Žerčice a municipality and village in

Mladá Boleslav District Mladá Boleslav District () is a district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Mladá Boleslav. Administrative division Mladá Boleslav District is divided into two administrative districts of municipal ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has about 400 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name is probably derived from the personal name Žirka, meaning "the village of Žirka's people". The oldest form of the name was ''Žrčinaves''.

Geography

Žerčice is located about southeast of

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

and northeast of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. It lies on the border between the

Jičín Uplands The Jičín Uplands () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Hradec Králové, Liberec and Central Bohemian regions. Geomorphology The Jičín Uplands are a mesoregion of the North Bohemian ...

and

Jizera Table The Jizera Table () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Central Bohemian Region, northeast of Prague. Geomorphology The Jizera Table is a mesoregion of the Central Bohemian Table wit ...

. The highest point is the hill Žlábky at above sea level. The Vlkava River flows through the municipality. There is a system of fishponds in the southern part of the territory.

History

The first written mention of Žerčice is from 1070, in ''

Chronica Boemorum The ''Chronica Boemorum'' (Chronicle of the Czechs, or Bohemians) is the first Latin chronicle in which the history of the Czech lands has been consistently and relatively fully described. It was written in 1119–1125 by Cosmas of Prague. The ...

''. The greatest boom of Žerčice occurred during the rule of Hanuš Bryknár of Brukštejn in the early 16th century. The village was promoted to a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

in 1511. In 1621, Žerčice was purchased by the

Waldstein family The House of Waldstein (Valdstejn, Valdonio, or Wallenstein) is an old, wealthy and important noble family from Central Europe (Germany and the Czech Republic). They owned many castles across Europe. Origin The House of Waldstein or House of V ...

and joined to the

Dobrovice Dobrovice is a town in Mladá Boleslav District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,700 inhabitants. It is known for one of the oldest sugar factories in the world. Administrative division Dobrovice consists of eig ...

estate. In 1639, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, Žerčice was burned down by the

Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

and ceased to be a market town.

Demographics

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

The main landmark of Žerčice is the Church of Saint Nicholas. It was built in the Baroque style in 1730 according to the design of the architect

František Maxmilián Kaňka František Maxmilián Kaňka (19 August 1674 – 14 July 1766) was a Czech architect. He was among the most important and most prolific Baroque architects in the Czech lands. Life František Maxmilián Kaňka was born in Prague on 19 August 16 ...

. It replaced an old church, first mentioned in 1384. Next to the primary school is a statue of Saint Florian from 1770.

Notable people

Samuel Capricornus Samuel Friedrich Capricornus (born Samuel Friedrich Bockshorn; 21 December 1628 – 10 November 1665) was a composer of the Baroque period from Bohemia. Life Samuel Friedrich Capricornus was born on 21 December 1628 in Žerčice. Capricornus' f ...

(1628–1665), composer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zercice Villages in Mladá Boleslav District