Skryje is a municipality and village in

Rakovník District Rakovník District () is a district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Rakovník. Administrative division Rakovník District is formed by only one administrative district of municipality with extended ...

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 200 inhabitants. The historic centre of the village is well preserved and is protected as a village monument zone.

Etymology

The word ''skryj'' denoted a person who was hiding or who was hiding something. The name Skryje denoted the village where such people lived.

Geography

Skryje is located about south of

Rakovník Rakovník (, ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Rakovník consists o ...

and west 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 ...

. The northern part of the municipal territory lies in the

Plasy Uplands Plasy (; ) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is known for its former monastery of the same name, which is protected as a national cultural monument. Administrative di ...

, the southern part lies in the

Křivoklát Highlands Křivoklát () is a market town in Rakovník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. It is known for the medieval Křivoklát Castle, protected as national cultural monument. Administrative d ...

. The highest point is the hill Vlastec at above sea level. The municipality is situated on the right bank of the

Berounka The Berounka () is a river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Vltava River. It flows through the Plzeň Region, Plzeň and Central Bohemian Region, Central Bohemian regions to Prague. It is formed by the confluence of the Mže and Radbu ...

River. The entire municipality is located within the

Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area (abbreviated as Křivoklátsko PLA; ) is a protected landscape area in the Czech Republic. Geography Křivoklátsko PLA lies in the western part of the Central Bohemian Region, only a small part extends in ...

History

The first written mention of Skryje is from 1239, when it was owned by the Kladruby Abbey. From 1375 to 1601, the village was owned by various lower nobility. From 1601 until the abolition of manorialism, Skryje was part of the

Křivoklát Křivoklát () is a market town in Rakovník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. It is known for the medieval Křivoklát Castle, protected as national cultural monument. Administrative div ...

estate.

Demographics

Transport

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

Sights

Skryje is known for paleontological and geological research. The first mention of the collection of local fossils comes from 1832. The village became famous when French geologist Joachim Barrande discovered rich fossil deposits of

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinction, extinct marine arthropods that form the class (biology), class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most succ ...

s in the close surroundings of the village, when he was surveying the terrain for a horse-pulled railway. Today there is the Monument to Joachim Barrand, which is a small museum with paleontological and geological exposition. Part of the museum is dedicated to a country life at the turn of 19th and 20th century in Skryje and its surroundings. There is also an educational trail dedicated to fossil sites and creatures whose fossils have been found here. It is still possible to find fossils in several places. The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel was first mentioned in 1350, already as a parish church. The current Baroque building dates from 1713.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Rakovník District