Polná

Polná
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Vysočina
District	Jihlava
Commune	Jihlava
Municipality	Polná
Elevation	490 m (1,608 ft)
Coordinates	49°29′N 15°42′E / 49.483°N 15.700°E / 49.483; 15.700Coordinates: 49°29′N 15°42′E / 49.483°N 15.700°E / 49.483; 15.700
Area	37.77 km2 (14.58 sq mi)
Population	5,064
Density	134/km2 (347/sq mi)
First mentioned	1242
Mayor	Jindřich Skočdopole
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	588 13
Location in the Czech Republic
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.mesto-polna.cz/

Polná (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpolnaː]) is a town with around 5,000 inhabitants in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic.

Founded in the second half of the 12th century, it is first mentioned in a written document in 1242. At that time, there had already been a church in Polná. Originally, Polná was a forest collier settlement, and not far from it there was built a castle called Polná, originally Polmna. The town lies on the line between two historic Czech lands - Bohemia and Moravia, therefore the town became an important mercantil and tactical point.

Polná became the center of Polná (later Polná-Přibyslav) domain. During its existence, Polná was, most of the time, part of significant aristocrat families’ property. After the lords of Polná, the lords of Lipá owned the town, from the half of the 14th century Polná was owned by the lords of Pirkenštejn. During the Hussite Wars, Hynek Ptáček of Pirkenštejn, a hussite nobleman, ruled over Polná and bought also the nearby town of Přibyslav. Viktorin of Kunštát, son of the Czech king George of Poděbrady who bestowed Polná significant town rights and the coat of arms, got Polná by marriage with Žofie Ptáčková (Sofia Ptáček, daughter of Hynek Ptáček).
In the 15th century, Trčeks of Lípa owned the town followed by the Wallensteins, lords of Hradec and Žejdlices of Šenfeld. In 1623 Rudolf Žejdlic’s property was confiscated because of his revolt against the Emperor. All the domain was bought by cardinal František of Ditrichštejn who changed the town’s privileges and the coat of arms. Polná belonged to the Ditrichštejns’ property almost 300 years.
In the 17th century a Jewish community settled in Polná.
In 1794 the castle (rebuilt to a chateau) burned down and was never completely restored again.

In the 19th century Polná was the center of Czech culture for large locality and formed a counterbalance to the German-speaking city of Jihlava. In the half of the 19th century 6,500 people lived in Polná, which made it the third biggest town in the Vysočina region (after Jihlava and Třebíč).
From 1840 to 1842, Božena Němcová, a significant Czech female writer, stayed in Polná. August 1863 was tragic for Polná. A giant fire destroyed 189 houses and 456 families lost their homes. Many baroque and renaissance houses were ruined. Many people moved from the city.
The fact that the Northwest Railroad were built 6 kilometers far from Polná caused another economical decline of the town. Railroad Dobronín-Polná was built in 1903 but since 1982 the passenger traffic does not carry on.
The most significant incident of the 19th century was the murder of a 19-year-old Anežka Hrůzová in the Březina forest. A Polná Jew, Leopold Hilsner, was wrongfully accused of the crime. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, later the first president of Czechoslovakia engaged himself in this affair. (see Hilsner Affair)