Vsetín

Vsetín (Czech pronunciation: [ˈfsɛciːn]) is a town in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Originally a small town, Vsetín has become an important centre of industrial, economic, cultural and sports life during the 20th century.

Vsetín consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):

The name Vsetín was derived from the personal Slavic name Vsata, Seta, Sěntoslav or Svatoslav. It was probably the name of a man who was tasked with deforesting the area and establishing the first fields. The initial form of the settlement's name was Setteinz. The name Vsetín (in the oldest documents written as Wssetin) has been used since 1396 at the latest.

Vsetín is located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Zlín and 54 km (34 mi) west of Žilina in Slovakia. It lies in a hilly landscape of the Hostýn-Vsetín Mountains. The highest point is the Cáb mountain at 841 m (2,759 ft) above sea level, which is located on the eastern border of the municipal territory.

Vsetín is situated in the valley of the Vsetínská Bečva River. The village of Rokytnice lies on the Rokytenka Stream, which flows into the Vsetínská Bečva in the centre of the town. Overall, the landscape is rich in small watercourses.

Vsetín's climate is classified as humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb; Trewartha: Dcbo). Among them, the annual average temperature is 8.2 °C (46.8 °F), the hottest month in July is 18.1 °C (64.6 °F), and the coldest month is −1.8 °C (28.8 °F) in January. The annual precipitation is 836.8 millimetres (32.94 in), of which July is the wettest with 103.7 millimetres (4.08 in), while February is the driest with only 53.2 millimetres (2.09 in). The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from −37.0 °C (−34.6 °F) on 11 February 1929 to 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) on 15 August 1952.

The first written mention of the area around the Bečva river is from 1297, when Vsetín did not yet exist. The first written mention of Vsetín is from 1308, when it was owned by Knights Templar who rented it to Lord Vok of Kravaře. It was described as a small town with a church, a mill and the Freudsberg Castle, and further colonization of the area was described. In following decades, Vsetín was held by many noble families. The most significant were lords of Cimburk, lords of Svätý Jur and Pezinok, lords of Kunštát, lords of Šelmberk, and the Pernštejn family. A fortress was built in what is today the Horní Square in the first half of the 15th century.

In 1609, Vsetín was acquired by marriage by Albrecht von Wallenstein. He brought Jesuits to the Vsetín estate and started a re-Catholicisation among serfs. Religious and economic oppression led to resistance and long-term rebellions of the serfs during the Thirty Years' War. The serfs joined the Swedish army in the war and Vsetín became their centre. In 1627, Vsetín was burned down and many people were executed, but the rebels were not defeated until 1644. About 200 participants of the rebellion were executed in Vsetín and it remains one of the most dreadful in the nation's history. Vsetín and villages in a wide surrounding area were burned.