| Humpolec | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Vysočina |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Pelhřimov |
| Pushpin Map: | Czech Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Czech Republic |
| Coordinates: | 49.5417°N 15.3572°W |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Petr Machek |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1178 |
| Area Total Km2: | 51.51 |
| Elevation M: | 527 |
| Population As Of: | 2024-01-01 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 11447 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 396 01 |
Humpolec (in Czech pronounced as /ˈɦʊmpɔlɛt͡s/; German: Humpoletz) is a town in Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants.
The villages of Brunka, Hněvkovice, Kletečná, Krasoňov, Lhotka, Petrovice, Plačkov, Rozkoš, Světlice, Světlický Dvůr and Vilémov are administrative parts of Humpolec.
The name is derived from the German personal name Gumpolt. The oldest written form of the name was Gumpoldis in Latin.[2]
Humpolec is located about 22km (14miles) northwest of Jihlava, roughly halfway between Prague and Brno. It lies in the Křemešník Highlands. The highest point is the hill Krásná vyhlídka at 663m (2,175feet) above sea level. There is a significant amount of small fishponds; some of them are in the urban area.
The first written mention of Humpolec is from 1178. In the 13th–15th centuries it was a silver mining town. Humpolec became known for drapery production from the 17th century, which reached its peak in the 19th century.[3]
Humpolec is traditionally an industrial town. The largest employer is Valeo Compressor Europe, a manufacturer of compressors for cars.[4]
Since 1597, the Family Brewery Bernard is established in the town.
The D1 motorway from Prague to Brno passes through Humpolec.
The railway of local importance heading to Havlíčkův Brod begins here.[5]
The Church of Saint Nicholas was originally an early Gothic church, rebuilt in 1721–1722 in the Gothic-Baroque style by Jan Santini Aichel. Its current Neo-Gothic form is a result of the reconstruction in 1895.[6]
The Evangelical church was built in the Historicist style in 1862, and the tower was added in 1890–1891. Together with the rectory from 1854 and the evangelical school, it forms an area protected as a cultural monument.[7]
Since 2022, the chimney of the Family Brewery Bernard has a public observation deck in a height of, which is accessible over a spiral staircase with 189 steps. It is a part of the Visitor Centre of the brewery.[8]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic. Humpolec is twinned with:[9]
Námestovo, Slovakia