Seč (Chrudim District)

Seč (German: Setsch) is a town in Chrudim District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,800 inhabitants.

Seč
Town
Church of Saint Lawrence
Flag Coat of arms
Seč Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°50′49″N 15°39′23″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Pardubice
District	Chrudim
First mentioned	1318
Government
• Mayor	Marcel Vojtěch
Area
• Total	36.68 km2 (14.16 sq mi)
Elevation	532 m (1,745 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,848
• Density	50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal codes	538 05, 538 07, 538 43
Website	www.mestosec.cz

Administrative division

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

• Seč (1,228)
• Hoješín (108)
• Javorka (1)
• Kraskov (217)
• Počátky (126)
• Proseč (37)
• Prosíčka (13)
• Přemilov (4)
• Ústupky (36)
• Žďárec u Seče (125)

Etymology

The old Czech word seč is derived from the verb sekat ('cut', 'chop'). This word denoted a place cut out in the forest (a glade).^[3]

Geography

Seč is located about 15 kilometres (9 mi) southwest of Chrudim and 22 km (14 mi) southwest of Pardubice. It lies in the Iron Mountains and in the eponymous protected landscape area. Seč Reservoir is built next to the town on the Chrudimka River.

History

The first written mention of Seč is from 1318. The settlement was founded during the colonization of the Iron Mountains in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1499, Seč became a market town, and in 1853, it was promoted to a town. It lost the town status in 1954, but regained it in 2007.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 3,263 —     1880 3,269 +0.2% 1890 3,103 −5.1% 1900 2,767 −10.8% 1910 2,917 +5.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 2,841 −2.6% 1930 2,730 −3.9% 1950 1,914 −29.9% 1961 2,000 +4.5% 1970 1,858 −7.1%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 1,790 −3.7% 1991 1,776 −0.8% 2001 1,707 −3.9% 2011 1,828 +7.1% 2021 1,895 +3.7%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

Town square

The landmarks of the town are the Church of Saint Lawrence, built in the Renaissance style in 1610–1620, and the Renaissance castle, which dates from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries and today serves as the municipal office.^[4]

Notable people

• Vincenc Strouhal (1850–1922), physicist

Twin towns – sister cities

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

Seč is twinned with:^[7]

• Radzovce, Slovakia