Poběžovice (formerly Ronšperk, german: Ronsperg) is a town in

Domažlice District Domažlice District ( cs, okres Domažlice) is a district ('' okres'') within Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Domažlice. Complete list of municipalities Babylon - Bělá nad Radbuzou - Blížejov - Brnířov - Čermná - ...

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 Reg ...

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. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages of Ohnišťovice, Sedlec, Sezemín, Šibanov, Šitboř and Zámělíč are administrative parts of Poběžovice. Sezemín and Šibanov form an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the municipal territory.

Geography

Poběžovice is located about northwest of

Domažlice Domažlice (; german: Taus) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administrative parts The tow ...

and southwest of

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

. It lies in the

Upper Palatine Forest Foothills Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found f ...

. The Pivoňka stream flows through the town.

History

The continuous settlement of the area is documented by archaeological finds from the 11th century. Village of Poběžovice was probably founded at the beginning of the 14th century. The first written mention of Poběžovice is from 1359, when a small keep was built. In 1424 it 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 ...

. In 1459 the market town was bought by a lower nobleman Dobrohost of Drštka by Skořice na Rokycansku. At the latest in 1470, he left the keep and had built a late-Gothic solid water castle called Nový Ronšperk ("New Ronšperk"). Since then he was known as Dobrohost of Ronšperk, and Poběžovice was renamed Ronšperk. In 1490–1501 he also built a new large church, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, where he was later buried. In 1506 Ronšperk became a town. In 1864, the castle and the manor were bought by the noble family Coudenhove, later known as

Coudenhove-Kalergi family The Coudenhove-Kalergi family is a Bohemian noble family of mixed Flemish and Cretan Greek descent, which was formed after Count Franz Karl von Coudenhove (1825–1893) married Marie Kalergi (1840–1877). The Coudenhoves were counts of the H ...

Notable people

* Bezalel Ronsburg (1760–1820), Talmudist and rabbi * Moses Löb Bloch (1815–1909), Hungarian rabbi *

Carl Holzmann Carl Holzmann (22 February 1849, Šitboř ( Poběžovice), Bohemia, Austrian Empire – 14 September 1914, Baden bei Wien, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary) was an Austrian architect who designed several apartment buildings in the centre of Vienn ...

(1849–1914), Austrian architect *

Mitsuko Aoyama Mitsuko Thekla Maria, Countess of Coudenhove-Kalergi (german: Mitsuko Thekla Maria Gräfin von Coudenhove-Kalergi; 7 July 1874 27 August 1941), formerly known as , was one of the first Japanese people to immigrate to Europe, after becoming the wi ...

(1874–1941), Japanese countess, lived here * Emil Starkenstein (1884–1942), pharmacologist * Lilly Steinschneider (1891–1975), first Hungarian woman to qualify as a pilot, lived here *

Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972) was an Austrian-Japanese politician, philosopher and Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of ...

(1894–1972), Austrian-Japanese politician and philosopher *

Ida Friederike Görres Ida Friederike Görres (2 December 1901, in Schloss Ronsperg, Bohemia – 15 May 1971, in Frankfurt am Main), born Elisabeth Friederike, Reichsgräfin von Coudenhove-Kalergi, was a Catholic writer. From the Coudenhove-Kalergi family, she was the ...

(1901–1971), Austrian writer

Twin towns – sister cities

Poběžovice is twinned with: *

Schönsee Schönsee is a town in the Schwandorf district of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with the Czech Republic, 38 km northeast of Schwandorf, and 34 km southeast of Weiden in der Oberpfalz Weiden in der Oberpfalz (official name: Weiden ...

, Germany

Gallery

Poběžovice Kirche.JPG, Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Poběžovice (train station).JPG, Railway station Hotel Hubertus.JPG, The Hotel Hubertus

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pobezovice Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Domažlice District