Svitavy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Svitavy | |||
| Town | |||
.jpg/256px-Náměstí_Míru_(Svitavy).jpg) |
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| Country |  Czech Republic |
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| Region | Pardubice | ||
| District | Svitavy | ||
| Commune | Svitavy | ||
| River | Svitava | ||
| Elevation | 435 m (1,427 ft) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Area | 31.33 km² (12.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population | 17,476 (2006-07-03) | ||
| Density | 558 /km² (1,445 /sq mi) | ||
| Founded | around 1150 | ||
| Mayor | Jiří Brýdl | ||
| Timezone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 568 02 - 570 01 | ||
   Location in the Czech Republic
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| Wikimedia Commons: Svitavy | |||
| Statistics: statnisprava.cz | |||
| Website: www.svitavy.cz | |||
Svitavy (IPA: [ˈsvɪtavɪ]; German: Zwittau) is both a city and a district in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. The city has a population of 18,000 and is also the district centre. The region has approximately 102,770 inhabitants in total.
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[edit] History
The city was founded in around 1150, when monks set up the church and nearby village. A century later German speaking colonists were moved into the area. From 1256 Svitavy was owned by bishops from Olomouc. The city has been destroyed twice, during the Thirty Years' War the city was devastated and in 1781 it was burned down by accident. In 1866, a cease-fire between Prussia and Austria was arranged here. In 1930, 88.4 % of the population was German. In the beginning of the 20th century the city saw tensions between Czech and German speaking people, resulting in the expulsion of the Germans following World War II.
[edit] Famous people
- Valentin Oswald Ottendorfer (1826 - 1900), anarchist, entrepreneur, philantrophist
- Viktor Felber (1880 - 1942), professor of engineering, in 1930-31 head of Czech Technical University
- Alexander Makowsky (1833 - 1908), geologist
- Oskar Schindler (28 April 1908 – 9 October 1974), Sudeten German industrialist credited with saving almost 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust
- Martin Doktor (born 1974), canoeing World and Olympic champion (born in Polička)
[edit] Other Cities in Svitavy District
Moravská Třebová, Polička, Litomyšl.
[edit] References and footnotes
[edit] External links
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