The villages of Brunka, Hněvkovice, Kletečná, Krasoňov, Lhotka, Petrovice, Plačkov, Rozkoš, Světlice, Světlický Dvůr and Vilémov are administrative parts of Humpolec.
Etymology
The name is derived from the German personal name Gumpolt. The oldest written form of the name was Gumpoldis in Latin.[2]
Geography
Humpolec is located about 22 km (14 mi) northwest of Jihlava, roughly halfway between Prague and Brno. It lies in the Křemešník Highlands. The highest point is the hill Krásná vyhlídka at 663 m (2,175 ft) above sea level. There is a significant amount of small fishponds; some of them are in the urban area.
History
The first written mention of Humpolec is from 1178. In the 13th–15th centuries it was a silver mining town. Humpolec became known for drapery production from the 17th century, which reached its peak in the 19th century.[3]
The railway of local importance heading to Havlíčkův Brod begins here.[7]
Sights
Aerial view of the historic centre
The Church of Saint Nicholas was originally an early Gothic church, rebuilt in 1721–1722 in the Gothic-Baroque style by Jan Santini Aichel. Its current Neo-Gothic form is a result of the reconstruction in 1895.[8]
The Evangelical church was built in the Historicist style in 1862, and the tower was added in 1890–1891. Together with the rectory from 1854 and the evangelical school, it forms an area protected as a cultural monument.[9]
Since 2022, the chimney of the Family Brewery Bernard has a public observation deck in a height of 33 metres (108 ft), which is accessible over a spiral staircase with 189 steps. It is a part of the Visitor Centre of the brewery.[10]
