Hluboká nad Vltavou

Hluboká nad Vltavou (until 1885 Podhrad, Frauenberg) is a town in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,600 inhabitants. The town is known for the Hluboká Castle.

Administrative parts
The villages of Bavorovice, Buzkov, Hroznějovice, Jaroslavice, Jeznice, Kostelec, Líšnice, Munice, Poněšice and Purkarec are administrative parts of Hluboká nad Vltavou.

Etymology
The name of the town was taken from the name of the local castle. The castle was named Frauenberg in German, which was derived from Old German vrôburg (i.e. "Lord's castle"). The Czech name Hluboká literally means "deep" and originated from the location of the castle above a deep valley.

Geography
Hluboká nad Vltavou is situated about 7 km north of České Budějovice, on both banks of the Vltava river. There are many fish ponds in the municipal territory. The town itself lies on the shore of the largest of them, which is Munický pond with an area of 108 ha.

Hluboká nad Vltavou lies mostly in the Tábor Uplands, but the southern part with the ponds lies in the České Budějovice Basin, and the eastern part extends into the Třeboň Basin. The northern part of the large municipal territory is covered by forests. The highest point is the hill Velký Kameník with 575 m above sea level.

History
History of the town is connected with a castle, which was founded together with the city of České Budějovice by King Ottokar II on a rocky promontory above the Vltava river. A settlement was founded under the castle and named Podhrad (literally "Undercastle").

The castle later passed to the Vítkovci dynasty. Held by the local noble Vilém II of Pernštejn from 1490 onwards, the castle and the town prospered. In 1496, Podhrad was promoted to a market town.

Though seized by French forces in the Thirty Years' War, the acquisition by the Schwarzenberg family in 1661 brought even greater wealth to the area. After a blaze in 1742, the medieval fortress was slighted and rebuilt into a Renaissance castle, then between 1839 and 1871 into the current Neo-Gothic castle.

The first Jews came into the market town around 1724. The old synagogue was replaced by a new one in 1907, but it ceased to serve its purpose after its interior was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II.

The present-day municipality arose in 1850. The majority of the population was Czech-speaking. The market town was renamed after the Hluboká Castle in 1885. In 1907, Hluboká became a town by decision of Franz Joseph I.

Transport
The I/20 road (part of the European route E49) from České Budějovice to Plzeň and Karlovy Vary passes through the southern part og the municipal territory.

Hluboká nad Vltavou is located on the railway lines České Budějovice–Písek and České Budějovice–Strakonice.

Education
The Townshend International School has been based in the town since 1992.

Sights
The main landmark of Hluboká nad Vltavou is the Tudor-style Hluboká Castle. Every year it is one of the most visited castles in the country.

The second significant castle in Hluboká nad Vltavou is Ohrada Castle. It is a Baroque hunting castle built in 1708–1713. In 1842, the Hunting Museum, one of the oldest museums in the country, was established here. It still exist under the name Museum of Forestry, Hunting and Fishing, and is administered by National Museum of Agriculture in Prague.

Next to the castle is a zoological garden, colloquially known as Ohrada Zoo. It breeds about 300 species of animals.

Notable people

 * Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1787–1862), Austrian general, married Princess Eleonore of Schwarzenberg here on 15 June 1817
 * František Mareš (1857–1942), professor and politician; died here
 * Eduard Bloch (1872–1945), doctor of Adolf Hitler's family until 1907
 * Miroslav Dvořák (1951–2008), ice hockey player
 * Martin Latka (born 1984), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities
Hluboká nad Vltavou is twinned with:
 * Bolligen, Switzerland
 * 🇦🇹 Grein, Austria
 * 🇩🇪 Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany