# Lhota

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For other uses, see [Lhota (disambiguation)](/source/Lhota_(disambiguation)).

**Lhota** is a Czech geographical name. It is the most common name for [villages](/source/Village) in the [Czech Republic](/source/Czech_Republic).

## Geography

There are 309 villages that contain [Lhota](/source/Lhota_(disambiguation)) or [Lhotka](/source/Lhotka_(disambiguation)) (which is a [diminutive](/source/Diminutive) of Lhota) in their name, which makes it the most common name of villages in the [Czech Republic](/source/Czech_Republic).[1] In addition, there are dozens of villages with derivations of those names (Lhotice, Lhoty, Lhůta and Lhůty in the Czech Republic, Lehota and Lehôtka in [Slovakia](/source/Slovakia)). The largest Lhotas are [Dolní Lhota](/source/Doln%C3%AD_Lhota_(Ostrava-City_District)) and [Komorní Lhotka](/source/Komorn%C3%AD_Lhotka) in the [Moravian-Silesian Region](/source/Moravian-Silesian_Region), and [Francova Lhota](/source/Francova_Lhota) and [Ostrožská Lhota](/source/Ostro%C5%BEsk%C3%A1_Lhota) in the [Zlín Region](/source/Zl%C3%ADn_Region), all of which have about 1,500 inhabitants.[2]

## History and etymology

Lhotas were founded during the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages) colonization in [Bohemia](/source/Bohemia), [Moravia](/source/Moravia) and [Slovakia](/source/Slovakia). Most of them were founded in the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century.[3] The name was first mentioned in 1199, but this first documented Lhota was later renamed [Svatý Jiří](/source/Svat%C3%BD_Ji%C5%99%C3%AD).[1]

The inhabitants of newly-founded villages had obligations towards [suzerains](/source/Suzerains), but those duties were usually suspended for a certain period (such as 5–8 years) as a compensation for felling of forests and making the land available for agriculture. The period used to be called "lhóta" (i.e. 'grace period') and often became a part of the village name.[3]

The villages were usually established by local inhabitants: lower noblemen close to their own village. The name of the founder, usually of a [Slavic](/source/Slavs) origin, became sometimes a part of village name such as [Vlachova Lhota](/source/Vlachova_Lhota) ("Vlach's Lhota"). In other cases, the adjective in village name relates to its size (Dlouhá Lhota = "Long Lhota") or other characteristics (Dolní Lhota = "Lower Lhota", Písková Lhota = "Sandy Lhota").

## See also

- [Wola (settlement)](/source/Wola_(settlement)), a similar concept in Polish history
- [Sloboda](/source/Sloboda), a similar concept in Russian history

## References

1. ["Nejstarší Lhota je v Pardubickém kraji. Dnes už se ale jmenuje jinak"](https://pardubicky.denik.cz/z-regionu/nejstarsi-lhota-je-v-pardubickem-kraji-dnes-uz-se-ale-jmenuje-jinak-20200827.html) (in Czech). *Deník.cz*. 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2023-08-31.

1. ["Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2025"](https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/population-of-municipalities-t4l3n8d2iw). [Czech Statistical Office](/source/Czech_Statistical_Office). 2025-05-16.

1. ["Název obcí Lhota"](https://www.ptejteseknihovny.cz/dotazy/nazev-obci-lhota) (in Czech). *Ptejte se knihovny*. [National Library of the Czech Republic](/source/National_Library_of_the_Czech_Republic). 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2023-08-31.

## External links

- [342 villages](http://overpass-turbo.eu/s/rOh) on a map server of the Czech Republic

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lhota](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhota) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhota?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.