Lipník nad Bečvou

Lipník nad Bečvou lies on the north bank of the Bečva river, and within the Moravská Brána, the Moravian Gate, a depression between the Oderské vrchy and the Western Carpathians allowing a low-lying route from the Polish plains. For several centuries, Lipník nad Bečvou was an important waypoint on the Amber Road which passes through the Moravian Gate. The nearest larger towns are Přerov and Hranice, approximately 10–12 km (6–8 mi) distant. About 2 km to the south, on the south side of the valley, lies the village of Týn nad Bečvou, and above it the castle Helfštýn, which has played a substantial part in the town's history.

Lipník nad Bečvou is an ancient town with a large square (T. G. Masaryk Square) in the shape of the letter L and an interesting set of sights. It was a fortified town, and it still retains a large portion of its medieval walls and towers. There is a ring road that runs around the outside of the ancient walls, with the best view of the walls to be seen from Komenský Park. The town may be proud of the well-established historical centre with a Renaissance town hall, baroque fountains and Renaissance houses with arcades. A varying population of modern iron sculptures is displayed in the square and elsewhere around town reflecting the annual Hefaiston blacksmithing festival held at Helfštýn each August. Just next to the square, St. James' Parish Church with its unique belltower offers a fine view of the square. The church itself is built in a Baroque style and is highly ornamented inside. In addition, there is a Renaissance palace with a walled garden in the rear, a Piarist monastery with the St. Francis' Serafin Church, where Gregor Mendel briefly studied, and a synagogue, the second oldest surviving in the Czech Republic. A large Jewish minority lived here; two unique Jewish cemeteries are the evidence of this.

The town has a station on the mainline railway from Prague to Ostrava, but is served mainly by local services to Přerov, Hranice and Valašské Meziříčí. A motorway bypasses the town a short distance to the north, being the D35 to the west of the town, leading to Olomouc, and the D1 to the east, leading to Ostrava. The town also lies on the Kraków–Moravia–Vienna Greenway, a long distance cycling route.

• Yair Bacharach (1639–1702), German rabbi
• Gregor Mendel (1822–1884), Austrian scientist
• Wilhelm Isak (1826–1895), Jewish-Austrian businessman
• Emanuel Schreiber (1852–1932), Austrian rabbi and publicist

Lipník nad Bečvou is twinned with:[2]

• Zdzieszowice, Poland

• (in Czech) Official website

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