Slavkov u Brna - Austerlitz
History of the town
History of the town
The current settlement was established on the crossing of ancient merchants’ routes from Brno to Bučovice, Hodonín and Vyškov. The oldest written reference of Slavkov is in a document of King Václav I dated 12 May 1237 mentioning the settlement of Novosedlice as the property of the Teutonic Knights Order. The new and globally known name Austerlitz originates from the German variant of the name of Novosedlice – Neusterlitz. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights built their medieval commandry on a hill above the town square. Another significant milestone in the history of Slavkov is the year 1416 when king Václav IV granted the town of Slavkov the privilege to use a municipal seal and an emblem. This privilege is the oldest heraldic privilege in the Czech countries. During the 13th and 14th century the Slavkov domain as well as the fortress changed their owner several times. In 1509, the ownership passed to Oldřich of Kaunitz, the founder of a long-term and significant possession of an ancient Moravian aristocratic family line of Kaunitz, having the water lily sign in their coat of arms. The Kaunitz family line stayed in Slavkov for more than four hundred years and brought about the economic boom of the town as well as urbanistic and architectural development. During their possession of the domain they re-built the original fortress to a three-wing renaissance castle with column balconies and a stair tower. Behind the moat on the northern side was the castle settlement and on the southern side the original parish church. Oldřich of Kaunitz had also built a renaissance town hall on the Slavkov square and other renaissance buildings. The castle gradually became a monumental family representative seat of the Kaunitz family line. However, the most significant record in the history regarding the town of Slavkov happened only after the Battle of the Three Emperors that occurred on December 2 1805 and served as the triumphant victory of the French under the leadership of General Napoleon Bonaparte. Four days later, the victory of the French over the defeated party, the Austrian Emperor and the Russian tsar, was confirmed by the armistice signed in the premises of the castle. After the First World War, the town obtained a single common name, Slavkov u Brna.
Source: http://www.slavkov.cz
