Prostějov is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 44,000 inhabitants. Today the city is known for its fashion industry and AČR special forces unit 601. skss based there. The centre of the town is historically significant and is protected by law as urban monument zone.
History
In the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, Prostějov was part of the Margraviate of Moravia.
In 1918, it became part of independent Czechoslovakia. The period of German occupation lasted from March 1939 until May 1945. During this time, Prostějov was administered as a part of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
Administration
Prostějov consists from seven administrative parts: Čechovice, Čechůvky, Domamyslice, Krasice, Prostějov, Vrahovice and Žešov.
Sights
- Town hall
- National House
- Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
- Church of Saint John of Nepomuk
- Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius
- John Huss Church (former New Synagogue)
- Synagogue Beit ha-Midrash
- Jewish cemetery
- Marian column
- Statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
- Statue of Jiří Wolker
Sport
- TK Prostějov – tennis club, connected with many of biggest names of the Czech tennis history
- 1. SK Prostějov – football club, plays in Czech National Football League (2nd tier)
- LHK Jestřábi Prostějov – ice hockey club, plays in the Chance Liga (2nd tier)
Notable people
- Meir Eisenstadt (c. 1670–1744), author of rabbinic literature
- Jonathan Eybeschutz (1690–1764), rabbi
- Moses Sofer (1762–1839), rabbi
- Gideon Brecher (1797–1873), Austrian physician and writer
- Moritz Steinschneider (1816–1907), bibliographer, orientalist
- Ignaz Brüll (1846–1907), Austrian pianist and composer
- Nathan Porges (1848–1924), rabbi
- Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), German philosopher
- Jiří Wolker (1900–1924), poet, journalist and playwright
- Otto Wichterle (1913–1998), chemist, inventor of contact lens
- Antonín Přidal (1935–2017), translator, writer and university lecturer
- Nina Škottová (1946–2018), politician
- Vlastimil Petržela (born 1953), footballer and football coach
- Luděk Mikloško (born 1961), footballer
- Petr Hořava (born 1963), physicist
- Paulina Porizkova (born 1965), Swedish-American model and actress
- Karel Nováček (born 1965), tennis player
- Lukáš Krajíček (born 1983), ice hockey player
- Petra Cetkovská (born 1985), tennis player
- Petra Kvitová (born 1990), tennis player
