Vlašim

Vlašim (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvlaʃɪm]; German: Wlaschim) is a town in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Vlašim is known for its castle and English style park.

Vlašim
Town
Žižkovo Square
Flag Coat of arms
Vlašim Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°42′23″N 14°53′56″E / 49.70639°N 14.89889°E / 49.70639; 14.89889Coordinates: 49°42′23″N 14°53′56″E / 49.70639°N 14.89889°E / 49.70639; 14.89889
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Central Bohemian
District	Benešov
First mentioned	1318
Government
• Mayor	Luděk Jeništa
Area
• Total	41.42 km^2 (15.99 sq mi)
Elevation	365 m (1,198 ft)
Population  (2022-01-01)^[1]
• Total	11,357
• Density	270/km^2 (710/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	258 01
Website	www.mesto-vlasim.cz

Administrative parts

 

Vlašim Castle

Villages of Bolina, Domašín, Hrazená Lhota, Nesperská Lhota, Polánka and Znosim are administrative parts of Vlašim.

Geography

Vlašim lies about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Prague. It is situated in the Vlašim Uplands on the Blanice river.

History

The castle is Vlašim was probably built in 1303 by Hynek of Vlašim. The first written mention of the castle and therefore of Vlašim is from 1318.^[2]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 4,040 —     1880 4,547 +12.5% 1890 4,791 +5.4% 1900 4,936 +3.0% 1910 5,115 +3.6%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 5,075 −0.8% 1930 5,464 +7.7% 1950 7,444 +36.2% 1961 8,747 +17.5% 1970 10,515 +20.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 12,613 +20.0% 1991 12,809 +1.6% 2001 12,270 −4.2% 2011 11,723 −4.5% 2021 11,284 −3.7%
Source: Censuses^[3]^[4]

Economy

Commuting to Prague is very common in Vlašim. The most significant engineering factory in Vlašim is Sellier & Bellot, manufacturing ammunition. Packaging machinery companies are also successful worldwide and employ local people.

Transport

Vlašim is situated on the Benešov–Trhový Štěpánov railway line.

Vlašim aerodrome, LKVL, has been re-opened in 2019 for national public traffic.

Culture

 

Vlašim castle gate

 

Church of Saint Giles

The castle park hosts an annual festival on 1 May, which is a public holiday in the Czech Republic.^[5]

Sport

The town is home to an association football team, FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim, which plays in the Czech National Football League, the second tier of Czech football.

Sights

The Vlašim Castle is the main landmark of the town. The original Gothic castle was rebuilt in the 16th century.^[2] It is surrounded with an English landscape garden with many pieces of romantic architecture such as the Chinese pavilion, Old castle and its three gates.^[5]

The Church of Saint Giles is a late Gothic building from 1522–1523.^[6]

Notable people

• Jan Očko of Vlašim (?–1380), Archbishop of Prague
• Miluše Poupětová (born 1963), artist
• Marcela Krinke-Susmelj (born 1965), Czech-Swiss dressage rider
• Luboš Kozel (born 1971), football player and manager
• Libor Procházka (born 1974), ice hockey player
• Stanislav Vlček (born 1976), footballer
• Michal Rozsíval (born 1978), ice hockey player
• Michal Řepík (born 1988), ice hockey player

See also

• The Votive Panel of Jan Očko of Vlašim
• House of Vlašim

References

1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2022". Czech Statistical Office. 2022-04-29.
2. "Zámek Vlašim" (in Czech). Hrady.cz. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
3. "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Benešov" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 31–32.
4. "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
5. "O Vlašimi" (in Czech). Město Vlašim. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
6. "Kostel sv. Jiljí" (in Czech). Hrady.cz. Retrieved 2021-06-30.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vlašim.

• Official website (in Czech)
• History of Vlašim Family