Neděle 01.08.2010 / svátek má Oskar
History and sights
The Town Hall
The Castle
The Chateau
The Jewish Quarter
The Maior Synagogue
The Parish Church of St. James the Elder
The small Church of All Saints
The Courtyard
The Jewish cemetery
The Residence
1222 - Boskovice was first mentioned on a charter of King Přemysl I. The owners of the town lands were descendats of noblemen from Boskovice
1463 - King Jiří from Poděbrady decrees the right to an annual market (Boskovice was then allowed to call itself a small town).
1547 - There was a change in the ruling House to the House of Eder from Štiavnice.
1567 - There was again a change of the ruling House to the Mouse of Morkovský from Zástřizly - the town developed a Renaissance character.
1691 - There was a further change in the ruling House to the powerful House of Dietrichštejn - Baroque buildings were built in the town.
1728 - Jews were forced into a ghetto
1789 - Boskovice started calling itself "a town".
The end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth
century
- the beginning of manufacturing in Boskovice (mostly weaving)
1848 - Jews were released from the ghetto, a new community in the Jewis quarter was founded.
1849 - Boskovice was for 111 years the local administrative centre
1856 - Boskovice was inherited by the Mensdorff - Pouilly family.
1919 - The Jewih quarter was unified with Boskovice
1942 - The forced transportation of Jews from Boskovice, and the beginning of the ghetto´s decline.
After 1948 - Industry was nationalized; the expropriation of all Mensdorff - Pouilly family is property.
After 1990 - The reconstruction of the ghetto and other historical sights, restitution of Mensdorff - Pouilly family is property.
The Town Hall
It was founded at the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The present late Renaissance character is the result of rebuilding from 1567. The corners of the 44 meter high tower have been cut away from the bottom into an eight - sided figure. It was, at that time, a seat of municipal power and there was even a torture chamber here.
From 1849 to 1959 it was the seat of local justice. At present there is Local Authorities, information centre and the Otakar Kubín gallery.
The Castle
The history of the castle dates back to the middle of the thirteenth century. Boskovice castle was owned by descendants of the nobility of Boskovice whose heraldic coat of arms with a seven - tooth crest later became a symbol af the town Boskovice. This noble seat changed its ownership several times, over seven hundred years history it gradually expanded. The castle was abandoned in the seventeen - thirties when it was no longer suitable for living in. At present the castle is owned by the Mensdorff - Pouilly family. Only the ruins of the tryside remain from the originally intact building. The 26 meter deep well which is treadle driven by a wooden wheel represents a unique attraction, the only functioning one in this coutry. When you come to visit the castle you will be welcomed by a rounded tower and renaissance battlements. During the summer time various cultural activities take place in the castle grounds.
The Chateau
It is situated on the original site of a Dominican monastory (which was built during 1682 - 94 and demolished in 1784). It was formerly used as a dyeing factory for a short period, then in 1819 it was rebuilt into a chateau in Imperial style (by architect Josef Esche). It was opened in 1826 and the Imperial style architecture is among the most distinctive in Moravia. In the nineteen - nineties it was given back to the Mensdorff - Pouilly family, along with the castle, courtyard, mansion, and residence.
The Jewish Quarter
Jews were first mentioned in Boskovice in the middle of the fourteenth century. The Jewish quarter is situated in an area of approx 5 hectin the area between the chateau and the square. The buildings mostly date from the first half of the nineteenth century when majority of the quarter was rebuilt follwing the fire of 1823. Decorative elements whit were used on the plaster of the chateau were scroll cinsoles, paintings above windows, decorative gardens and toothet cuts, There are only 79 houses left standing form originally 138. There are so-called "Mezuza", ritual bath for purification"mikva" stone portáls at several houses and characteristic alements of Jewish housing. The Jewish quarter proof of one of the most complex urban Jewish settlements in our country (there are Jewish quarters in other Czech towns, for example, Třebíč).
The Maior Synagogue
It was built in 1698 on the site of the originyl Renaissance synagogue. It is arched with a monastery vaulted arch, and richly decorated with frescoes. It the nineteenth century it was rebuilt in Gothic style along with the parish church of St. James the Elder.
The Parish Church of St. James the Elder
The church was first mentioned in 1346. The church was rebuilt several times around 1500 a.d. , and was finally rebuilt into its present late - Gothic style. The inside of the church is dividet into a triple nave, decorated by paintings from the middle of the nineteenth century. There are several Renaissance and early Baroque tombstones of the Eder House, the Morkovský House, and the Dietrichštejn House located in the presbytery (including the tllest tombstone in Meravia 7 metres). The tower is 41 meter height.
The small Church of All Saints
It was first mentioned in the beginning of the sixteenth century. The building has got a flat ceiling with arched presbytery and is located in the erea of the former cemetery. There are no iternal decorations except from the metal edged late Renaissance pilpit.
The Courtyard
The courtyadd was built in the seventeenth centery as a blocmk of farm out - buidings. In the middle of the facing front it is decorated with a stone heraldic couad of arms of the Dietrištejn House. Nawadays it is the site of several firms and the restautant.
The Jewish cemetery
It was foundet in the first half of the seventeenth century. There are about 2500 standing or lying tombstenes in an area of 1,5 hect. The oldest one dates back to 1640. The famous rabbi Samuel ha - Levi, called Macharit ha - Šekel is buried here.
The Residences
The residences were built in 1729 from stone taken from the castle, and became the Boskovice seat of the Dietrichštějn House (by the year 1826). The original simple baroque building the gateway is at present the site of Boskovice Museum.