Katovice (Strakonice District)

Statue of Jan Hus in Katovice

The population of Katovice has been slightly over 1,000 inhabitants for more than 40 years. On December 31, 1974 there lived 1,752 people, which is the highest number of inhabitants in modern history.

According to a book Solné stezky na Šumavě (1994) by Jiří Andreska, the area where Katovice are located these days, there used to lead the salt trail in 1st century BC. First people who settled in Kněží hora were the Celts in 8th century AD. At Kněží hora they founded a great Slavic settlement which is recognizable to today. The 10th and 11th century was fairly important for its history as gold-washing started being popular in Otava river in Katovice and many gold hunters settled at the banks of Otava river. The first written record of Katovice is dated back to 1045, when Duke Břetislav I donated the settlement to the Břevnov Monastery. Since then Katovice were mainly an agricultural village. In 1867, emperor Franz Joseph I built the first railroad which serves till today. Since 1902 until 1922, graphite was extracted from the steep hills of Kněží hora. Before the end of World War II, on April 20, 1945, American fighting jets attacked a train carrying concentration camp prisoners that stopped at local railway station. More than 200 prisoners managed to run away. However, few of them were consequently tracked down by the SS men and killed instantly.

Local football team SK Otava Katovice participates in South Bohemian Regional Championship (4th tier of Czech football system). Its historical best is ending as runners-up in this competition, which has happened twice – in 1991/92 season and in 2015/16 season.

• Josef Jílek (1909–1945), Catholic priest active in Katovice in 1936–1942 and resistance fighter
• Karel Kuncipál (1926–2007), local chronicler

• Official website