Hranice (Přerov District)

Hranice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦraɲɪtsɛ]; German: Weißkirchen or Mährisch Weißkirchen) is a town in the Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. The centre of the town is historically significant and is protected by law as Urban monument zone.

For other locations with the same name, see Hranice.
Hranice
Town
Town square with the town hall
Flag
Coat of arms
Hranice
Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°33′9″N 17°46′6″E
Country Czech Republic
RegionOlomouc
DistrictPřerov
First mentioned1308
Government
 • MayorJiří Kudláček
Area
 • Total49.79 km2 (19.22 sq mi)
Elevation
250 m (820 ft)
Population
 (2020-01-01[1])
 • Total17,999
 • Density360/km2 (940/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
753 01, 753 54, 753 61
Websitewww.mesto-hranice.cz

The deepest pit cave in the Czech Republic, Hranice Abyss, is located by the town.

Name

Hranice is sometimes informally called Hranice na Moravě (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦraɲɪtsɛ ˈna moravjɛ]; "Hranice in Moravia") to distinguish from other places with the same name. Hranice na Moravě name is also used in names of two railway stations.[2][3]

History
Sink from the Kunz factory of Hranice in Zavratec, Slovenia

Until 1918, Hranice was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the compromise of 1867), in the district with the same name, one of the 34 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Moravia.[4] The German name only was used before 1867 (including Weiskirchen).[5]

In 1883,[6] Antonín Kunz[7] founded a company in Hranice for the repair and production of small farm machinery and then specialized in the production of windpumps and other pumps. The company became the largest factory for water pumps in Austria-Hungary. At the end of the 19th century, it also produced complete communal water systems (by 1912 it had done so for 1,056 towns and municipalities, as well as factories and large landowners). The Sigma Pumps company developed out of Kunz's company.[8]

In the days of Austria-Hungary,[9] in the interbellum Czechoslovakia,[10] and during the communist era[11] the city hosted a large military academy. Notable graduates include Archduke Wilhelm of Austria and Herman Potočnik.[9]

The Jews in Hranice
Jewish Cemetery
Last arcades house of the Jewish quarter

The first Jews came at the beginning of the 17th century, receiving in 1637 the right for a self-governed Jewish quarter, around the present Janáčkova street (renamed from Židovská street). Besides those 17 houses, they were not allowed to purchase houses elsewhere. The community reached a high 802 people in 1857 (13% of the entire town). They had a significant role in the development of Hranice's industry: a textile plant established in 1844 (the largest factory until the mid-20th century), and distilleries (1827, 1836).[12]

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Hranice is twinned with:[13]

See also

References
  1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2020". Czech Statistical Office. 2020-04-30.
  4. Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm Klein, 1967
  5. Handbook of Austria and Lombardy-Venetia Cancellations on the Postage Stamp Issues 1850–1864, by Edwin Mueller, 1961.
  6. Bartoš, Josef. 1978. Historický místopis Moravy a Slezska v letech 1848–1960: Okresy Přerov, Hranice, Kroměříž, vol. 6. Ostrava: Profil, p. 130.
  7. The Kunz Mansion Archived 2013-02-10 at Archive.today (in Czech)
  8. Sigma Pumps website
  9. Snyder, Timothy (28 September 2010). The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke. Basic Books, 2010. ISBN 978-0465018970. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  10. White, Lewis M. (1991). On all fronts: Czechs and Slovaks in World War II. East European Monographs, 2000. ISBN 9780880334563. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  11. Gadourek, Ivan. "The Political Control of Czechoslovakia: Study in Social Control of a Soviet Satellite State", Kroese, 1953, p.72
  12. Summary of Za krásami městské památkové zóny Hranice, texts published below the synagogue
  13. "Partnerská města" (in Czech). Město Hranice. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
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