Besednice

Besednice (Bessenitz) is a market town in Český Krumlov District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The village of Malče is an administrative part of Besednice.

Etymology
The name is derived from the old Slavic word besěda, which denoted outdoor sitting.

Geography
Besednice is located about 17 km east of Český Krumlov and 20 km south of České Budějovice. It lies in the Gratzen Foothills. The highest point is the mountain Velký kámen at 753 m above sea level.

The brook Besednický potok flows through the market town. The landscape around Besednice near the Besednický potok is known as a site of the moldavites. It is protected as the Besednické vltavíny Nature Monument.

History
The first written mention of Besednice is from 1395, when Henry III of Rosenberg donated the village to the parish church of St. Vitus in Český Krumlov. From that time until the establishment of an independent municipality in 1848, Besednice belonged to the Český Krumlov prelature.

Besednice was promoted to a market town in 1910.

Transport
There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights
The most important monument is the Church of Saint Procopius. It was built in the Baroque style in 1738, then it was rebuilt in 1742–1745 and in the Neoclassical style in 1875.