Velvary () is a town in

Kladno District Kladno District ( cs, okres Kladno) is a district ('' okres'') within the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The capital of the district is the city of Kladno. List of municipalities Běleč - Běloky - Beřovice - Bílichov - Ble ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

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 3,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts

Villages of Ješín, Malá Bučina and Velká Bučina are administrative parts of Velvary.

Geography

Velvary is located about northwest of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. It lies on the Bakovský Stream in a flat agricultural landscape of the

Lower Eger Table Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eig ...

History

The first written mention of Velvary is from 1282. It was for centuries an important stop on the way from Prague to

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

. After 1357, it became a royal property and it was raised 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 rural ...

by King Charles IV. In 1482 it became a town by King Vladislaus II.

Sport

The town is home to a football club TJ Slovan Velvary, which plays in the

Bohemian Football League Bohemian Football League (ČFL) ( cs, Česká fotbalová liga) is one of the third level football leagues of the Czech Republic (the other is the Moravian-Silesian Football League). The league comprises teams from the historic Bohemia region. Hist ...

(third tier of the Czech football league system).

Sights

The major sights of the spacious Krále Vladislava Square include a Baroque

Marian column Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

(built in 1716–1719), a Baroque town hall from 1717, and the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Church of Saint Catherine with

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s from the 15th century. The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Prague Gate from 1580 is the last preserved of three

town gates A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

. There is also a valuable Renaissance Church of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

(built in 1613–1616) with a churchyard.

Notable people

Jan Antonín Koželuh Jan Antonín Koželuh (also Johann Antonin Kozeluch, Koscheluch, Jan Evangelista Antonín Tomáš; 14 December 1738 in Velvary – 3 February 1814 in Prague) was a Czech composer. Life Koželuh was a pupil of Josef Seger and studied under the Je ...

(1738–1814), composer *

Leopold Koželuh Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist ...

(1747–1818), composer *

Václav Klement Václav Klement (October 16, 1868, Velvary – August 13, 1938, Mladá Boleslav) was a Czech automotive pioneer, co-founder of Laurin & Klement, what is now Škoda Auto. Early life Klement had an unhappy childhood. His mother died when he was ...

(1868–1938), automotive pioneer

Gallery

Velvary cp 57 Dryjak DSCN4814.JPG, Renaissance house No. 57 on the town square Velvary Prazska br od J DSCN4823.JPG, The Prague Gate Velvary sv Jiri od JZ DSCN4824.JPG, Church of Saint George

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Kladno District