Litomyšl

Litomyšl is a town of about 10,000 people in Svitavy District, Pardubice Region, Czechia, on the Loučná River in the Svitavy Uplands. It lies about 16 kilometres northwest of Svitavy and 41 kilometres southeast of Pardubice. A fortified settlement of the Slavník dynasty on the trade route from Bohemia to Moravia, it is first recorded in 981 and was promoted to a town by King Ottokar II in 1259. It was the seat of a Catholic diocese from 1344 until 1474 and is still a titular see. The Unity of the Brethren flourished here under the protection of the Kostka family and ran a printing press. The Renaissance castle built by the Pernštejns in 1568 to 1581 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the composer Bedřich Smetana was born in the town, which has hosted the Smetana Litomyšl music festival since 1946.