The Square of the Republic (in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

''Naměstí republiky'') forms the historical centre of

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

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 ...

. With a size of it is one of the largest medieval squares in the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands (, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia out of which Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, were formed. ...

. Plzeň as a town appears at the end of the 13th century, the square existing since then. Around the oblong square regular blocks of houses delimitated by a rectangular network of streets were built. Archaeologists have identified wooden pavement from the 13th century and another three layers of pavement from the 14th century. The square was cobblestoned in 1859. The stones were replaced by

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

cover in the 20th century; this replaced again with cobblestones during 2005-2007 reconstruction. In the beginning of the 16th century the water supply became critical. A

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

with a mechanical pump was erected, the water being stored in a

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

en reservoir and fed through wooden pipes to public fountains at the main square. A graveyard had existed on the square since the town was established until 1789, when Emperor Joseph II ordered to close such graveyards. The buildings in the square are predominantly built in Gothic and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

styles. In the courtyards east side remains of the medieval walls are still preserved. The best preserved part of the square is its southern part. Many buildings contain two or three levels of cellars used to preserve food, for wells or as cesspools. The most important historical landmarks are Church of St. Bartholomew (1295, since 1993 a cathedral), the city hall (the building serves as city hall since 1496) and

St. Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

's plague column from 1681 by the Plzeň sculptor Kristian Widman,Marian column
all in the northern part of the square. Image:Pestsäule Pilsen.jpg, Plague column Image:Namesti Republiky Plzen 092.JPG, Historical houses Image:PilsenCityHall.JPG, City hall

References

External links

Historically important buildings in the square
* Information about current (2005-2007) reconstruction of the square

(in Czech) {{DEFAULTSORT:Main Square of Plzen Plzeň, Square Buildings and structures in Plzeň Tourist attractions in Plzeň Squares in the Czech Republic