Prerov is a district city situated on the banks of the Becva River. Thanks to its geographical location, it is a crossroad, the heart of Moravia. Today, the Prerov district covers 884 km
2, with a population of 138,500, of whom 50,800 live in Prerov itself.
The Prerov area has been settled since ancient times. On Hradisko Hill, in the Prerov-Predmosti quarter, there is
a world-renowned archeological site dating back to the early Stone Age.
The oldest written mention of Prerov is dated 1131 AD, and in 1256, Premysl Otakar II., the Czech king, elevated the status Prerov of to that of a royal city.
The Prerov castle, which was built on the site of the original fortress, was the seat of the Pernstejns and the Zerotins, two influential noble families. Karel Sr., of the Zerotins, had a great impact on the fate of the city. The castle itself is a Renaissance building with four wings. It was built in the first quarter of the 17
th century, and its core is late Gothic. The castle and the city itself are dominated by the castle tower. The city's historical district features buildings from the end of the 15
th century, the most valuable of which, house number 31, called the Korvinsky House, boasts a Renaissance portal that was erected in 1570.
By all rights, Prerov should be called the city of Blahoslav and Komensky, the two most influential members of the Czech Brethren and the leading Czech educators of the 16
th and 17
th centuries. One would do well to visit
the Komensky Museum - a major cultural center in Prerov, and the oldest museum of its type in the world, having been founded in 1888. In the museum's headquarters in the Prerov Castle, there are permanent archeological, mineralogical, and entomological displays, as well as
a portrayal of the
life and works of Jan Amos Komensky, including a reconstruction of his historical classrooms.
In the 19
th century, the social and cultural lives of the town became intertwined with the traditions of the past, and Prerov became one of the more advanced towns in Moravia, making significant contributions to the development of the Czech nation. In 1841, the arrival of the railroad heralded the town's rapid agricultural and industrial development, particularly in the areas of machinery manufacture, electricity generation, hemp cultivation, brewing, and sugar refining, followed shortly by chemical, leather goods, and optical instrument enterprises. Today, Prerov is a social, cultural, and administrative center of its district, and its economy is burgeoning.
In addition to the town's historical center and castle, tourists often visit other sites of historical note - for example, the parish church of St. Lawrence (a Baroque edifice erected between 1725 and 1732),
the originally Gothic cathedral of St. Michael, in Sirava, the interior of which is adorned with many rare wood carvings, or the parish church of St. Mary Magdalena, which can be found in Predmosti (a rococo building dating back to 1772). For nature lovers, we can recommend a visit to the state wildlife reserve - the Zebracka ("Beggar-woman") forest lands.
Guide 
