Polička

	Polička
	Town
Flag	Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Pardubice
District	Svitavy
Commune	Polička
River	Bílý potok
Elevation	555 m (1,821 ft)
Coordinates	49°42′54″N 16°16′3″E / 49.715°N 16.2675°E
Area	33.11 km2 (12.78 sq mi)
Population	9,128 (2006-07-03)
Density	276 / km2 (715 / sq mi)
Founded	1265
Mayor	Jaroslav Martinů
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	572 01
	Location in the Czech Republic
	Wikimedia Commons: Polička
	Statistics: statnisprava.cz
	Website: www.policka.org

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Coordinates: 49°42′54″N 16°16′3″E / 49.715°N 16.2675°E

Polička (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpolɪtʃka]; German: Politschka) is a town on Bohemia-Moravia borderline in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has cca 10,000 inhabitants. It is about 17 km west of Svitavy.

[edit] History

Polička was founded in the year 1265 by Bohemian king Přemysl Otakar II

The name of the land Na polickach (On the Fields) appears already in the list of places which in 1167 King Vladislav I gave under the administration of the Praemonstratensian monastery in Litomyšl. A settlement was built there gradually in order to defend the country's trading path, leading from Moravia to Bohemia through dense forests.

Part of the town walls.

On September 27, 1265 King Přemysl Ottokar II issued a decree in which he ordered the Royal Administrator Conrad of Loewendorf to take proper care of "the new setting of our town Na polickach". Undoubtedly, Conrad's plan was the beginning of the basic ground plan which still exists: a trapezoid square with four corner streets leading to four gates is surrounded with a complex of buildings confined into an elliptical shape.

In 1305 Polička was mentioned as a dowry town of Czech queens. It was Přemysl Ottokar II who first dedicated the town to his wife Kunhuta as a dowry. In the 14th century, Queen Eliška Rejčka was given the town as a forfeit for her dowry by her second husband King Rudolf of Habsburg. Later the profit from the town's revenues remained a part of the dowry of wives of members of the ruling family. Thus the reginal dowry town of Polička entered history.

Saint Michael's church, Polička

In the second half of the 14th century the town streets were paved, stone houses were built and around the town a stone wall with19 bastions were constructed. The town wall was 2,5 meter thick and on the outer side they were ten meters high. Outside of the town walls the fortification system was completed by a moat.

1421 was a critical year for Polička. Firstly it was taken by Jan Žižka and afterwards it was plundered by Hungarians under Sigismund. During the Hussite wars it was part of moderate Prague town union. During the rule of George of Poděbrady the town strengthened its fortification system with four barbicans protecting the town entrance and a new moat.

Polička enjoyed the favour of Jagiellon dynasty during its rule. Later, the town was actively participating in the fight against Ferdinand I. When Ferdinand I got to power, Polička was punished by the suspension of its rights, fined and its real estate was confiscated. Twelve years later, the town had to purchase the property for additional money. When listing of houses took place in royal towns in 1567 Polička had 200 houses in total.

In the 16th century renaissance style buildings started to be built in the town. Examples hereof are St. Michal’s church (constructed since 1576 by Ambrož Vlach – a builder of Italian descent) and prism-shaped bell tower which is situated in the cemetery. In 1613 Polička was devastated by fire. Only the gothic town hall and southwest part of the town was spared.

The composer Bohuslav Martinů was a native of Polička.