Znaim (Znojmo)

Znojmo is a district seat in the southern part of Moravia near the Austrian border. It has a rich historical past. The city flourished especially during the 14th-15th centuries. It was of political significance at the time. The town received city privilege in 1226 from the Czech king Ottokar I. In 1393, in the monastery next to the town was the place where his younger brother Sigismund allied against the Czech king with Albert of Austria, and the Moravian Earl Jobst.  King Wenceslas IV. fled to Znojmo from captivity. Sigismund and Albert later met several times in this city. In 1437, King Sigismund of Hungary died in this town and was buried in the church of St. Nicholas in the town. Later, the armies of King Mathias Corvinus and George Podjebrad collided here. After the battle Mathias claimed the Czech royal title. On July 11, 1809, the troops of Archduke Charles, as part of the battle near Wagram, also met the armies of Bonaparte Napoleon under the city.

The house regiment of the city was the 99th Infantry Regiment. Its beautiful badge is the “Heimatwächter”, the home guard. The guard soldier stands in front of the southern skyline of the city. We only see one half of the panorama on the badge. It depicts the octagonal tower of the town hall, and next to it stand the two baroque towers of the Church of the Holy Cross of the Dominican order. The contemporary and also the modern panoramic image shows the historically significant Church of St. Nicholas on the left, which is not on the background of the badge. As the two pictures taken 100 years apart show that little has changed in the appearance of the city core – thankfully.

The title of the badge is in German, which is in line with the city’s mother tongue: it was mostly inhabited by Germans. In the recruiting area of ​​the regiment of course, the proportion of Czechs (Moravians) reached one-third.