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'Kutná Hora' (IPA: ; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné'', German: Kuttenberg), is a city in the Czech Republic in Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia. During the thirteenth and sixteenth century the city competed with Prague economically, culturally and politically.^[1] Since 1995 the city center has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[2]

Contents

History

Architecture

Sister cities

See also

References

External links

History

The town of Kutná Hora owes its origin to the silver mines which gained importance during the economic boom of the 13th century. The earliest traces of silver have been found dating back to the 10th century. Silver dinars have been discovered belonging to the period between 985-995 in the settlement of Malín, which is now a part of Kutná Hora. The turing point in the history of the city was when in 1300 when Wenceslaus II of Bohemia issued the new royal mining code Ius regale montanorum. This was a legal document of that specified all administrative as well as technical terms and conditions necessary for the operation of mines.^[3] The city developed with great rapidity, and at the outbreak of the Hussite Wars in 1419 was next to Prague the most important in Bohemia, having become the favourite residence of several of the Bohemian kings. It was here that, on January 18, 1419, Wenceslaus IV signed the famous Decree of Kutná Hora, by which the Czech nation was given three votes in the elections to the faculty of Prague University as against one for the three other "nations" (more details).
In 1420 the emperor Sigismund made the city the base for his unsuccessful attack on the Taborites; Kutná Hora was taken by Jan Žižka, and after a temporary reconciliation of the warring parties was burned by the imperial troops in 1422, to prevent its falling again into the hands of the Taborites. Žižka none the less took the place, and under Bohemian auspices it awoke to a new period of prosperity. In 1541 the richest mine was hopelessly flooded; in the insurrection of Bohemia against Ferdinand I the city lost all its privileges; repeated visitations of the plague and the horrors of the Thirty Years' War completed its ruin. Half-hearted attempts after the peace to repair the ruined mines failed; the town became impoverished, and in 1770 was devastated by fire. The mines were abandoned at the end of the 18th century.

Architecture

Kutná Hora and the neighboring town of Sedlec are an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the most important buildings in the area are the Gothic, five-naved St. Barbara Church, begun in 1368, and the ''Italian Court'', formerly a royal residence and mint, which was built at the end of the 13th century. The Gothic ''Stone Haus'', which since 1902 has served as a museum, contains one of the richest archives in the country. The Gothic ''St. James Church'', with its 83 metre tower, is another prominent building. Sedlec is the site of the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and the famous Ossuary.

Sister cities

★ Eger, Hungary

★ Fidenza, Italy

★ Kremnica, Slovakia

★ Ringsted, Denmark

★ Stamford, United Kingdom

★ Tarnowskie Góry, Poland

See also

★ Deer Park Žehušice - natural reserve with white deer, located 15 km to the east

References

1. Discover Czech
2. UNESCO page on Kutná Hora
3. Town history

External links

★ www.kutnahora.info - Website of the region