Blatná

Sister cities

• Sargé-lès-le-Mans
• Vacha
• Roggwil

History

The first settlement of the area is documented by archaeological finds up to the 4th century. In the 8th and 9th centuries, a Slavis settlement is documented. The first written mention of Blatná is from 1235, when there probably already existed a fortress with a settlement. In the 14th century, Blatná became a property of the Bavor of Strakonice family, which leads to the development of the settlement. The importance of Blatná grows especially in the 15th and at the beginning of the 16th century, when Blatná became the centre of the dominion of the family of Lev of Rožmitál. Their long rule marks the golden age of Blatná. At that time, the burghers of Blatná gained the privileges that enabled the development of handicraft production and the growth of the business – the right to organise markets and brew beer. In the second half of the 16th century, Blatná was owned by the Sternberg family for a short time until it was bought by the Polish Counts of Rozdražov. In 1601, Blatná was promoted to a town by Emperor Rudolf II. During the Thirty Years' War, Blatná was repeatedly looted and destroyed. In 1691, the Kolowrat-Krakowsky family bought Blatná, but they sold it to the Serényi family already in 1695. In the 18th century, during the rule of the Serényis, the town recovered and prospered. Since 1798, Blatná has belonged to the Tyrolean house by origin of Hildprandts of Ottenhausen. They have owned the castle continuously, with the exception of the period of communist dictatorship (1948–1989) when it was confiscated by the state. The town burned down completely in 1834; 118 houses, the town hall and the bell tower were destroyed and therefore most buildings in the town come from after that event. At that time Blatná fell to one of the poorest towns. In 1858, the town…

Geography

Blatná is located about north of Strakonice and southeast of Plzeň. It lies in the Blatná Uplands. The highest point is at above sea level. The Lomnice River flows through the town. The municipal territory is rich in fishponds, built here since the Middle Ages. The municipality of Mačkov forms an enclave in the territory of Blatná. Blatná enjoys an inland version of temperate Oceanic climate (Cfb) with rather balanced temperatures year round. Precipitations are vastly in form of rain, totalling 691 mm. There are four pronounced seasons with notably cold, dry, and murky winter season, contrasting with much sunnier and wetter warm seasons. Average round the clock temperatures in July stays on +17.2 °C and January mean temperatures stays on −2.5 °C. The whole year average is .