Svitavy District

Svitavy District (Czech: okres Svitavy) is a district in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Svitavy.

Svitavy District
Okres Svitavy
District
Location in the Pardubice Region within the Czech Republic
Location in the Pardubice Region within the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°52′N 15°54′E
Country Czech Republic
RegionPardubice
CapitalSvitavy
Area
[1]
 • Total1,378.68 km2 (532.31 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • Total104,576
 • Density76/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Municipalities116
* Towns7
* Market towns2

Administrative division

Svitavy District is divided into four administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence: Svitavy, Litomyšl, Moravská Třebová and Polička.

List of municipalities

Towns are marked in bold and market towns in italics:

Banín – Bělá nad Svitavou – Bělá u Jevíčka – Benátky – Bezděčí u Trnávky – Biskupice – Bohuňov – Bohuňovice – Borová – Borušov – Březina – Březinky – Březiny – Březová nad Svitavou – Brněnec – Budislav – Bystré – Cerekvice nad Loučnou – Chmelík – Chornice – Chotovice – Chotěnov – Chrastavec – Čistá – Desná – Dlouhá Loučka – Dolní Újezd – Dětřichov – Dětřichov u Moravské Třebové – Gruna – Hartinkov – Hartmanice – Horky – Horní Újezd – Hradec nad Svitavou – Janov – Janůvky – Jaroměřice – Jarošov – Javorník – Jedlová – Jevíčko – Kamenec u Poličky – Kamenná Horka – Karle – Koclířov – Korouhev – Koruna – Křenov – Kukle – Kunčina – Květná – Lavičné – Linhartice – Litomyšl – Lubná – Makov – Malíkov – Městečko Trnávka – Mikuleč – Mladějov na Moravě – Moravská Třebová – Morašice – Nedvězí – Němčice – Nová Sídla – Nová Ves u Jarošova – Oldřiš – Opatov – Opatovec – Osík – Pohledy – Polička – Pomezí – Poříčí u Litomyšle – Pustá Kamenice – Pustá Rybná – Příluka – Radiměř – Radkov – Řídký – Rohozná – Rozhraní – Rozstání – Rudná – Rychnov na Moravě – Sádek – Sebranice – Sedliště – Široký Důl – Sklené – Slatina – Sloupnice – Staré Město – Stašov – Strakov – Študlov – Suchá Lhota – Svitavy – Svojanov – Telecí – Trpín – Trstěnice – Tržek – Třebařov – Újezdec – Útěchov – Vendolí – Vidlatá Seč – Víska u Jevíčka – Vítějeves – Vlčkov – Vranová Lhota – Vrážné – Vysoká – Želivsko

Geography
Polička and surrounding landscape

Svitavy District incorporates parts of historical lands of Bohemia and Moravia. From a total of 116 municipalities, 44 municipalities (including the town of Svitavy) are situated in Moravia, 67 municipalities in Bohemia, and five municipalities (Brněnec, Březová nad Svitavou, Kamenná Horka, Karle and Radiměř) lie in both lands.

The terrain is undulating to hilly. The territory extends into five geomorphological mesoregions: Svitavy Uplands (most of the territory), Upper Svratka Highlands (southwest), Orlické Foothills (a strip from northeast to southeast), Zábřeh Highlands (east) and Boskovice Furrow (a small part in the southeast). The highest point of the district is the hill Bubnovaný kopec in Pustá Rybná with an elevation of 780 m (2,560 ft), the lowest point is the river bed of the Loučná in Cerekvice nad Loučnou at 278 m (912 ft).

From the total district area of 1,378.7 km2 (532.3 sq mi), agricultural land occupies 828.5 km2 (319.9 sq mi), forests occupy 435.4 km2 (168.1 sq mi), and water area occupies 11.5 km2 (4.4 sq mi). Forests cover 31.6% of the district's area.[1]

The district is divided into drainage basins of the Elbe and the Danube. The main rivers in the district are the Svitava (central part of the district), Svratka (southeastern part), Třebůvka (eastern part), Třebovka and Loučná (both in the northwestern part). The first three rivers comprise part of the Danube basin, while the latter two comprise part of the Elbe basin. The largest body of water in the district is the pond Hvězda with an area of 82 ha (200 acres).[3]

The protected landscape area of Žďárské vrchy extends into the district in the west.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1869142,481—    
1880146,643+2.9%
1890150,006+2.3%
1900152,558+1.7%
1910153,390+0.5%
YearPop.±%
1921143,472−6.5%
1930145,551+1.4%
1950104,162−28.4%
1961108,757+4.4%
1970105,095−3.4%
YearPop.±%
1980107,544+2.3%
1991105,134−2.2%
2001105,442+0.3%
2011103,245−2.1%
2021100,740−2.4%
Source: Censuses[4][5]

Most populated municipalities
Name Population[2] Area (km2)
Svitavy16,18631
Litomyšl10,44133
Moravská Třebová9,68542
Polička8,91033
Jevíčko2,85923
Dolní Újezd1,97420
Sloupnice1,80928
Hradec nad Svitavou1,67125
Březová nad Svitavou1,61913
Bystré1,57514

Economy

The largest employers with headquarters in Svitavy District and at least 500 employees are:[6]

Economic entity Location Number of employees Main activity
Saint-Gobain Adfors CZLitomyšl2,500–2,999Manufacture of glass fibres
Ravensburger KartonPolička500–999Manufacture of toys and games

Transport

There are no motorways passing through the district. The most important road is the I/35 road (part of the European route E442), which replaces the unfinished section of the D35 motorway from Olomouc to the Hradec Králové Region.

Sights
Litomyšl Castle

The Litomyšl Castle was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 because it is an outstanding example of an arcaded Renaissance residence with Baroque elements.[7]

The most important monuments in the district, protected as national cultural monuments, are:[8]

  • Litomyšl Castle
  • Town hall in Polička
  • Church of Saint James the Great with the birthplace of Bohuslav Martinů in Polička
  • Homestead No. 16 in Telecí
  • Homestead No. 171 in Čistá
  • Pilgrimage area with the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Kalvárie Hill in Jaroměřice

The best-preserved settlements, protected as monument reservations and monument zones, are:[9]

The most visited tourist destination is the Svojanov Castle.[10]

Notable people

References
  1. "Land use (as at 31 December)". Public database. Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  2. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2023". Czech Statistical Office. 2023-05-23.
  3. "Rybník Nový a Hvězda" (in Czech). The East Bohemian branch of the Czech Ornithological Society. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  4. "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Svitavy" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 1–2.
  5. "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
  6. "Registr ekonomických subjektů". Business Register (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  7. "Litomyšl Castle". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. UNESCO. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  8. "Výsledky vyhledávání: Národní kulturní památky, okres Svitavy". Ústřední seznam kulturních památek (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  9. "Výsledky vyhledávání: Památkové rezervace, Památkové zóny, okres Svitavy". Ústřední seznam kulturních památek (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  10. "Turisté mají v České republice nejraději zoologické zahrady, technické památky, koupání a Pražský hrad" (in Czech). CzechTourism. 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Svitavy District.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.