Malé Svatoňovice

Malé Svatoňovice
Municipality
Church of Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary
Flag Coat of arms
Malé Svatoňovice Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°32′3″N 16°3′1″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Hradec Králové
District	Trutnov
First mentioned	1357
Area
• Total	6.74 km^2 (2.60 sq mi)
Elevation	441 m (1,447 ft)
Population  (2024-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,591
• Density	240/km^2 (610/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	542 34
Website	www.malesvatonovice.cz

Malé Svatoňovice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmalɛː ˈsvatoɲovɪtsɛ]; German: Klein Schwadowitz) is a municipality and village in Trutnov District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of writer Karel Čapek.

Administrative parts

The villages of Odolov, Petrovice and Strážkovice are administrative parts of Malé Svatoňovice.

Geography

Malé Svatoňovice is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of Trutnov and 38 km (24 mi) northeast of Hradec Králové. It lies in the Broumov Highlands, in the microregion of Jestřebí hory. The highest point is at 714 m (2,343 ft) above sea level.

History

The first written mention of Svatoňovice is from 1357. From the 18th century, flax was grown in the vicinity of the village and the linen industry developed. In 1826, Svatoňovice was divided into Velké Svatoňovice and Malé Svatoňovice, but they merged again in 1850. Since 1880, they have been divided into two separate municipalities.^[2]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 1,346 —     1880 1,373 +2.0% 1890 1,725 +25.6% 1900 1,768 +2.5% 1910 1,738 −1.7%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 1,642 −5.5% 1930 1,729 +5.3% 1950 1,446 −16.4% 1961 1,851 +28.0% 1970 1,787 −3.5%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 1,709 −4.4% 1991 1,502 −12.1% 2001 1,526 +1.6% 2011 1,658 +8.7% 2021 1,676 +1.1%
Source: Censuses[3][4]

Transport

In the municipality is a large railway station, originally built for use in the coal mining industry in 1857–1859.^[5] Malé Svatoňovice lies on an interregional railway line from Prague to Trutnov and on a regional line from Hradec Králové to Svoboda nad Úpou.^[6]

Sights

On the square of Malé Svatoňovice is the Baroque Church of Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary from 1734. The church was built on the site of seven springs with allegedly healing effects and became a pilgrimage site. The springs now rise in a chapel, which was built in 1732. The church was rebuilt into its current form in 1830–1831. In the upper part of the municipality are stations of the Cross with seven chapels.^[7]

There is the Čapek Brothers Museum in the birth house of Karel Čapek. Karel's brother Josef was the first Czech Cubist and some of his work is also displayed in the museum.^[8]

Notable people

• Karel Čapek (1890–1938), writer

References

1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024". Czech Statistical Office. 2024-05-17.
2. "Program rozvoje obce Malé Svatoňovice" (PDF) (in Czech). Obec Malé Svatoňovice. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
3. "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21.
4. "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
5. "Výročí 160 let provozu trati Jaroměř – Česká Skalice – Malé Svatoňovice" (in Czech). Železniční muzeum Výtopna Jaroměř. 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
6. "Detail stanice Malé Svatoňovice" (in Czech). České dráhy. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
7. "Poutní kostel Sedmi radostí Panny Marie a Studánka" (in Czech). Obec Malé Svatoňovice. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
8. "Muzeum bratří Čapků" (in Czech). Obec Malé Svatoňovice. Retrieved 2021-09-22.

External links

• Official website