Nová Včelnice

Nová Včelnice (until 1950 Nový Etynk-Včelnice; Neuötting-Vtschelnitz) is a town in Jindřichův Hradec District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants.

Geography
Nová Včelnice is located about 11 km northeast of Jindřichův Hradec and 51 km northeast of České Budějovice. It lies in the Křemešník Highlands. The highest point is at 538 m above sea level. The Kamenice River flows through the town. There are several fishponds in the municipal territory.

History
The first written mention of Včelnice is from 1360. In 1649, the estate was bought by Spanish nobleman Bartholomew Paradys de la Saga. His wife Hypolity of Ladron had a chapel built nearby with a copy of a statuette of Black Madonna from Altötting. Her son had built 54 houses around the chapel and sold them to craftsmen. Thus, he turned a pilgrimage site into a large craft village named Neuötting/Nový Etynk.

In the 18th century, Nový Etynk grew and guilds were founded. In 1786, the chapel was rebuilt into the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Nový Etynk-Včelnice was promoted to a market town in 1790 and to a town in 1884. In the 1930s, it lost the town title. In 1950, the market town was renamed to Nová Včelnice. The title of a town was returned to Nová Včelnice in 1998.

Transport
The I/34 road (part of the European route E551, the section from Jindřichův Hradec to Pelhřimov) passes next to the town.

Kamenice nad Lipou is located on a narrow-gauge railway leading from Jindřichův Hradec to Obrataň. It is operated by Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy company. It serves mostly as a tourist attraction.

Sights
The Nová Včelnice Castle was originally a medieval fortress, first mentioned in 1454. It was rebuilt into a Renaissance castle at the end of the 16th century. In 1693–1709, it was extended and rebuilt in the Baroque style. Today it is privately owned and inaccessible.

A landmark of the town is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary from 1786.

There is a Jewish cemetery, founded in 1800. It was used until World War II. It consists of about 120 preserved tombstones on an area of 865 m2.

Notable people

 * Rudolf Hrušínský (1920–1994), actor
 * Luděk Munzar (1933–2019), actor
 * Miloslav Topinka (born 1945), poet and essayist

Twin towns – sister cities
Nová Včelnice is twinned with:
 * Eggiwil, Switzerland
 * 🇩🇪 Neuötting, Germany