Horní Moštěnice Explained

Horní Moštěnice
Settlement Type:Municipality
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Olomouc
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Přerov
Pushpin Map:Czech Republic
Pushpin Relief:1
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates:49.4122°N 17.4589°W
Established Title:First mentioned
Established Date:1141
Area Total Km2:9.82
Elevation M:216
Population As Of:2024-01-01
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:1688
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:CET
Utc Offset1:+1
Timezone1 Dst:CEST
Utc Offset1 Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:751 17

Horní Moštěnice (German: Ober Moschtienitz) is a municipality and village in Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,700 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name of Horní Moštěnice is from the time of Great Moravia, when there was an important route connecting Velehrad with Přerov and Olomouc, leading through hags and marshes, so the path had to be hardened by bundles of wicker called moština, giving later the name to the village.[2]

The river Moštěnka used to be called Stvola after a willow-trees species (stvola in Old Slavic).[2]

Geography

Horní Moštěnice is located about 4km (02miles) south of Přerov and 24km (15miles) southeast of Olomouc. The western part of the municipality lies in the Upper Morava Valley, the eastern part lies in the Moravian-Silesian Foothills. The highest point is the hill Švédské šance at 298m (978feet) above sea level. The Moštěnka River flows through the municipality.

History

The first written mention of Horní Moštěnice is from 1141. In 1551 Horní Moštěnice became a market town.[2]

In 1643, during the Thirty Years' War, a fortification called Švédské šance (meaning 'Swedish rampart') was made by the Swedish troops. They assaulted other villages from this place. The fortification was used in World War II as well.[2] [3]

On 18–19 June 1945, Slovak Germans from Dobšiná were passing through Přerov while being transported back to Slovakia. Here they were taken out of the train by Slovakian soldiers, taken outside the city to the hill Švédské šance, where they were forced to dig their own graves and all were shot (71 men, 120 women and 74 children).[4]

Economy

There are three mineral springs in Horní Moštěnice. The best-known of them is bottled under the brand Hanácká kyselka.[2]

Transport

The I/55 road from Přerov to Otrokovice, which replaces an unfinished section of the D1 motorway, passes through the municipality.

Sights

The remains of the fortifications are still on the hill and are protected as a cultural monument.[5]

The late Baroque Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary dates from 1792.[6]

The Horní Moštěnice Castle was built in the 18th century on the site of an old fortress. After insensitive reconstructions in the 20th century, only the façade was partially preserved. Today it houses the municipal office. Adjacent to the castle is a park with a several hundred years old ginkgo biloba tree.[2] [6]

Paleontology

Sometimes prior to 1945, a fossil tooth of a megalosauroid theropod dinosaur was found on Švédské šance. It comes from the Late Jurassic sediments and it belonged to a middle sized theropod dinosaur about 5 metres long.[7] [8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024. Czech Statistical Office. 2024-05-17.
  2. Web site: Historie. Obec Horní Moštěnice. cs. 2022-02-07.
  3. Web site: Švédské šance, novověké polní opevnění. Archeologický atlas ČR. cs. 2022-02-07.
  4. Web site: Té hrozné červnové noci na Švédských šancích. Pozapomenutá tragédie ve hře Masakr. Czech Radio. cs. 2020-06-07. 2022-02-07.
  5. Web site: Polní opevnění Švédské šance. National Heritage Institute. cs. 2022-02-07.
  6. Web site: Kulturní památky. DSO mikroregionu Moštěnka. cs. 2022-02-07.
  7. Web site: Druhohorní plazi v Čechách VII. 16 August 2015.
  8. Madzia. Daniel. 2014. The first non-avian theropod from the Czech Republic. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 59. 4. 855–862.