Široká Niva

Municipality in Moravian-Silesian, Czech Republic

Flag

Coat of arms

50°4′3″N 17°29′7″E / 50.06750°N 17.48528°E / 50.06750; 17.48528Country

Czech RepublicRegionMoravian-SilesianDistrict BruntálFirst mentioned1420Area

• Total37.29 km² (14.40 sq mi)Elevation

368 m (1,207 ft)Population

(2024-01-01)^[1]

• Total550 • Density15/km² (38/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

793 16

Websitewww.siroka-niva.cz

Široká Niva (until 1952 Bretnov; German: Breitenau) is a municipality and village in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

The villages of Pocheň and Skrbovice are administrative parts of Široká Niva.

Etymology

The name literally means "wide floodplain".

Geography

Široká Niva is located about 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of Bruntál and 54 km (34 mi) north of Olomouc. It lies in the Nízký Jeseník range. The highest point is the hill Zlatý kopec at 693 m (2,274 ft) above sea level. The Opava River flows through the municipality.

History

The first written mention of Markvartice is from 1278 and the first written mention of Bretnov is from 1420. Pocheň was established in 1668. Skrbovice was founded by the Teutonic Order in 1678. In 1949, the municipalities of Markvartice, Bretnov and Skrbovice (including the hamlet of Pocheň) were merged. The new municipality was renamed to its current name Široká Niva in 1952. Today Markvartice is only a local name of a small part of Široká Niva.^[2]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1869	1,980	—
1880	2,220	+12.1%
1890	2,143	−3.5%
1900	1,820	−15.1%
1910	1,758	−3.4%

Year	Pop.	±%
1921	2,058	+17.1%
1930	1,704	−17.2%
1950	1,219	−28.5%
1961	922	−24.4%
1970	795	−13.8%

Year	Pop.	±%
1980	634	−20.3%
1991	582	−8.2%
2001	573	−1.5%
2011	569	−0.7%
2021	528	−7.2%

Source: Censuses^[3]^[4]

Transport

Široká Niva is located on the railway line Vrbno pod Pradědem–Milotice nad Opavou.

Sights

The main landmark of Široká Niva is the Church of Saint Martin. It was built in the Baroque style in 1718–1721.^[5]

Notable people

Anton Zimmermann (1741–1781), Slovak composer
Rudolf Koppitz (1884–1936), Austrian photographer

References

^ "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024". Czech Statistical Office. 2024-05-17.
^ "Historie obce" (in Czech). Obec Široká Niva. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Krnov" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 11–12.
^ "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
^ "Obec Široká Niva" (in Czech). Sdružení obci Vrbenska. Retrieved 2023-10-30.