Vrahovice


Vrahovice is a village in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic, near Prostějov, founded in 1337. It is one of the seven administrative divisions of the city of Prostějov, with a population of 3,402 inhabitants, according to the 2001 census.

Geography

Vrahovice lies in the Hornomoravský úval. The rivers Romže, Hloučela and Valová flow through Vrahovice. The highest point in Vrahovice is Vrbatecký kopec.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1337. The first mention of a church in Vrahovice was in 1370. The church was destroyed in a large fire in 1587. A church constructed shortly after the fire was used until it was destroyed in 1831. A replacement church was built between 1831 and 1836 and financed by Jan Josef Count Seilern, the owner of the Kralice domain.
A village by the name of Trpenovice, with a written history dating back to 1349, was combined with Vrahovice in 1466. From 1960–1973, Vrahovice also included the village of Čechůvky.
Through its history, Vrahovice has passed through the hands of several owners. In 1725, Jan Bedrich Seilern bought Vrahovice, and the Seilern family became the last to possess the village.
The first mayor of Vrahovice was Jan Frébort, who took office in 1848. The village experienced significant development during the interwar period, during the tenure of mayor Josef Stříž, when roads to Prostějov and Vrbátky and a new city hall were built. During World War II, occupying Nazi forces built an observation point on the hill above Vrahovice to monitor the railway. After World War II, there was an internment camp in the village for Germans from the Prostějov region awaiting transfer to Germany.
Between 1950 and 1954, and from 1973 until the present day, Vrahovice has been a part of Prostějov. Since the 1990s there have been advocates for its separation.
On 9 December 2004, five people were killed in the village when a truck carrying soldiers crashed into a train.

Vrahovice today

Notable buildings

The village has a church, Saint Bartholomew's, dating from the 19th century. Other important local buildings include a monument to the Czechoslovak Legions, an 18th-century Roman Catholic vicarage, an 18th-century statue of Saint Florian, and a brick factory built at the beginning of the 20th century.

Infrastructure

Vrahovice has a common integrated transport system with Prostějov. Bus routes from Prostějov to Přerov and Tovačov run through the village. Vrahovice is located on the train route from Nezamyslice to Olomouc. The village train station was built in 1946.
The village has a primary school dating back to the 19th century.

Community life

Vrahovice is home to a Sokol branch, a volunteer fire department, and Spolek za staré Vrahovice, an association dedicated to local history research, environmental protection, and the promotion of the village. The association has renamed several streets in the village after important Vrahovice inhabitants, including Josef Stříž, František Kopečný and Zdeněk Tylšar, and has created a new park, the Arboretum Vrahovice.
There are no professional sports teams in Vrahovice. In 1930, a football team, SK Vrahovice, was established, but after the 1948 communist coup d'état, the team was banned. Its players became members of another voluntary football association, Sokol Vrahovice, which is still in existence.
In 2012, an amateur dragonboat team, Vrahovická sací jednotka, was established.

Notable residents

Musicians Zdeněk Tylšar and Bedřich Tylšar were born in the village, and linguist František Kopečný lived there for many years. Football player Rostislav Václavíček was born in Vrahovice and played football for the local team at the beginning of his career.
Other notable natives:
wrote a book, Vrahovice 119, about a village in the Sudetenland after the Second World War. He said he named the book Vrahovice because he knew the village from his childhood.