Town in Vyso?ina, Czech Republic
Velka Bite?
(until 1924
Velka Byte?
) is a town in
??ar nad Sazavou District
in the
Vyso?ina Region
of the
Czech Republic
. It has about 5,600 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an
urban monument zone
.
Administrative parts
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The villages of Bezd?kov, B?ezka, Holubi Zho?, Jachymov, Janovice, Jest?abi, Jind?ichov, Ko?ikov, Ludvikov and Panov are administrative parts of Velka Bite?. Panov forms an
exclave
of the municipal territory.
Geography
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Velka Bite? is located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of
??ar nad Sazavou
and 27 km (17 mi) west of
Brno
. It lies in the
K?i?anov Highlands
. The highest point is at 530 m (1,740 ft) above sea level. The Bity?ka River flows through the town.
History
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The first written mention of Velka Bite? is from 1240, when the church was mentioned.
[2]
The settlement was founded in the first half of the 13th century. In the mid-14th century, it was a
market town
and in 1408, it was promoted to a town.
[3]
The greatest development occurred after the
Hussite Wars
, but the town was severely damaged during the
Thirty Years' War
and recovered slowly. Velka Bite? was not industrialized until 1950, when a large engineering company was founded. Thanks to this, the population increased significantly.
[3]
Demographics
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Historical population
| Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
|---|
| 1869
| 3,406
| ?
|
|---|
| 1880
| 3,527
| +3.6%
|
|---|
| 1890
| 3,361
| ?4.7%
|
|---|
| 1900
| 3,237
| ?3.7%
|
|---|
| 1910
| 3,126
| ?3.4%
|
|---|
| | Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
|---|
| 1921
| 3,046
| ?2.6%
|
|---|
| 1930
| 2,992
| ?1.8%
|
|---|
| 1950
| 2,807
| ?6.2%
|
|---|
| 1961
| 3,217
| +14.6%
|
|---|
| 1970
| 3,435
| +6.8%
|
|---|
| | Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
|---|
| 1980
| 4,272
| +24.4%
|
|---|
| 1991
| 4,652
| +8.9%
|
|---|
| 2001
| 4,889
| +5.1%
|
|---|
| 2011
| 5,042
| +3.1%
|
|---|
| 2021
| 5,140
| +1.9%
|
|---|
|
| Source: Censuses
[4]
[5]
|
Economy
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Prvni Brn?nska Strojirna Velka Bite?
The largest employers based in the town are
ITW Pronovia
, manufacturer of plastic products for the automotive industry,
[6]
and Prvni Brn?nska Strojirna Velka Bite?, manufacturer of aerospace technologies.
[7]
Transport
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The
D1 motorway
from
Prague
to Brno runs next to the town.
Sights
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Church of Saint John the Baptist
Velka Bite? is known for the unique fortified Church of Sain John the Baptist. The original wooden structure was replaced by the stone Romanesque church in the 13th century. In the 15th century, it was surrounded by stone ramparts with an entrance tower.
[2]
Notable people
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Twin towns ? sister cities
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]
Velka Bite? is
twinned
with:
[8]
References
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]
External links
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]