Mýto (; german: Mauth) is a town in

Rokycany District Rokycany (; german: Rokitzan) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Rokycany is made up o ...

in the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region ( cs, Plzeňský kraj; german: Pilsner Region) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň (English, german: Pilsen). In terms of area, Plzeň R ...

of the

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

. It has about 1,500 inhabitants.

Etymology

The town's name literally means "

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

". It refers to its history and location on an important trade route from

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

where the toll was collected.

Geography

Mýto is located about northeast of

Rokycany Rokycany (; german: Rokitzan) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Rokycany is made up o ...

and east of Plzeň. The municipal territory extends into three geomorphological regions. The central part with the built-up area lies in the western tip of the

Hořovice Uplands Hořovice (; german: Horschowitz, Horvitz, Horowitz) is a town in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Hořovice is made up of only one administrative part. His ...

. The southern part lies in the Brdy Highlands and includes the highest point of Mýto, the hill Ostrý vrch at above sea level. A small part in the north lies in the Křivokrát Highlands. The Holoubkovský Stream flows through the town. The streams feeds two notable bodies of water in the municipal territory, the ponds Štěpánský and Podmýtský.

History

The first written mention of Mýto and its older church is from 1296. The original settlement was located on a hill around the Church of

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

. Gradually people began to settle in the area of today's Mýto, where the Church of Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

was built in 1350. At the beginning of the 14th century Mýto became 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 rural ...

, and in 1905 it became a town. Until 1918, Mýto was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

(Austria side after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

), in the

, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in Bohemia.

Demographics

Transport

The town is located on a regional railway line leading from Beroun to Plzeň and

Klatovy Klatovy (; german: Klattau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Klatovy is made up of 30 ...

. The D5 motorway passes through the northern part of the territory.

Sights

The Gothic Church of Saint Stephen was built in the 13th century and its Baroque tower dates from the 18th century. Today it serves social and cultural purposes. The Church of Saint John the Baptist was originally a chapel consecrated to

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

the church was burned down, and in 1680–1682 it was built once again. Many of its Gothic elements were rebuilt in the Baroque style.

Notable people

August Wilhelm Ambros August Wilhelm Ambros (17 November 181628 June 1876) Blom, Eric (2005) ''Everyman's Dictionary of Music'', Kessinger Publishing. p. 15. . was an Austrian composer and music historian of Czech descent. Life He was born in Mýto, Rokycany Dist ...

(1816–1876), Austrian music historian

Twin towns – sister cities

Mýto is twinned with: *

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga derives its name f ...

, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Myto Populated places in Rokycany District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic