Krnov

Krnov is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, in the historic region of Czech Silesia on the border with Poland, at the confluence of the Opava and Opavice rivers. It lies about 21 kilometres northwest of Opava and 49 kilometres northwest of Ostrava and has about 22,000 inhabitants in three municipal parts. The first written mention is from 1240, it was a town by the later 13th century and the Minorites founded a monastery there in 1273. From 1377 it was the centre of the Duchy of Krnov, which passed to the Hohenzollern family in 1523, and the greatest development came under their rule in the 16th century. In the 19th century Krnov was industrialised and became known for textiles and pipe organs, and today it is known for the cola drink Kofola. National cultural monuments include the former cotton mill and the pilgrimage site on Cvilín hill, and other landmarks are the Neo-Renaissance town hall, the Church of Saint Martin and the Krnov Synagogue.