Humpolec (; ) is a town in Pelhà Âimov District in the VysoÃÂina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. It is an industrial town, known today primarily for the Family Brewery Bernard and the engineering industry.
Humpolec consists of 12 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
The name is derived from the German personal name Gumpolt. The oldest written form of the name was Gumpoldis in Latin.
Humpolec is located about northwest of Jihlava, roughly halfway between Prague and Brno. It lies in the Kà Âemeà ¡nÃÂk Highlands. The highest point is the hill Krásná vyhlÃÂdka at above sea level. There is a significant amount of small fishponds; some of them are in the urban area.
The first written mention of Humpolec is from 1178. In the 13thâÂÂ15th centuries it was a silver mining town. Humpolec became known for drapery production from the 17th century, which reached its peak in the 19th century.
Humpolec is traditionally an industrial town. The largest employers are Valeo Compressor Europe, a manufacturer of compressors for cars, the Family Brewery Bernard, which was established in 1597, and BJS Czech (a manufacturer of furniture).
The D1 motorway from Prague to Brno passes through Humpolec.
The railway of local importance heading to HavlÃÂÃÂkà ¯v Brod begins here.
The Church of Saint Nicholas was originally an early Gothic church, rebuilt in the Gothic-Baroque style by Jan Santini Aichel in 1721âÂÂ1722. Its current Neo-Gothic form is a result of the reconstruction in 1895.
The Evangelical church was built in the Historicist style in 1862, and the tower was added in 1890âÂÂ1891. Together with the rectory from 1854 and the evangelical school, it forms an area protected as a cultural monument.
Since 2022, the chimney of the Family Brewery Bernard has a public observation deck in a height of , which is accessible over a spiral staircase with 189 steps. It is a part of the Visitor Centre of the brewery.
Humpolec is twinned with: