| Hranice | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Olomouc |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Přerov |
| Pushpin Map: | Czech Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Czech Republic |
| Coordinates: | 49.5525°N 17.7683°W |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jiří Kudláček |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 12th century |
| Area Total Km2: | 49.78 |
| Elevation M: | 250 |
| Population As Of: | 2024-01-01 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 18024 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal codes |
| Postal Code: | 753 01, 753 54, 753 61 |
Hranice (in Czech pronounced as /ˈɦraɲɪtsɛ/; German: Mährisch Weißkirchen) is a town in Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. The town is known for the Hranice Abyss.
Hranice is made up of nine town parts and villages:
Středolesí and Uhřínov form an exclave of the municipal territory.
The name Hranice literally means "border". It is sometimes called Hranice na Moravě ("Hranice in Moravia") to distinguish from other places with the same name.
Hranice is located about northeast of Přerov and 33km (21miles) east of Olomouc. It lies mostly in the Moravian Gate lowland. The exclave of the municipal territory lies already in the Nízký Jeseník mountain range and contains the highest point of Hranice, which is the hill Studená at 626m (2,054feet) above sea level. The Bečva River flows through the town.
The deepest pit cave in the Czech Republic, Hranice Abyss with a length of 473.5m (1,553.5feet), is located by the town. With a water depth of 404m (1,325feet), it is also the deepest flooded abyss in the world.[2]
The first written mention of Hranice is in a falsificated document from 1169. According to the trusted sources, Hranice already existed at the end of the 12th century. In 1276, Hranice became a town. From the 1420s, the town became a property of the Cimburk family, and from 1499 a property of the Pernštejn family. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the estate often changed owners.[3]
Until 1918, Hranice was part of Austria-Hungary in the district with the same name, one of the 34 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Moravia.[4]
In the days of Austria-Hungary, in the interbellum Czechoslovakia,[5] and during the communist era[6] the city hosted a large military academy. Notable graduates include Archduke Wilhelm of Austria and Herman Potočnik.[7]
The first Jews came in 1611, receiving in 1637 the right for a self-governed Jewish quarter, where a maximum of 120 Jewish families were permitted to reside. Besides those 17 houses, located around the present Janáčkova street (renamed from Židovská street), they were not allowed to purchase houses elsewhere. In 1728, 115 families resided in the Jewish quarter and in 1789 the community had reached the maximum of 120 families. The community reached its peak of 802 people in 1857 (13% of the entire town).[8] They had a significant role in the development of Hranice's industry: a textile plant established in 1844 (the largest factory until the mid-20th century), and distilleries (1827, 1836).[9]
The largest employer in the town is SSI Schäfer, manufacturer of metal structures with more than 1,000 employees. Other notable employers with more than 500 employees are Henniges Hranice (manufacturer of rubber products for automotive industry), KROK CZ (manufacturer of work clothes), and Hranice Hospital.[10]
In 1883, Antonín Kunz founded a company in Hranice that specialized in the production of windpumps and other pumps. The company became the largest factory for water pumps in Austria-Hungary. At the end of the 19th century, it also produced complete communal water systems that were in towns and cities in the whole Austria-Hungary. The Sigma Pumps company developed out of Kunz's company.[11]
Hranice lies on the railway from Přerov to Vsetín. The town is served by train stations Hranice na Moravě, Hranice na Moravě město, and Drahotuše. In the municipal territory is also located the Teplice nad Bečvou station, which serves this neighbouring municipality.
The D1 motorway leading from Přerov to Ostrava bypasses the town in the north.
Since 1992, the historic town centre is protected as an urban monument zone.[3] The church of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist is the landmark of the town square. The construction was finished in 1763. It is a massive Baroque-Neoclassical building with valuable decorations of the interior. The second significant building on the square is the old town hall. It served its purpose until 1998, when the offices moved to the premises of the castle. Today it serves as a library, a museum, and a concert hall.[12]
The Hranice Castle was formerly a Gothic castle of Cimburk lords. In 16th–17th centuries it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style.[3] Today it serves as the town hall, museum and gallery.[12] [13]
The Jewish community is commemorated by several monuments. The original small synagogue was replaced in 1863 by new larger building in Moorish-Byzantine style. It is used for cultural purposes.[9] The Jewish cemetery was used until 1965. The oldest preserved tombstone is from 1685.[14]
The most valuable technical monument are the Hranice Viaducts. The three viaducts are 430m (1,410feet) long. The oldest one was built in 1844–1846.[12]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic. Hranice is twinned with:[15]
Hlohovec, Slovakia
Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland
Slovenske Konjice, Slovenia