The story
The first written mention of Kroměříž (under its Latin name Cromezir) is in a document written between 1107 and 1125, when the settlement was bought by Olomouc bishop Jan II. Some sources cite a deed of another Olomouc bishop Jindřich Zdík from 1141 as the first unquestionable written mention of Kroměříž. In the Middle Ages, it was a market village on the crossroads of the Amber and Salt roads. It was located at a ford across the Morava River where the toll was collected.
In the 13th century, Kroměříž became the centre of a dominion owned by the Olomouc bishopric. The Knights Hospitaller settled here and built a church and a commandery in 1238. In 1241 and 1253, Kroměříž suffered raids by the Tatars, Cumans and Hungarians. The settlement got depopulated and had to be recolonised. Kroměříž is last referred to as a market village in a document by King Ottokar II from 1256. After 1256, the Olomouc bishop Bruno von Schauenburg came to power over Kroměříž. He improved the village and fundamentally contributed to its development. He founded the market square on the hill above the original settlement and had it surrounded with walls. He also had the Church of Saint Maurice built and had vineyards planted around the settlement. In 1266, Kroměříž was first referred to as a town. In 1290, Kroměříž was officially promoted to a town.
In 1322, Jews were allowed to settle in the town. In the mid-16th century, the Kroměříž Jewish community was the largest Jewish community in Moravia. The bishops protected the community for the income flowing from it. In 1423, during the Hussite Wars, the bishops lost control over the town. They regained the town in 1455.
During the rule of bishop Stanislav I Thurzo, the local bishop's residence was repaired and rebuilt into a late Gothic and Renaissance castle. His followers further refined the town and provided costly building repairs.
The town and the castle were badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War. It was plundered by Swedish troops under command of Lennart Torstensson in 1643. Most of the buildings were burned down. The town was further damaged by a large fire in 1656. Kroměříž recovered during the rule of Bishop Karl II von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn, who had rebuilt the town and the castle. The castle was first repaired, and in 1686 completely rebuilt. The bishop also has repaired town walls, and founded a mint and representative gardens in 1666–1675. Kroměříž again became an important town.
The Constitutive Imperial Congress sat in Kroměříž in 1848. In August 1885, a meeting took place here between the Austrian and the Russian emperors.
From Wikipedia’s article on Kroměříž, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5