Blansko was established as a settlement (the Old Blansko) at the right bank of the Svitava River. The first written trace about the town dates back to 1141, when the name Blansko appears in the document of Henry Zdik, the bishop of Olomouc as the part of the Olomouc feud.
From the end of 13
th and the beginning of 14
th century, there are notes of New Blansko, a settlement that appeared on the opposite side of the Svitava River, approximately where the contemporary castle is located. Both parts developed separately until 1526.
Blansko acquired the status of a market town in 1580.
At the end of the 16
th century, Blansko belonged to the Zalkovsky family from Zalkovice, which had the Gothic fortress rebuilt into a Renaissance castle in 1604. At the end of the 17
th century Blansko mansion was taken over by the Silesian earls of the Gellhorn family. They also founded a large-scale ironworks. This tradition continued under the ownership of the Salm-Reifferscheidt family, which bought the mansion in 1766. The first half of the 19
th century was notable for the flourishing ironworks and the production of
the artistic work in cast iron. In 1896, Breitfeld-Danek Company from Prague bought the ironworks. The Salm family owned the mansion until 1945.
The construction of the important railroad corridor Ceska Trebova - Praha that was realised during the years 1847-1850 by Italian company Talachini, had a great influence on the flourishing of the town.
Year 1905 is very important in the history of the locality, as Blansko was raised to the status of a town on a basis of a decree issued by Emperor Francis Josef I.
Today, Blansko has about 22000 inhabitants, it is a gate of entry to the Moravian Karst - a complex of caves opened to public. The main attraction of
the Moravian Karst is the Macocha abbyss with the depth of 138 m.
Blansko is an industrial town that is specialised on the production of water turbine, grey cast iron, electrical measuring instruments and facilities for the polygraphic industry.
A fragment from a statue of a Saint was found in the original Roman basements of the church. Most likely the fragment was from a representation of St. Martin, to whom the church was consecrated. The Gothic portal to the church remains standing to this day. The church received its Baroque look between 1672 and 1691, and was renovated between 1707 and 1708 with the construction of a new tower, pulpit, and choir. The church was further enlarged and altered in 1889. Especially deserving of attention are the stations of the Cross from the end of the 19
th century, and
a replica Myslbek's Crucified.
An important feature of New Blansko is the renaissance chateau standing in the place of the feudal manor, about which we have the earliest written records from the 14
th century. This administrative and economic complex was, for many centuries, lent to Czech, Moravian, and later to foreign noble houses (Zalkovsti of Zalkovice, Lvove of Rozmital, de Magnis, the Gellhorns, and the Salms) by the Bishops of Olomouc.
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