Kelč

Vsetín District, Czech Republic (Czechia)

---

Kelč is a small town in the Vsetín District of the Zlín Region in the Czech Republic, with a population of around 2,700 people. It is located in the Moravian-Silesian Foothills on the left bank of the Juhyně Stream, about 20 km northwest of Vsetín and 29 km northeast of Zlín.

The town has a well-preserved historic centre protected as an urban monument zone. Its history dates back to 1131, and it went through significant development in the 13th century under Bishop Bruno von Schauenburg. Kelč faced hardships during wars in the late Middle Ages and the Thirty Years' War, which caused decline, but it recovered in later centuries.

The town was known in the 19th century for producing tobacco pipes and hosting branches of furniture-making companies. Key landmarks include the Kelč Castle, originally Gothic and later remodeled in Renaissance and Baroque styles, now hosting a vocational school, as well as the Church of Saints Peter and Paul with late Baroque features, and a 17th-century town hall.

Kelč maintains a small-town character without major railways or highways passing through it. It is also twinned with Ladce in Slovakia.