Buštěhrad () is a town in

Kladno District Kladno District () is a Okres, district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Kladno. Administrative division Kladno District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with extend ...

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 4,000 inhabitants.

Etymology

The settlement was originally named Buščeves, which was derived from ''Buškova ves'' (i.e. "Bušek's village"). After the village became a town, the name was changed to Buckow and the local castle was called Buštěhrad (meaning "Bušek's castle"). In the 19th century, the name of the castle was transferred to the town.

Geography

Buštěhrad is located about northwest 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 ...

. It lies in a flat agricultural landscape of the

Prague Plateau The Prague Plateau () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the area of Prague and in the Central Bohemian Region. Geomorphology The Prague Plateau is a mesoregion of the Brdy Macroregion within ...

. The stream Buštěhradský potok originates in the municipal territory, flows through the town, and supplies two small fishponds in the town centre.

History

The first written mention of Buštěhrad is from 1209. In the 13th century, a fortress was built here, later rebuilt into a castle, which was one of the biggest in the kingdom in the 15th century. In 1497, Buštěhrad was promoted to a town by King Vladislaus II. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the castle was destroyed. After the war, houses were built in the ruins, and it became a unique quarter, today called ''Starý Hrad'' ("Old Castle"). In the 19th century, the town developed thanks to coal mining and construction of the railway.

Demographics

Transport

The D7 motorway from Prague to

Chomutov Chomutov (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as ...

leads along the eastern municipal border.

Sights

The most important monument is the Buštěhrad Castle. It was built in 1747–1753 by

Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer (; 1 September 1689 – 18 December 1751) was a German Bohemians, German Bohemian architect of the Baroque architecture, Baroque era. He is among the most prolific and renowned architects of his era in Bohemia. He was bo ...

and Anselmo Lurago. Neoclassical modifications were made in the 19th century. Today the castle is dilapidated. There is a castle park in front of the castle and a church next to the castle. The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in 1814–1816.

Notable people

Ota Pavel Ota Pavel (born ''Otto Popper''; 2 July 1930, in Prague – 31 March 1973, in Prague) was a Czech writer, journalist and sport reporter. He is primarily an author of autobiographical and biographical novels. Biography He was born in Prague a ...

(1930–1973), writer and journalist; raised here *

Václav Sršeň Václav Sršeň (7 June 1925 – 30 November 1996) was a footballer. A forward, he played for Czechoslovakia, representing his country once in 1948. He made 217 appearances in the Czechoslovak First League, scoring 85 goals, between 1942 and 1 ...

(1925–1996), footballer *

Jiří Krampol Jiří Krampol (born 11 July 1938) is a Czech actor, comedian and TV presenter. He is best known as a Czech voice actor of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Louis de Funès, and is the recipient of the František FIlipovský Award for lifetime contributio ...

(born 1938), actor *

Eduard Novák Eduard Novák (27 November 1946 – 20 October 2010) was a Czechoslovak ice hockey player, a bronze medalist from the 1972 Winter Olympics, and a silver medalist from the 1976 Winter Olympics. He was born in Buštěhrad, Czechoslovakia ...

(1946–2010), ice hockey player

Twin towns – sister cities

Buštěhrad is twinned with: *

Ledro Ledro (in local dialect: ''Léder'') is an Italian ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in northern Italy. It was created on January 1, 2010, by the union of the former ''comuni'' of Pieve di Ledro, Bezzecca, Concei, Molina di Ledro, Tiarno d ...

, Italy

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bustehrad Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Kladno District