economically thanks to weaving. Until 1918, Šternberk was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the compromise of 1867), head of the district with the same name, one of the 34 Bezirkshauptmannschaften in Moravia. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, it was occupied by the Nazi army as one of the municipalities in Sudetenland. The German-speaking population was expelled in 1945–1946 according to the Beneš decrees and replaced by Czech settlers. Demographics Sport Šternberk is known for racing track called Ecce Homo on which the eponymous hillclimbing car race is held annually. The first race was held here in 1905 and the tradition of regular Ecce Homo race began in 1921. Sights Šternberk Castle is the main landmark of the town. The Gothic castle was reconstructed into a modern aristocratic residence in 1886. The castle forest park was founded in 1907–1909. Today the state-owned castle is open to the public and offers sightseeing tours. The former Augustinian monastery is a valuable Baroque monument. After it was used as barracks, a German grammar school and a textile warehouse, the building was repaired and today contains museum expositions and exhibition spaces, including the gallery of painter Johann Christoph Handke. The Church of the Annunciation was founded together with the monastery in 1371. After it burned down two times, the original Gothic church was demolished in 1775, and a new Neoclassical church was built on its site in 1775–1783. After the monastery was abolished, the church became a parish church. It contains paintings by Josef Winterhalder the Younger and Leopold Kupelwieser. The chapel is decorated by a rare ceiling painting by Johann Christoph Handke, depicting the history of Šternberk. Notable people Eduard Reich (1836–1919), physician Oscar Gelbfuhs (1852–1877), chess player Walter von Molo (1880–1958), chess player Lubor Tokoš (1923–2003), actor Erica Pedretti (born 1930), Swiss writer and artist Eckhart Schmidt (born 1938), German film director Hana Maciuchová (1945–2021), actress Mikuláš Bek (born 1964), musicologist and politician Robert Hock (born 1973), German ice hockey player Adriana Gerši (born 1976), tennis player Patrik Siegl (born 1976), footballer Tomáš Žižka (born 1979), ice hockey player David Rozehnal (born 1980), footballer Jana Doleželová (born 1981), Miss Czech Republic 2004 Petr Vrána (born 1985), ice hockey player David Krejčí (born 1986), ice hockey player Gabriela Vařeková (born 1987), rower Blanka Škodová (born 1997), ice hockey player Václav Chaloupka (born 1998), slalom canoeist Twin towns – sister cities