Bílovec

Bílovec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbiːlovɛts]; German: Wagstadt) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, near Nový Jičín. It is situated on the slopes of the Nízký Jeseník mountains and on the banks of the Bílovka River.

Bílovec is the birthplace of tennis players Květa Peschke and Petra Kvitová, internationally respected architect Emil Přikryl and Sudeten German social democratic politician Hugo Schmidt (1844–1907).

History

Until 1918, Wagstadt was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (the Austrian side after the compromise of 1867), in the district with the same name, one of the eight Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Austrian Silesia.

In 1938, it was occupied by the Nazi army as one of the municipalities in the Sudetenland, the portion of Czechoslovakia turned over to Germany by the Munich agreement between Chamberlain and Hitler. After the conclusion of World War II, the German speaking population was expelled from the region in 1945 (see the Beneš decrees) and replaced by Czech settlers.

Education

The Grammar school of Nicolas Copernicus (Gymnázium Mikuláše Koperníka, GMK) is located in Bílovec.

Notable people born in Bílovec

• Petra Kvitová, 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon female tennis champion.
• Adam Pavlásek, professional tennis player
• Květa Peschke, professional tennis player
• Rostislav Olesz, Ice hockey player for the New Jersey Devils of the NHL

Gallery

• 
  Slezské square
• 
  Tkalcovská street