documented written
mention is from 1265, when the owner of the estate Smil of
Lichtenburg donated the chapel of St. Of St. James the Greater
Monastery in Žďár nad Sázavou. Successful mining led to the
development of the settlement and later to its promotion to the town
of Chotebors civitas in 1278 during the reign of King Přemysl Otakar
II. The Czech King Jan of Luxembourg bought the town in 1329 and in
1331 it was promoted to a town by granting it the right to Jihlava.
During the reign of his successor Charles IV. in 1350 Chotěboř was
granted the town emblem (emblem of the lands of the Czech Crown) and
in 1356 permission to build walls. As a dowry town of Czech queens, Chotěboř was owned by the royal family until 1393.
The turbulent history was experienced by local citizens during
the Hussite wars. First, the town was conquered and damaged in
January 1421 by the priest of Tábor, Petr Hromádka from Jistebnice.
Soon, however, the city was besieged by Catholic troops, and the
local Hussite garrison surrendered on February 2, 1421, for the
promise of free departure. However, the besiegers did not keep their
word and burned 300 prisoners in the barn. A small monument
commemorates the tragic event.
The town flourished during the
reign of the Trčeks of Lípa, who owned the town in the years
1497–1634, when they fell to Emperor Ferdinand II during the Thirty
Years' War. in disgrace and their estate was confiscated. Chotěboř
was then donated to Jaroslav Sezim Rašín of Rýzmburk, when he
willingly betrayed Albrecht of Valdštejn's negotiations with the
Swedes. Sezima was even promoted to lordship in 1638. He died in the
same year and his son Rudolf Karel Rašín took over the Chotěboř
estate, trying to squeeze as much out of the city as possible. Until
then, Chotěboř gave its Meissen kopecks a year to its lords, but
that was not enough for him. The dissatisfaction of the townspeople,
but also of the subjects in general, did not arise for the
previously determined payments and obligations, but for their
disproportionate or trickery increase. The Chotěboř family therefore
entered into a "dispute" with Rašín. However, Rudolf Karel Rašín
increased his demands in another direction - he forced the
townspeople to buy beer only from his brewery. Rašín also occupied
land for the townspeople and exchanged them for worse and less
profitable ones. Complaints from Chotěboř came to the governor's
office and reconciliation was to be negotiated in 1657 by two royal
commissars, of course nobles. The compromise was not very
advantageous for Chotěboř, the city finally had to commit to take
150 barrels of beer from the manorial brewery, ie about 340
hectoliters. 20 tailors had to pay for each bucket of wine (56.6
liters). Rudolf Karel Rašín lived in luxury at the chateau, he even
survived eight girls, two chefs, a total of 15 servants. In 1654,
the Visitation Commission found out that Chotěboř had 700
inhabitants who contributed to the well-being of the chateau
aristocrat. Lock - see below.
Exiles: As well as from the
surrounding villages (Skryje, Podmoky, etc.), secret non-Catholics
from Chotěboř went into exile during the post-White Mountain period.
Matěj Sequens, a cloth companion, demonstrably fled to Prussian
Silesia. On February 11, 1776, he married in Münsterberg, where he
later became a burgher, draper and elder of the Czech choir.
Ferdinand Hrejsa also mentions non-Catholics Martin and Ondřej
Sequens from Chotěboř (year 1757, brothers).
The development
of the city in the 19th century was also influenced by fires in 1800
and especially in 1832, when most of the houses on the square, the
inner city and the suburbs were destroyed. The new stone houses no
longer had arcades and the remaining gates, the last remnants of the
medieval fortifications, were also demolished. After the turbulent
events in the middle of the 19th century and subsequent
reorganizations, the District Court in Chotěboř was established in
1849, falling under the Regional Court in Kutná Hora. In 1850, the
District Governor's Office for the Chotěboř and Habry judicial
districts was established.
The cultural and social life of that time was also rich.
Unsatisfactory two-class and later four-class school was relocated
to a new building (the foundation stone was laid in 1865, teaching
since 1869), later followed by a boys '(1876) and girls' (1890)
burgher school, grammar school (founded in 1913, in its own building
since 1920), Secondary Agricultural Technical School (1960) -
today a business academy and a higher vocational school. Gradually,
various associations were formed - the still existing Mixed Choir
Doubravan (1862), the Palacký Theater Association (1869–1914), the
voluntary fire brigade (1878), the Sokol Unit (1882), the town
museum of local lore (1885), etc.
From the economic point of
view, Chotěboř was for a long time an agricultural town. The gradual
development of industry (especially textile and woodworking) was
helped, among other things, by the establishment of a post office
(1850), which ensured the transport of passengers and consignments
by horse-drawn carriage (to Golčov Jeníkov and Hlinsko),
construction of a road to Německý Brod (1868), completion of the
Německý Brod railway line. Rosice nad Labem (1871), commissioning of
the municipal power plant (1911) and introduction of bus lines
(1923).
The largest textile factory was Antonín Klazar's
factory, where carpets were made. In 1936, this factory was bought
by Vilém Eckhard, who moved the production of filters for gas masks
from Prague to Chotěboř. Fifty workers moved with him to Chotěboř.
The company prospered, exporting to France and Yugoslavia. In 1939,
the company already had 732 employees. During the Second World War,
2,515 workers worked here, mainly producing gas masks.
After
the war, the factory was nationalized and renamed the Chotěbořská
kovodělné závody, but Mr. Eckhard remained in the management of the
company until 1949, when he was arrested. Then he emigrated.
Since the 1950s, the factory has been producing machines for the
food industry (eg for dairies and breweries). Since 1968, the
factory has been called Chotěbořské strojírny.
Of the modern
industrial enterprises, it is worth mentioning the Plant of
Electrothermal Equipment (ZEZ) Prague, whose subsidiary in Chotěboř
was engaged in research and development of medium-frequency
induction heaters for forges and industrial handling robots (today
Roboterm). In the years 1955–1959, uranium ore was mined in the
vicinity of the nearby Horní mlýn. Later geological surveys in the
1990s confirmed unprofitability and mining did not resume. In 2009,
the newly built Chotěboř Brewery started operating.
The last
sad chapter in the history of the city was the end of World War II.
On May 5, 1945, the insurgents occupied the city, disarmed the local
German division and then took over the ammunition depot in nearby
Bílek. From there, two cars were sent with a team against German
troops in the area of Ždírec and Krucemburk. Near Sobíňov,
however, they came across a large German transport. There was a
shootout with tragic consequences - 29 fallen Czechs and 7 wounded.
German troops then occupied the city and brutally took revenge until
May 9, when they began to move towards Caslav.
Since 1961,
Bílek has belonged here as a local part.
Location and Coordinates
The town lies about 14 km (9 mi)
northeast of Havlíčkův Brod and 34 km (21 mi) north of Jihlava. Its
precise geographic coordinates are 49°43′15″N 15°40′13″E. This places it
in the transitional uplands between the Bohemian Basin to the west and
the more rugged Moravian terrain to the east, near the historical divide
of ancient trade routes.
The municipal territory covers 54.06 km²
(5,406 ha) and includes the main town plus several smaller settlements
and cadastral areas (e.g., Bezděkov, Bílek, and parts of surrounding
villages).
Elevation and Topography
The town center sits at an
elevation of 515 m (1,690 ft) above sea level, with the broader
municipal area ranging from roughly 480–615 m. The highest point within
the municipality is Fiedlerův kopec (Fiedler’s Hill) at 615 m.
The
landscape consists of gently rolling hills, broad valleys, and low
ridges typical of the Bohemian-Moravian Uplands — a dissected highland
plateau formed primarily by ancient crystalline rocks (gneiss, granite)
with some sedimentary overlays. Slopes are moderate, supporting a mix of
arable land, meadows, and forests. Underlying geology includes deposits
of silver and uranium ore, remnants of historical mining activity in the
region.
To the south, the town borders the Železné hory Protected
Landscape Area (Iron Mountains PLA), which adds steeper forested ridges
and protected upland scenery.
Hydrology
The Doubrava River (a
left-bank tributary of the Elbe/Labe) forms the eastern boundary of the
municipal territory. It flows northward from its headwaters in the
nearby highlands toward the Elbe, carving a scenic valley with steep
banks in places. Small tributaries and brooks drain the surrounding
hills into the Doubrava.
Several fishponds (artificial reservoirs)
dot the outskirts, a characteristic feature of Czech rural hydrology
used for fish farming, flood control, and recreation. The river valley
supports riparian wetlands and floodplains.
Climate
Chotěboř
has a temperate continental climate (Köppen Dfb), moderated slightly by
its upland position. Summers are mild-to-warm and winters cold, with
greater temperature swings and precipitation than lowland Bohemia due to
elevation and exposure to Atlantic and continental air masses.
Temperature: January averages range from highs of ~2°C to lows of ~-4°C
(coldest month). July is the warmest, with highs around 24°C and lows
~13°C.
Precipitation: Annual total ~844 mm. July is wettest (~105
mm); February is driest (~52 mm). Rain falls year-round, with summer
convective showers common; winter brings snow.
Other factors: Higher
humidity, more frequent cloud cover, and occasional fog in valleys are
typical of the highlands. Winds are moderate, influenced by the
surrounding uplands.
The climate supports mixed
deciduous-coniferous forests and agriculture (cereals, potatoes,
pastures).
Natural Features and Protected Areas
The Doubrava
River valley and surrounding hills host several nature reserves and
monuments, protecting diverse habitats:
Přírodní rezervace Údolí
Doubravy and Niva Doubravy — riparian forests and floodplains.
Přírodní památka Písník u Sokolovce — a scenic pond above the valley.
Přírodní rezervace Mokřadlo, Zlatá louka, and part of Svatomariánské
údolí — wetlands and meadows.
Scenic viewpoints (Sokolohrady, Čertův
stolek) overlook the river valley.
Vegetation includes beech-oak
forests on higher slopes, alder and willow along the river, and
agricultural fields in flatter areas. The protected status preserves
biodiversity in this transitional highland zone.