Broumov

Broumov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbrou̯mof]; German: Braunau) is a town in the Czech Republic, in the Náchod District of the Hradec Králové Region near the Polish border. The municipality at the small Stěnava River is the center of the Broumovsko area, along with the adjacent Adršpach-Teplice Rocks, a protected area popular with mountain climbers.

History

The town was established in 1256 by the Benedictine abbey of Břevnov in Prague, to which King Ottokar I of Bohemia had granted the area. The settlement arose around a former provostry and became a principal site of textile manufacture. After a fire in 1306 it was largely rebuilt, including the monastery and city walls finished in 1380. The medieval church of Panna Marie (the Virgin Mary), however, survived the fire, and is the oldest extant wooden church in the Czech Republic, dating back to the 12th century; the building is still in use.

Strongly tied to Břevnov Abbey, Broumov suffered greatly in the Hussite Wars and in the Thirty Years' War, after which the monastery was rebuilt in a Baroque style to plans by Christoph Dientzenhofer, continued by his son, Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer.

Pursuant to the Beneš decrees, the German-speaking population was expelled, including the abbey's monks, who reestablished the Braunau in Rohr Abbey in Bavaria. The Broumov monastery was finally abolished in 1950.

Notable people

• Paul von Hindenburg, who passed through Broumov during the Austro-Prussian War, sometimes referred to Adolf Hitler as "the Bohemian corporal"—deliberately or not, confusing Broumov (in German, "Braunau") with Hitler's birthplace, Braunau am Inn.
• Alois Jirásek, writer, born August 23, 1851, at Hronov, died March 12, 1930, at Prague, attended school at Broumov Abbey.
• Józef Kasparek, Polish historian, born in 1915 at Broumov.
• Amadeus Webersinke, pianist, born November 1, 1920, in Broumov, died May 15, 2005, at Dresden.
• Jiří Petr, agroscientist, born May 13, 1931, at Hradec Králové, attended school at Broumov.
• Christian Feest, ethnologist, born July 20, 1945, in Broumov.
• Adolf Hecht, farmer, born june 05, 1873, at Broumov, died september 11, 1949, at the city he helped create Penápolis.

Twin town

• Forchheim, Germany

Gallery

External links

• Official website (Czech)
• Broumov region
• Broumov airport