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| Statistics | |
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| Area: | 20.4 km² |
| Population: | 2,460 (2003) |
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| Missing image Czech_city_Bruntal.png Map of the Czech Republic highlighting Horni Benesov | |
Horní Benešov (formerly Benešov or Bennisch in German) is small town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic.
Benešov has a long mining tradition. It started as a mining settlement at the beginning of the 13th century. The town was officially founded in 1253, and the rights were confirmed in 1271 by the Czech King Premysl Ottokar II. It 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.
Curiosities
The town gained some attention when it was learned that Fritz Kohn, the paternal grandfather of John Kerry, the U.S. Democratic Party's candidate for United States President in the 2004 election, was from Horní Benešov. Kohn, who was born to a Jewish family here, changed his name to Kerry and converted to Catholicism before emigrating to the U.S. in 1905.
When Kohn was born, the town was populated almost entirely by Germans with only a very small Jewish and Czech communities, and was part of the Silesia region of Austria-Hungary. After World War I, the town was within the state of Czechoslovakia and in 1926 was given its present name. Today it is almost entirely Czech.
External links
- Horní Benešov Web site (http://www.hbenesov.cz/)
- Statistics for Horní Benešov (http://www.kr-moravskoslezsky.cz/obce2_en.html?id=4235)
- Flag and Coat of Arms of Horní Benešov (http://flagspot.net/flags/cz-br-hb.html)cs:Horní Benešov