Břeclav

Břeclav (ˈbr̝ɛtslaf; Lundenburg) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Town parts of Charvátská Nová Ves and Poštorná are administrative parts of Břeclav. The town's name is derived from the Czech name of the founder of the local castle, Duke Bretislav I. The former German name was probably derived from the name of a Slavic tribe which lived in the area. Břeclav is located about southeast of Brno at the border with Austria. It borders the Austrian town Bernhardsthal. Břeclav lies about northwest of the Slovak border at Kúty and about north of the Austrian capital Vienna. Břeclav lies in the Lower Morava Valley lowland in the warmest part of the country. The Thaya River flows through the town. There is wild thick riparian forest composed of deciduous trees in the southern part of the municipal territory. The area was settled by first Slavic tribes already in the 6th century. In the late 8th century, a large Slavic gord, today called Pohansko (meaning "a paganish place"), was established southeast of the today's town. In the 9th century, it became a significant centre of Great Moravia. An agricultural settlement probably existed in the area of Old Břeclav, and the gord served as a hiding place for its inhabitants. In the 10th century it was abandoned. After 1041, a border castle was established here by Duke Bretislav I. The first written mention of Břeclav is from 1046, when it was referred by its Latin name Bretyzlawe. In the second half of the 13th century, the castle was rebuilt to a massive Romanesque fortress. The castle often changed owners. At the beginning of the 15th century, it was acquired by the House of Liechtenstein. During the Hussite Wars the castle became a military base of the Hussites and the nearby settlement was looted. The inhabitants had to flee and founded a new market town below the castle on the other side of the Thaya river, called Nová Břeclav ("New Břeclav"). The original spot has been called Stará Břeclav ("Old Břeclav") since that time.