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Horní Benešov

Horní Benešov
Town
Flag
Coat of arms
Country Czech Republic
Region Moravian-Silesian
District Bruntál
Commune Bruntál
Municipality Horní Benešov
Elevation 568 m (1,864 ft)
Coordinates 49°58′N 17°36′E / 49.967°N 17.600°E / 49.967; 17.600Coordinates: 49°58′N 17°36′E / 49.967°N 17.600°E / 49.967; 17.600
Area 20.40 km2 (7.88 sq mi)
Population 2,460
Density 121/km2 (313/sq mi)
Founded 1253
Mayor Josef Klech
Timezone CET (UTC+1)
 - summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 793 12
Location in the Czech Republic
Location in the Czech Republic
Location in the Moravian-Silesian Region
Location in the Moravian-Silesian Region
Website: www.hbenesov.cz

Horní Benešov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦorɲiː ˈbɛnɛʃof]; Benešov until 1926, German: Bennisch) is a small town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. From 1938 to 1945 it was one of the municipalities in Sudetenland. 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 Bohemian King Přemysl Otakar 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.

According to the Austrian administration census of 1910 the town had 3,826 inhabitants, 3,807 of whom had permanent residence there. Census asked people for their native language, 3,800 (99.9%) were German-speaking. Most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 3,766 (98.4%), followed by Protestants with 30 (0.8%) and the Jews with 25 (0.6%).

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.


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