Moravské Budějovice

Moravské Budějovice is a town in Třebíč District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic, known in German as Mährisch Budwitz, with about 7,100 inhabitants. It lies on the Rokytka Stream in the Jevišovice Uplands, about 19 kilometres south of Třebíč and 41 kilometres southeast of Jihlava. The town was probably founded in the 12th century, the first written mention of Budějovice dates from 1231, the name Moravské Budějovice was first used in 1406 to tell it apart from České Budějovice in Bohemia, and it gained town rights in 1498. Its well preserved historic centre is protected as an urban monument zone. The most important monument is the Renaissance Moravské Budějovice Castle, now a museum of crafts, and the tower of the Church of Saint Giles is open to the public as a lookout. The I/38 road, part of the European route E59, passes through the town, which also lies on railway lines to Znojmo and Jemnice. The Austrian composer Ralph Benatzky was born here.