Velhartice (German: Welhartitz) is a municipality and village in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants. The village centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Velhartice | |
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Municipality | |
![]() Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the municipal office building | |
![]() Coat of arms | |
![]() ![]() Velhartice Location in the Czech Republic | |
Coordinates: 49°15′55″N 13°23′23″E | |
Country | ![]() |
Region | Plzeň |
District | Klatovy |
First mentioned | 1318 |
Area | |
• Total | 27.25 km2 (10.52 sq mi) |
Elevation | 622 m (2,041 ft) |
Population (2021-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 841 |
• Density | 31/km2 (80/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 339 01 |
Website | www |
Villages of Braníčkov, Chotěšov, Drouhavec, Hory Matky Boží, Jarkovice, Konín, Nemilkov, Radvanice, Stojanovice and Tvrdoslav are administrative parts of Velhartice.
The first written mention of Velhartice settlement is from 1318.[2] However, the Gothic Velhartice Castle was built already in 1290–1310 by a nobleman who later became courtier and close friend of the Emperor Charles IV.[3]
During the Thirty Years' War, Emperor Ferdinand II gave the castle to one of his generals, Don Balthazar de Marradas who, in 1628, sold it to Don Martin de Hoeff Huerta who bought it for his beautiful adopted daughter Anne-Marie of Moldavia.
In 1790s, the Desfours family, who at the time also owned the castle, built a paper-making factory in Velhartice which, during the World War II, made sleeping bags for the German Army. A leather-tanning factory opened in 1882 and during the World War II provided leather for military boots made in the neighbouring town. In 1945, several armoured units of George S. Patton's Third Army were stationed in Velhartice. The last owner of the Velhartice Castle, Prince Windisch-Graetz, was expelled to Austria in 1946. Presently the castle is claimed by the Czech Republic.
Towns, market towns and villages of Klatovy District | |
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National libraries |
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