Svitavy spreads picturesquely at some 435 m above sea level near the boundary between Bohemia and Moravia. Its name comes from the Svitava, a rivulet mentioned in the Cosmas Chronicle in 1125. Thanks to the colonising activity of the Premonstratensian Monastery based at Litomyšl (founded in 1145), a settlement called Old Svitava emerged around the St Giles's Church near the rivulet. The New Svitava emerged during the second spell of colonisation that was carried prevalently by German speaking settlers around the middle of the l3th century. Frontier colonisation got an impetus under bishop Bruno of Schauenburg (1245-1281) who authorised Helember von Thurm, a nobleman of Westphalia, and his close colleague, to establish the town of Svitavy. A clash of interests between the Bishopric of Olomouc and the Premonstratensian Convent of Litomyšl had sharpened before it could be settled by a peace agreement on 6th November, 1256. The deed is sometimes considered the town's foundation charter. But the document may have been forged as parts of the wording are dim. Anyway, Přemysl Otakar II certified the charter in 1269 and Svitavy had definitely become subjected to the Bishop of Olomouc. Helembert von Thurm was appointed the first magistrate. His name as witness was also found on the foundation document of the village of Kamenná Horka in 1266. The township, sometimes referred to as oppidum, was granted an important privilege in 1330: the magistrate of Svitavy was confirmed to exert power over the villages of Čtyřicet Lánů and Moravský Lančov. More settlements were added in 1513: Hradec nad Svitavou, Vendolí, Sklené, Javorník, Ostrý Kámen, Horní Hynčina, Kamenná Horka, and Chrastová Lhota. The Svitavy Demesne was used for warranty, mortgaged, or sold several times. The ownership whirligig came eventually to a stop when Jan Filipec, the Episcopal administrator, acquired Svitavy from Ješek Svojanovský of Boskovice in 1484. Svitavy belonged to the Bishop of Olomouc once again, but being no more the administrative centre of Episcopal estates, it was incorporated into the Mírov Demesne. The arrangement survived till 1775 when a new magistrate at Čtyřicet Lánů was re-established for the region. In spite of more hand-overs between owners, the l6th century was a kind of golden age in Svitavy's history. Citizens gained on political wealth and invited prosperity to the town. New clashes for power were sparkled when the City Council strived for superiority over the magistrate. The 1599 outcome was more than. satisfactory -the town bought the magistrate with all privileges. Svitavy became a demesne with 24 subject villages in 1786. The 1848-80 administrative reform brought not only freedom from the Episcopal authorities for Svitavy, but made Svitavy the seat of a court district for the administrative district of Moravská Třebová. New tensions arose in 1918, when the new-born Czechoslovak Republic came on the scene. Some wanted Svitavy to join the autonomous region proclaimed by the German population. There was the idea to create Schönhengstgau, or Hřebečsko, a region of 118 square kilometres covering 133 towns and villages. Three towns were candidates for the local capital: Svitavy, Lanškroun, and Moravská Třebová. Svitavy was annexed to Czechoslovakia by military force on December 10, 1918. The German town with small Czech minority experienced the same fate as other Sudeten towns did. In 1938-45 Svitavy became part of Hitler's Reich. New Czech administration took over in 1945 and settlers from all over Czechoslovakia started streaming in to replace the transferred German population. New administrative arrangements came into power on 1st January, 1949, and Svitavy became the district centre. The other new districts were Polička and Litomyšl and all three belonged to the Pardubice County. A decade later, the Parliament reorganised the administrative structure once again and the new Svitavy District swallowed Polička, Litomyšl and Moravská Třebová, itself becoming a part of the East-Bohemian County. Today's Svitavy District has 133 villages and 6 towns with a combined population of 102,770. The population of Svi-tavy was near to 18,000, as on 31 December, 1995.

The Peace Square at Svitavy. The town centre went through wide restoration in 1993-94. Erected in 1703, there is a plague post with Virgin Mary statue on top and several statues of Saints in the upper part of the square.

Our Lady's Visitation Church dating back to some time around 1250, rebuilt in 1781 and reconsecrated in 1804. In front you can see the St Florian's Fountain.