The town Blatná
The picturesque town of Blatná is situated by the Lomnice River surrounded by low hills, which in the north continue into the Brdy forest massif.
Archaeological findings prove the presence of man on the site already in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods, when there were mainly fishermen and hunters. Permanent settlement can be documented only in the Hallstatt period (5th century BC), but this population was soon replaced by Celtic colonists. The Bezdědovice Treasure (1st century BC) also comes from the La Tène period. In the 8th and 9th centuries AC the first Slavs came to the locality and established a settlement on the moors, which gave rise to the present name of the town of Blatná.
The first written mention of Blatná dates back to 1235, but we can assume there has been an older settlement with a fortress. It did not flourish until the reign of the Bavarians of Strakonice (14th century). The importance of Blatná as the dominion of the Lords of Rožmitál increased in the 15th century. It is necessary to mention above all Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál, who travelled all over western Europe in the service of King George of Poděbrady (1465–1467). His son Zdeněk Leo had built here a majestic Gothic church consecrated in 1515 and a stone castle with a tower and a palace designed by Benedikt Rejt, the builder of the Vladislav Hall. The townspeople received many privileges that allowed the development of craft production and the growth of urban business. As a result of economic prosperity, Blatná was promoted to a town in 1601 by Emperor Rudolf II. Due to the Catholic religion of the Lords of Rozdražov, the owners of Blatná, dark times came with the Thirty Years' War, when the inhabitants of Blatná suffered as a result of the invasion of troops (the remains of the ramparts at Bělčice).
With the arrival of the Counts of the House of Serenyi at the beginning of the 18th century comes also prosperity of the town. During this period was built a new bell tower, hospital, school, Marian column (1726) and a statue of St. Florian (1766). The most important building was the Church of St. John the Baptist in Paštiky, designed by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer in the style of dynamic Baroque.
In 1798, Blatná was purchased by the Hildprandt family of Ottenhausen, who still reside here. Their family is associated with the name of a prominent scholar Jan E. Purkyně. During their era, the city developed in the field of construction, especially after a great fire in 1834, which destroyed 118 houses. Only in 1837 was the church tower completed to its present form. The economic and political importance of the city was underlined by the establishment of the regional council in 1865-1868 in building no. 212 in Náměstí Míru, where is a museum (1922) today founded by a local teacher and archaeologist Josef Siblík. The economic recovery was positively influenced by the construction of the Strakonice - Blatná - Březnice railway at the end of the 19th century.
The look of the town was also beautified by Blatná native and Prague architect Karel Fiala, who designed the monumental
school building of the Primary School of J. A. Komenský (1902) and the facade of the Town Hall on the street tř. J. P. Koubka
no. 4 (1907). In the years between the World Wars Blatná smelled of roses, which were cultivated here on tens of hectares
by Jan Böhm, who resides in a unique rondocubist villa on the square of A. Kaliny. During the First Republic, the town grew
and were built functionalist buildings Sokolovna and the town hall on the street of T. G. Masaryk (1933). As a reminder of
the soldiers fallen in World War I, a statue of Liberty (1923) stands next to the museum. In the second half of the 20th century
Blatná is gradually transforming from an agricultural town into an industrial centre of the region. It also attracted filmmakers
and it appears in various Czech films.
At present, Blatná with its more than 6000 inhabitants is a rapidly developing city. It is the administrative, social, cultural
and sports centre of the Blatná region. The unique historical centre of the city is an urban conservation area. Blatná region
is known for its unique preserved nature, small sacral monuments, little farms and above all for its hospitality. In the region
of ponds will find an enjoyable stay lovers of monuments as well as of hiking and cycling.