Horní Benešov

Horní Benešov is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants. Horní Benešov had a long mining tradition, but it ended at the end of the 20th century.

Administrative division

Horní Benešov consists of two municipal parts :

Horní Benešov is located about east of Bruntál and west of Opava. It lies in the Nízký Jeseník range. The highest point is at above sea level.

The first written mention of Horní Benešov is from 1226, when it was a mining settlement. The silver mines were one of the oldest in Czech lands. The town of Benešov was founded on the site of the settlement in 1253, and the town rights were confirmed in 1271 by King Ottokar II.
The town was destroyed by a Hungarian invasion in 1474 and then during the Thirty Years' War. The mining was in decline since 17th century. During the 19th and 20th centuries, economic development of Benešov was driven mostly by textile industry.
According to the Austrian administration census of 1910 the town had 3,826 inhabitants, 3,800 were German-speaking. Most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 3,766, followed by Protestants with 30 and the Jews with 25.
Before World War I, the town was part of the Austrian Silesia region. After World War I, the town was within the state of Czechoslovakia and in 1926 was given its present name. From 1938 to 1945 Horní Benešov was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as a part of the Reichsgau Sudetenland. After the war, the German population was expelled.
In 1902–1914 and in 1951–1992, baryte was mined here.

The I/11 road passes through the town.

The main landmark of Horní Benešov is the Church of Saint Catherine. It was built in the Neoclassical style in 1719. It has preserved elements from the original building from the 16th century.

Horní Benešov is twinned with: