České Velenice

České Velenice
Town
Town centre
Flag Coat of arms
České Velenice Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 48°46′7″N 14°57′49″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	South Bohemian
District	Jindřichův Hradec
First mentioned	1387
Government
• Mayor	Jaroslav Slíva
Area
• Total	12.1 km2 (4.7 sq mi)
Elevation	489 m (1,604 ft)
Population  (2020-01-01)
• Total	3,575
• Density	300/km2 (770/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	378 10
Website	www.velenice.cz

České Velenice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɛː ˈvɛlɛɲɪtsɛ], German: Unterwielands, Gmünd-Wielands, Gmünd-Bahnhof, 1938–45: Gmünd III)) is a town in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, just on the border with neighbouring Gmünd, Austria. It has about 3,600 inhabitants.

History

The area constituting current České Velenice was just the north-west part of the Austrian town of Gmünd, including the main station and the factory for repairing rolling stock and locomotives, established in 1868 and damaged during World War II by USA air strikes. But at the end of World War I the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain awarded it to Czechoslovakia and became the new municipality of České Velenice.

The development of this border area between Bohemia and Austria was decisively increased by the inauguration of the Emperor Franz Joseph Railway connecting Vienna to Prague in 1869.

Transport

Today, the railway line has only regional significance, as the main line runs via Wien Meidling and Brno, along the first Czech railway corridor.

Notable people

• Anton Legner (born 1928), art historian
• Adolf Born (1930–2016), painter, cartoonist and illustrator
• Jiří Sedláček (1935–2014), engineer
• Jan Rejžek (born 1954), journalist

External links

• Media related to České Velenice at Wikimedia Commons