Břeclav

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Břeclav
Town
Modern St. Wenceslas Church
Flag
Coat of arms
Country Czech Republic
Region South Moravian
District Břeclav
Commune Břeclav
Elevation 158 m (518 ft)
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Area 77.11 km2 (29.77 sq mi)
Population 24,949
Density 324 / km2 (839 / sq mi)
Founded 11th century
Mayor Pavel Dominik
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 690 02
Location in the Czech Republic
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Břeclav
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.breclav.eu

Břeclav (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbr̝ɛtslaf]; German: Lundenburg; Hungarian: Leventevár) is a town in the South Moravian Region, Czech Republic, approximately 55 km southeast of Brno. It is located at the border with Lower Austria on the Dyje River. The nearest town on Austrian territory is Hohenau an der March. Břeclav also lies 10 km northwest of the Slovak border at Kúty and 100km north of the Austrian capital city Vienna.

History

Pohansko

In the area of the town several localities have been discovered which were settled in prehistory. Of these the most important one is called Pohansko (meaning "a paganish (place)") southeast of the town, which became a significant grad in Great Moravian times. In the 10th century it was abandoned; today there is an archaeological site with an exhibition.

Břeclav Castle

In the 11th century a border castle was established by Duke Bretislaus I which took his name (in Czech Břetislav → Břeclav). The castle served as one of the ducal administrative centres in medieval Moravia, later becoming a manor house. The Zierotins rebuilt it in Renaissance style. In 1638 the House of Liechtenstein gained it, but the family did not reside there and in the early 19th century they rebuilt it to artificial ruins as a part of the Lednice-Valtice cultural-natural complex.

Town

There was originally a market town by the castle, which was destroyed in the 15th century and then refounded closer to the castle (which is in the area of today's town centre); the original spot has been called Old Břeclav (Stará Břeclav) since that time. Both the (new) market town and village of Old Břeclav were badly damaged in battles during the 17th century.

The opening of a railway to Vienna and Brno in 1839 (and subsequent extensions to a junction) represented an important event, that brought industrialisation and population growth: from 2,952 inhabitants (of Břeclav and Old Břeclav together) in 1834 to 13,689 in 1930. As a consequence, Břeclav obtained town status (1872), becoming the seat of the judicial (1850) and political (1949) district. In 1919 three original municipalities merged (Břeclav, Old Břeclav and Jewish Municipality of Břeclav); in 1974 another two - Poštorná and Charvátská Nová Ves (both were parts of Lower Austria until 1920) - were joined. In 1938-1945 Břeclav was a part of Nazi Germany, although the town's population was mostly Czech-speaking. Local Jews (4,3% in 1930) and Germans (11,6%) were expelled both during and after World War II.

Transport

Břeclav railway station is an important hub in the railroad network (the first junction in Austria-Hungary). It is located at the intersection of the routes to and from Brno - Prague, Ostrava - Kraków/Katowice (Poland), Kúty - Bratislava (Slovakia) and Hohenau an der March - Vienna (Austria).

Geography and Climate

Břeclav lies in a very flat river valley which is the warmest part of Moravia and whole Czech Republic. There is wild thick riparian forest composed of broad leaved trees in the southern corner of town's surroundings, ending in the southernmost part of Moravia, where confluence of rivers Thaya and Moravia can be found. Average year temperature is 9.6 °C (49.3 °F) with average temperature in July reaching 19.5 °C (67.1 °F) and average temperature in January decreasing to −1.4 °C (29.5 °F). Local climate is warm, with cool, dry, and short winter season starting in first weeks of December and ending in the second half of February. Warm and sunny spring comes in the end of February continuing to May when wetter and moderately hot summer starts, being itself replaced by drier and cooler autumn during end of September.

Climate data for Břeclav
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 1.5
(34.7)		 4.2
(39.6)		 9.4
(48.9)		 15.4
(59.7)		 20.5
(68.9)		 23.8
(74.8)		 25.7
(78.3)		 25.2
(77.4)		 20.9
(69.6)		 14.9
(58.8)		 7.9
(46.2)		 3.3
(37.9)		 14.4
(57.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.4
(29.5)		 0.7
(33.3)		 4.7
(40.5)		 9.8
(49.6)		 14.6
(58.3)		 18.0
(64.4)		 19.5
(67.1)		 19.1
(66.4)		 15.2
(59.4)		 9.9
(49.8)		 4.7
(40.5)		 0.6
(33.1)		 9.6
(49.3)
Average low °C (°F) −4.3
(24.3)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 0.1
(32.2)		 4.3
(39.7)		 8.8
(47.8)		 12.2
(54)		 13.4
(56.1)		 13.1
(55.6)		 9.6
(49.3)		 5.0
(41)		 1.5
(34.7)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 4.9
(40.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 34
(1.34)		 33
(1.3)		 37
(1.46)		 45
(1.77)		 66
(2.6)		 83
(3.27)		 83
(3.27)		 74
(2.91)		 49
(1.93)		 41
(1.61)		 48
(1.89)		 41
(1.61)		 634
(24.96)
Source: Climate-Data.ORG

Sights

  • A Renaissance castle from the 16th century with an arcade on the courtyard; during the first half of the 19th century it was completely rebuilt as Neo-Gothic artificial ruins
  • St. Wenceslas parish church in the Masaryk Square - a contemporary architecture from 1992-1995 on the spot of a Baroque one destroyed in World War II
  • Synagogue - Neo-Romanesque building from 1868 with Neo-Moorish elements inside; nowadays it serves as a part of the town museum
  • St. Mary parish church in Poštorná - a unique Neo-Gothic construction with a cupola, built in 1895-1898 with use of special bricks from local factory
  • Jewish Cemetery with tombstones from the 18th century and a Neo-Gothic morgue from 1892
  • Resurrection Chapel from 1875 in an area of the former cemetery in the Sovadina street

Close to the train station there are:

  • St. Rochus Chapel (in front of the Gymnasium) - built in 1892 in memory of a cholera epidemic
  • St. Cyril and Methodius Chapel (in a park in front of the station) - built in 1853-1856 in memory of a recovery of Prince of Liechtenstein, local lord; it served as a place of worship for local Catholic parish before the St. Wenceslas Church was built

In the surroundings:

Gallery

  • River Dyje in the town centre

  • Zámek Břeclav - pohled z nádvoří.jpg

    Břeclav Castle

  • 2007-05 Břeclav 13.jpg

    Main post office

  • Břeclav, Synagogue.JPG

    (Former) synagogue

  • Břeclav, Church in Poštorná.JPG

    Our Lady Church in Poštorná

  • 2007-05 Břeclav 18.jpg

    St. Cyril and Methodius Chapel

  • 2007-05 Břeclav 06.jpg

    St. Rochus Chapel

  • Areal muzea v prirode pohansko.jpg

    From the archaeological site of Pohansko

International relations

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

Twin towns — Sister cities

Břeclav is twinned with:

See also

External links

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