- Area: 2506 ha
- Population: 6514
- Altitude: 200 amsl
The town of Dubňany is spreadout in the lower part of the Slovácko area. It is surrounded on three sides by a large forest which is called Doubrava; and it is protected by the slightly remote peaks of the Ždánický forrest and Chřiby from the north. There is an open valley with the Kyjovka river on the south side. This has created very favorable climate conditions that have had a signifi cant impact on the population development since prehistoric times. The fi rst historically documented settlement in the area was a village called Jarohněvice (est.1222). The first written report about the Dubňany village comes from the year 1349, where it was mentioned that Čeněk of Lipá sold the village to Smila of Letovice. According to the oldest information, the name Dubňany comes from the trees of the Doubrava forrest. The oldest report about the size and population of Dubňany comes from the year 1620. It‘s written in the local chronicle that the village had 86 houses with 560 inhabitants. This number was naturally changing over the centuries: in the Thirty Years War there were 14 houses and 90 people; in 1819 there were already 323 homes with 1,328 inhabitants. Real development started after 1850, when both the glass industry was established in Dubňany( Upper smelter in 1868 and Lower smelter in 1875), as well as the mining industry (lignite mines Jiříkovsko, Antonie, Rudolf, Marie and God´s help during the 1860´s and 1870´s of the 19th century). In that time the village became a mining municipality and this trend grew between 1950 and 1980. By the year 1960 the development of the neighbourhood called Lignit had fi nished and Dubňany became the aim of newcomers from surrounding areas due to new work opportunities.
But even such progress didn‘t stop locals from winegrowing. The fi rst class wine route laying between Dubňany and Mutenice still produces quality white wines and the wine cellars located here encompass a large underground area. The local traditions are kept by local woman‘s ethnographic choruses Drmolice, Dúbrava, Dúbravěnka. There is also a men‘s choir, Dubňany; a brass band, Přespolanka; and the cimbalon music of Dúbrava. From the monuments we should draw particular attention to the neo-Gothic parish church from 1885 with an older presbytery from 1720. There is the empire building of the rectory next door from 1859 and some valued statues and crucifixes in the centre of the town (St. Jan Nepomucký – 1797, St.Vendelín 1763). There is also an exposition of the mining and glass industry in a former school, where you can find a lot about the history and ethnography of Dubňany and its surroundings. You shouldn´t miss the chance to see the 600 years old oak tree growing in the Jarohněvický yard.
Well known people born in Dubňany are the following: composer Ludvík Podesta, painter Vladimír Koštoval and the writer Bohumila Dubňanská.
