Brtnice

Brtnice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbr̩tɲɪtsɛ]; German: Pirnitz) is a town in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.

Brtnice
Town
View from the castle park towards Brtnice
Flag Coat of arms
Brtnice Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°18′30″N 15°40′34″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Vysočina
District	Jihlava
First mentioned	1234
Government
• Mayor	Jan Přibyl
Area
• Total	74.13 km2 (28.62 sq mi)
Elevation	515 m (1,690 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	3,817
• Density	51/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	588 32
Website	www.brtnice.cz

Administrative division

Brtnice consists of ten municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

• Brtnice (2,385)
• Dolní Smrčné (83)
• Jestřebí (138)
• Komárovice (86)
• Malé (29)
• Panská Lhota (218)
• Přímělkov (126)
• Příseka (238)
• Střížov (320)
• Uhřínovice (89)

Etymology

The name is derived from the old Czech word brtě, i.e. 'apiaries'. It was a place where apiaries stood.^[3]

Geography

Brtnice River in the town centre

Brtnice is located about 11 kilometres (7 mi) southeast of Jihlava. It lies in the Křižanov Highlands. The highest point is at 663 m (2,175 ft) above sea level. The Brtnice River flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Brtnice is from 1234, when it was donated to convent in Předklášteří by King Wenceslaus I. From 1410 until 1623, it was owned by the lords of Brtnický of Waldstein. During their rule, Brtnice prospered and the castle was built. In 1588, a church, that time consecrated to Saint Matthias, was built next to the castle.^[3]

After 1623, Brtnice was acquired by the Italian noble family of Collalto, which owned it until 1945. This family also cultivated Brtnice. The family had built a monastery and had rebuilt the castle, interiors of the church, and houses on the square in the Renaissance and Baroque styles.^[3]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 5,235 —     1880 5,378 +2.7% 1890 5,154 −4.2% 1900 5,083 −1.4% 1910 5,198 +2.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 4,971 −4.4% 1930 4,758 −4.3% 1950 3,797 −20.2% 1961 3,976 +4.7% 1970 3,528 −11.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 3,541 +0.4% 1991 3,592 +1.4% 2001 3,656 +1.8% 2011 3,625 −0.8% 2021 3,712 +2.4%
Source: Censuses[4][5]

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through Brtnice. The II/405 road connects the town with Jihlava.

Sights

Svobody Square with the town hall

Museum of Josef Hoffmann

The historic centre and the main square are divided by the Brtnice River. There are two Baroque bridges over the river. One of the bridges, so-called Jewish Bridge, connected the town with the Jewish quarter and is only half decorated with statues.^[6] Apart from the bridges, the main landmark of the Svobody Square is the Renaissance town hall from 1580.^[7]

The large birth house of the architect Josef Hoffmann on the town square belongs to main tourist destinations.^[6] Following a 1992 exhibition in Brtnice on Hoffmann's work mounted by the town and MAK in Vienna, the house was turned into a permanent exhibition space.^[8] From 2006, the building has been administered by the Moravian Gallery in Brno, with the assistance of MAK.^[9]

Near the square is the Church of Saint James the Great. It is a simple Baroque building from 1776–1784 which replaced an original medieval building. The church containts valuable artworks.^[10]

The Brtnice Castle is located on a hill above the town centre. It is a unique large complex of Renaissance castle with Baroque modifications from 1650–1655, surrounded by Gothic fortifications, with English style castle park founded in 1817. The castle contains expositions on medieval torture and history of plague epidemics.^[11] Next to the castle complex is the former Minim monastery with Church of Blessed Giuliana of Collalto.

The ruin of the Rokštejn Castle is located near the Panská Lhota village. The early Gothic castle was conquered and demolished in the 15th century by Matthias Corvinus and his army.^[6]

Notable people

• Hermann of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1838–1899), German nobleman and politician
• Josef Hoffmann (1870–1956), Austrian architect
• Gustav Haloun (1898–1951), sinologist
• Baruch Kurzweil (1907–1972), Israeli literary critic
• William Pachner (1915–2017), American painter
• Zdeněk Měřínský (1948–2016), archeologist and historian; died here

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Brtnice is twinned with:^[12]

• Orpund, Switzerland