Broumov

Broumov
Town
Peace Square with Marian Column
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Hradec Králové
District	Náchod
Commune	Broumov
Elevation	395 m (1,296 ft)
Coordinates	50°35′18″N 16°19′48″E / 50.58833°N 16.33000°E / 50.58833; 16.33000Coordinates: 50°35′18″N 16°19′48″E / 50.58833°N 16.33000°E / 50.58833; 16.33000
Area	22.26 km2 (8.59 sq mi)
Population	7,783 (1.1.2012)
Density	350/km2 (906/sq mi)
First mentioned	1256
Mayor	Milan Kotrnec
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	549 83 - 550 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.broumov-mesto.cz

Broumov (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbrou̯mof]; German: Braunau) is a town in the Czech Republic, in the Náchod District of the Hradec Králové Region, near the border with Poland.

The municipality is located on the small Stěnava River in the northeast of Bohemia, about halfway between Náchod in the southwest and Polish Wałbrzych in the north. It is the centre of the Broumovská vrchovina area of the Central Sudetes range, along with the adjacent Adršpach-Teplice Rocks a protected area popular with mountain climbers.

Broumov was first mentioned as a town in 1256. The Přemyslid king Ottokar I of Bohemia had granted the remote area around Police to the Benedictine monks of Břevnov Abbey in Prague, who began to colonize the lands in 1213. The artisan settlement arose around a high-lying Benedictine provostry from about 1250 and became a principal site of textile manufacture with sales markets all over northern and central Bohemia as well as in adjacent Silesia.

After a fire in 1306 the provostry was largely rebuilt and extended as a monastery complex, including the Saint Lawrence Church, a Latin school. The medieval church of Panna Marie (the Virgin Mary), however, survived the fire, and is the oldest extant wooden church in the Czech Republic, dating back to the 12th century; the building is still in use.