Strakonice

Sister cities

• Bad Salzungen
• Lengnau

History

A moated castle on the Otava River was built by the noble family of Bavors of Strakonice at the beginning of the 13th century. The first written mention of the castle is from 1235. The first written mention of the village of Strakonice is from 1243, when the Church of Saint Wenceslaus already existed and the Bavors donated part of the castle and several nearby villages to the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of Saint John. By 1318, Strakonice was already a town. By 1402, the Knights Hospitaller owned the entire castle, including the town and the surrounding estate. In 1420, the Hussite commander Jan Žižka occupied Strakonice but failed to capture the castle. Strakonice Castle underwent an extensive reconstruction in the 16th century, becoming a representative residence for the Order's Grand Priors. Subsequent alterations were minor. After the Thirty Years' War, the castle lost its significance. The town was industrialised during the course of the 19th century. In the 1860s, a railway line connecting České Budějovice and Plzeň via Strakonice was built, which spurred its economic development.

Geography

Strakonice is located about northwest of České Budějovice. It lies mostly in the northern tip of the České Budějovice Basin, but the municipal territory also extends to the Blatná Uplands on the north and to the Bohemian Forest Foothills on the south. The highest point is the hill Velká Kakada at above sea level, located in the southern part of Strakonice's territory. The town is situated at the confluence of the Volyňka and Otava rivers. There are several fishponds in the area, the largest of which are Velkoholský rybník and Blatský rybník. Among the small-scale protected areas in Strakonice are Bažantnice u Pracejovic Nature Reserve and the Tůně u Hajské Nature Monument. Strakonice has a cool, wet, and temperate inland variant of the humid continental climate (Dfb).

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  429
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  424
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  395
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  334
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  326
• Eurasian Nuthatch

  Sitta europaea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  324
• Graylag Goose

  Anser anser (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  318
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  305

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2007-01-13
  4 km SSW of Krásná Hora nad Vltavou, Czechia
• M 2.5 — 2002-03-10
  2 km NNE of Waldmünchen, Germany