Třebíč

Did You Know?

• The name Třebíč may derive from the old Czech verb třebiti, meaning clearing land after burning vegetation.
• The municipal territory includes many fishponds and the Lubí Reservoir.
• The northeastern part of the municipal territory is protected as the Třebíčsko Nature Park.

History

The first written mention of Třebíč dates to 1101, when a Benedictine monastery was founded. In 1277 it was first called a town, and in 1335 it gained town rights equivalent to those of royal towns, including the right to build fortifications and independence from the monastery. The Jewish population is first documented in 1338. During the Hussite Wars, Třebíč was taken by the Hussites and used as a military base, but after the wars it returned to monastic control. In 1468 Matthias Corvinus conquered and destroyed the town and monastery. Following the Bohemian–Hungarian War, Zdeněk of Sternberg acquired Třebíč, and under the Pernštejn family (1490–1556) the town recovered economically. The Thirty Years' War caused little damage, and afterward the town was re-Catholicized. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Waldstein family mostly owned Třebíč. Germanisation began in 1786. Large fires in 1821 and 1822 caused severe damage. Industrialisation in the late 19th century focused on tannery and shoemaking, accelerated by the railway opening in 1886. In the 1930s the Bata Corporation bought the shoe factory and built workers' colonies in Borovina. During the 1970s and 1980s, several historic buildings were demolished and new housing estates were constructed, leading to population growth.

Transport

The I/23 road passes through Třebíč, linking Veselí nad Lužnicí to Rosice. The II/360 connects the town with the D1 motorway at Velké Meziříčí, and the II/405 road links Třebíč to Jihlava. An interregional railway line from Brno to Plzeň runs through Třebíč, Jihlava and České Budějovice, with two stations: Třebíč and Třebíč-Borovina. Intra-town transport is by bus, and a small sport airport named Třebíč lies outside the municipal territory in Kožichovice.

Sights

The Jewish Quarter and St. Procopius Basilica in Třebíč have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, recognized for showcasing centuries of cultural exchange and impressive architecture. The basilica began as a well-funded Benedictine monastery in the early 1100s, whose wealth spurred the growth of the town of Třebíč as a trading hub. It was rebuilt under King Wenceslaus I and again in the late 1400s. During the first half of the 1500s, parts of the monastery were turned into a castle, later updated in Baroque style. In the early 1700s, architect František Maxmilián Kaňka enlarged windows, added buttresses, rebuilt a southwest tower, and created a new Gothic-Baroque west front with two towers. The basilica also features later Gothic details, including a rare ten-part rose window, often called a botanical rose window, which mirrors the five sepals and petals or ten fruit segments of Rosaceae plants. Some scholars link this design to the wheel of life or to the Virgin Mary. The historic center, spanning both sides of the Jihlava River, became an urban monument zone in 1990, encompassing the Jewish Quarter, the basilica, the castle, and its gardens.