Mary. The originally Gothic church was first mentioned in 1419, after it replaced an old church from the 13th century. The Renaissance tower with a portal was added in 1581 and the Baroque Chapel of the Virgin Mary was added in 1681–1682. In the mid-18th century, the church was baroque rebuilt. The Žerotín Castle is one of the main landmarks of the town. Construction of the castle was started by John III of Pernstein in the first half of the 16th century. The originally Renaissance castle was baroque rebuilt by the Zierotins. After it was used as a women's prison and military infirmary in the 20th century, it was reconstructed and today serves as a cultural centre of the town. The Kinský Castle was originally a Baroque building which housed the Krásno manor administration. In the mid-19th century it was rebuilt by the Kinsky family to an Empire style castle. Since 1949, the castle has been used as a museum, today the Wallachian Regional Museum. Adjacent to the castle is a large English park with valuable tree species, founded at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Moravská gobelínová manufaktura includes a museum of tapestry manufactory and a gallery of modern and historical tapestries. The Holocaust Monument from 2004 is located on the site of a synagogue which was destroyed during the World War II. Notable people Franziskus von Sales Bauer (1841–1915), Roman Catholic cardinal Bohumil Mořkovský (1899–1928), gymnast Chaim Yahil (1905–1974), Israeli diplomat Rudolf Pernický (1915–2005), soldier and paratrooper František Hanus (1916–1991), actor Václav Kašlík (1917–1989), composer, opera director and conductor Jiří Dadák (1926–2014), athlete Jiří Křižan (1941–2010), screenwriter, writer and politician Alena Mornštajnová (born 1963), writer and translator František Jež (born 1970), ski jumper René Bolf (born 1974), footballer Helena Zeťová (born 1980), singer Milan Baroš (born 1981), footballer Jaroslav Levinský (born 1981), tennis player Iveta Benešová (born 1983), tennis player Robin Kovář (born 1984), ice hockey player Josef Vávra (born 1984), ice hockey player Tomáš Berdych (born 1985), tennis player Miroslav Jurka (born 1987), handball player Markéta Irglová (born 1988), musician and actress Petra Smaržová (born 1990), Slovak disabled skier Martin Doležal (born 1990), footballer Peter Šlachta (born 1993), handball player Twin towns – sister cities Valašské Meziříčí is twinned with: Balchik, Bulgaria Budva, Montenegro Čačak, Serbia Čadca, Slovakia Gooise Meren, Netherlands Konin, Poland Partizánske, Slovakia Sevlievo, Bulgaria Velké Meziříčí, Czech Republic References External links