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České Budějovice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɛː ˈbuɟɛjovɪtsɛ] ⓘ; German: Budweis) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše.
České Budějovice is the largest city in the region and its political and commercial capital, the seat of the Diocese of České Budějovice and the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. The city is known for its long tradition of beer brewing, especially in the Budweiser Budvar Brewery. České Budějovice is an important transport junction.
The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation. The Přemysl Otakar II. Square is one of the largest city squares in the country. Among the main landmarks of České Budějovice are the Black Tower, City Hall, Cathedral of Saint Nicholas and Dominican Monastery.
České Budějovice consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
České Budějovice 5 forms an exclave of the municipal territory.
The name Budějovice is derived from personal Slavic name Budivoj, meaning "the village of Budivoj's people". The name first appeared as Budoywicz, then it appeared in various similar forms. The German name was created by transcribing and shortening the Czech name. When the royal city was founded in 1265, the name appeared as Budwoyz and then it was adapted to Budweis. The name Budvicium was used in Latin. After the Hussite revolution in the first half of the 15th century, the name České Budějovice ('Bohemian Budějovice') appeared to distinguish it from Moravské Budějovice ('Moravian Budějovice').
České Budějovice is located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Prague. It lies in the České Budějovice Basin, only a small eastern part of the municipal territory extends into the Třeboň Basin. The city is spread mostly across a plain making it nearly flat in the inner parts with hillier areas in the eastern suburbs. The highest point, located in the city's exclave, is at 560 m (1,840 ft) above sea level. The main part of the municipal territory does not exceed 452 m (1,483 ft).
České Budějovice is situated in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. A set of large fishponds is located in the northwestern part of the municipal territory. The largest pond is Novohaklovský rybník with an area of 47.2 hectares (117 acres). Several of the ponds lies within the nature reserve of Vrbenské rybníky.
České Budějovice has a cooler and wet inland version of a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb; Trewartha: Dcbo) with an average annual temperature of 8.3 °C (46.9 °F). There are four seasons, with a murky dry winter between early December and early March, a sunny and wetter spring between half of March up to half of May changing to a rainy and warm summer during late May and early September when a dry autumn lasting to late November begins. There are between 1,550 and 1,800 hours of sunshine in most years. The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from c. −40 °C (−40 °F) on 11 February 1929 to 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) on 27 July 1983.
The first written mention of Budějovice is from 1251, when it was only a village. The royal city was founded on its site by King Ottokar II in 1265. The siting and planning of the city was carried out by the king's knight Hirzo. The city was fortified and had three gates. It immediately became the political and economic capital of south Bohemia. The city quickly became rich thanks to the development of trade and crafts and thanks to silver mining in the nearby area. The German-speaking settlers were coming from the Bohemian Forest and Upper Austria.
In 1341, King John of Bohemia allowed Jewish families to reside within the city walls. The first synagogue was built in 1380. At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Jewish community had about 100 inhabitants. In 1505–1506, a pogrom occurred and the Jews were expelled from the city. During the 16th century, the number of German craftsmen in the city increased. In the 18th century, Germans became the majority.
The city's fortifications were able to resist the Hussites during the Hussite Wars, but the city's development was disrupted by the Thirty Years' War and an extensive fire in 1641, during which two-thirds of the city was destroyed. Reconstructions in the Baroque style, which took place in the following decades, changed the architectural character of the city. In 1785, Pope Pius VI founded the Diocese of České Budějovice and the Church of Saint Nicholas was promoted to a cathedral.
In the 19th century, the city was industrialised. During his time, České Budějovice became a major trade hub. The Budweis–Linz Horse-Drawn Railway was built in 1825–1832 and became the second oldest public line in continental Europe (after the Saint-Étienne-Andrézieux line in France). The production of Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth pencils was relocated from Vienna to České Budějovice in 1847. Aside from Hardtmuth brothers, Adalbert Lanna the Elder belonged among the city's most prominent industrialists of the 19th century. In 1895, Český akciový pivovar (later known as Budweiser Budvar Brewery) was founded.
From 1848 until World War II, there was again a Jewish community here, which in 1925 numbered over 1,400 people. The city remained a predominantly German-speaking enclave until 1880, after which Czechs became the majority again. Until the end of World War II, the city contained a significant German minority (about 15.5% in 1930). The ratios between the Germans and the Czechs were in 1880: 11,829 Germans to 11,812 Czechs, in 1890: 11,642 to 16,585, in 1900: 15,436 to 23,427, in 1910: 16,903 to 27,309 and in 1921: 7,415 to 35,800. The reason for the change in the ratio was the high increase in the city's population, mainly caused by newly immigrated Czechs. The share of Germans fell below the legal limit of 20% and thus the Czech language became the only official language.
The coexistence of Czechs and Germans was mostly peaceful, which changed only in the 1930s, when many of the Germans in the city tended to Nazism. During the Occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939–1945, the city was part of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. There was said to be established then a Gestapo prison and a forced labour camp in the city. During the final stages of World War II, in March 1945, České Budějovice was significantly damaged by United States Army Air Forces raids on strategic locations. At the end of the war, on 9 or 10 May 1945, Soviet troops occupied the city. The almost entire German population, which numbered 6,000 people, was then expelled under the Beneš decrees.
České Budějovice is the economic centre of the entire South Bohemian Region and the seat of many large corporations. The largest employers with its headquarters in České Budějovice and at least 1,000 employees are:
The České Budějovice agglomeration was defined as a tool for drawing money from the European Structural and Investment Funds. It is an area that includes the city and its surroundings, linked to the city by commuting and migration. It has about 180,000 inhabitants.
Since its foundation in the 13th century, České Budějovice has been well known for brewing. In 1351, the city obtained the so-called "mile right" from the king, i.e. that no pubs outside the city can be located within a radius of 10 km, and from 1410, not even breweries. For a time, the town was the imperial brewery for the Holy Roman Emperor, and Budweiser Bier (i.e. beer from Budweis) became, along with Pilsner from Plzeň, one of the best-known lagers. Brewing remains a major industry.
The largest brewery, founded in 1895, is Budweiser Budvar, which has legal rights to market its beer under the "Budweiser" brand name in much of Europe. The same product is also sold elsewhere under the names "Budvar" and "Czechvar" due to legal disagreements with Anheuser-Busch over the Budweiser brand and Anheuser-Busch sells its beer as "Bud" in most of the European Union. The American lager was originally brewed as an imitation of the famous Bohemian original, but over time has developed its own identity and attained remarkable commercial success. Anheuser-Busch has made offers to buy out the Czech brewing company in order to secure global rights to the name "Budweiser", but the Czech government has refused all such offers, regarding the Czech Budweiser name as a matter of national pride.
The oldest operating and second largest brewery, founded in 1795, was renamed to "Pivovar Samson", replacing its original German name "Budweiser Bürgerbräu" during the communist period. It also exported, mostly under the "Samson" and "Crystal" labels. Recently, they reacquired naming rights for Budweiser for Europe while offering "B. B. Bürgerbräu" in the United States since 2005.
The European route E55 (the section from Prague to the Czech–Austrian border at Dolní Dvořiště) passes through České Budějovice. The section from Prague to České Budějovice is formed by the D3 motorway. The section from České Budějovice to the Czech–Austrian border is formed by the I/3 road. The second notable road connection is the I/20 road (part of the European route E49), which connects České Budějovice with Plzeň and Karlovy Vary.
Direct international railways were built via České Budějovice by the Czech-Austrian companies Emperor Franz Joseph Railway in 1868 and Empress Elisabeth Railway in 1871, connecting Vienna with Plzeň and Prague with Zurich, via Linz and Salzburg. Today, the most important lines in operation are Prague–České Budějovice, České Budějovice–Linz and Plzeň–Jihlava. The city is served by four train stations. The main station is named České Budějovice; other stations in the city are České Budějovice severní zastávka, České Budějovice jižní zastávka and Nové Hodějovice.
Public domestic and international České Budějovice Airport is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest from České Budějovice, in the territory of the municipalities of Planá and Homole.
Intra-city transport is provided by buses and trolleybuses. Buses provide 16 lines (including 3 electric buses) and trolleybuses provide 7 lines. The transport company is owned by the city.
The most important annual event in the city is the Země Živitelka ('Earth the Breadwinner') exhibition. It is focused on agriculture and food industry. It takes place in the Výstaviště České Budějovice area, which is the largest area for holding exhibitions, cultural and social events in the city. Země Živitelka has been held regularly since 1973 and followed up on the exhibitions held here in 1960 and 1970.
In 2028, České Budějovice will be the European Capital of Culture.
České Budějovice is the site of many sports facilities and national stadiums, including the football Stadion Střelecký ostrov, the ice-hockey Budvar Arena and the Athletic Stadium Sokol.
The Swimming Stadium České Budějovice features a 50-metre indoor pool, a diving pool, saunas, an outdoor swimming pool and a children's pool. The swimming stadium is among the most architecturally significant sports buildings in the country and has been protected as a cultural monument since 2017.
Motorcycle speedway was a prominent sport in the city from 18 September 1956 until 1 July 1973. The speedway stadium on the Dlouhá louka, off Na Sádkách, opened in September 1955 and had a capacity of 30,000 spectators. The track was a 485-metre (530 yard) oval and a team representing the city participated in the inaugural Czechoslovak Team Speedway Championship in 1956.
The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument reservation.
Among the main landmarks of the city and most visited tourist destinations is the Black Tower (Černá věž). It was built in 1550–1577 as a guarding tower and a bell tower. It is 72 m (236 ft) high and 225 wooden steps lead to the top. The tower is equipped by six bells.
Text from the Wikipedia article “České Budějovice”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.