Hukvaldy

Hukvaldy (German: Hochwald) is a municipality and village in Frýdek-Místek District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,200 inhabitants. The municipality is known for the ruins of the third-largest castle in the Czech Republic, Hukvaldy Castle, and is the birthplace of the composer Leoš Janáček.

Hukvaldy consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):

The name is derived from the Hückeswagen family, who were the first owners of Hukvaldy.

Hukvaldy is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Frýdek-Místek and 19 km (12 mi) south of Ostrava. It lies in the Moravian-Silesian Foothills. The highest point is the hill Babí hora at 619 m (2,031 ft) above sea level. The Ondřejnice River flows through the municipality.

The Hukvaldy Castle was founded in the 1270s or 1280s by the Hückeswagen family and was first mentioned in 1285. It was a guard castle on the trade route from Olomouc to Kraków. The settlement of Hukvaldy was soon established nearby. The settlement of Sklenov was established under the castle and was first documented in 1294.

Between 1294 and 1307, the Hukvaldy estate was acquired by the bishops of Olomouc, who often pledged it to various noblemen. In the following centuries, the castle was expanded into a massive fortress. In 1762, the castle was destroyed by a fire. In the following decades, the castle was dismantled as a source of building material. Repairs began in the 1960s.

The municipality was known as Sklenov until 1982. Since 1 July 1982, it has been named Hukvaldy.

The D48 motorway (part of the European route E462) from Nový Jičín to the Czech-Polish border passes through the northern part of the municipality.