Bělá nad Radbuzou () is a town in

Domažlice District Domažlice District () is a Okres, district in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Domažlice. Administrative division Domažlice District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with exte ...

in the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region or Plzeňský Region (also known as Pilsen Region; ) is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the western part of the historical land of Bohemia and named after the capital, Plz ...

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 1,800 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Bělá nad Radbuzou consists of 12 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Bělá nad Radbuzou (1,361) *Bystřice (17) *Čečín (12) *Černá Hora (7) *Doubravka (15) *Hleďsebe (0) *Karlova Huť (2) *Nový Dvůr (2) *Pleš (2) *Smolov (103) *Újezd Svatého Kříže (161) *Železná (37)

Etymology

Bělá nad Radbuzou probably got its name from the Radbuza River, which was called here ''Bílý potok'' ('white stream').

Geography

Bělá nad Radbuzou is located about north of

Domažlice Domažlice (; ) 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 as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monument reser ...

and southwest 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 ...

. The town is situated at the confluence of the

Radbuza The Radbuza (; ) is a river in the Czech Republic, the secondary source river of the Berounka River. It flows through the Plzeň Region. It is long, making it the List of rivers of the Czech Republic, 17th longest river in the Czech Republic. Et ...

River and the stream Bezděkovský potok. The built-up area lies in the Upper Palatine Forest Foothills, but most of the municipal territory lies in the

Upper Palatine Forest The Upper Palatine Forest ( or ''Böhmischer Wald''; , ) is a mountain range in Central Europe that is divided between the Czech Republic and Germany. It is a part of the larger Bohemian Massif and the German Central Uplands. Geography The ...

and borders Germany in the west.

History

The first written mention of Bělá nad Radbuzou is from 1121, when the near

Přimda Přimda () is a town in Tachov District the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. It is known for the ruin of the Přimda Castle, which is the second oldest castle in the country. Administrative division Přimda cons ...

Castle was built. Until 1600, Bělá nad Radbuzou was a part of the Přimda estate. In the 16th century, it became a property of Lamminger of Albenreuth, a

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n noble family. In 1614 the Lamminger family built a small Renaissance castle and a brewery. After the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

, in 1623, the estate was merged with Újezd Svatého Kříže and the castle ceased to serve as the seat of the estate. In 2014, the castle burned down.

Demographics

Transport

Bělá nad Radbuzou is located on the railway line Domažlice– Planá.

Sights

The main landmark of the town centre is the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows. It was built in 1721 on the site of a chapel from the late 17th century. The church was completely rebuilt into its current Neoclassical form in 1826–1846. A cultural monument is the stone bridge over the Bezděkovský potok from 1820.

Notable people

* Jan Smudek (1915–1999), resistance fighter * Hans Drachsler (1916–1996), German politician

Twin towns – sister cities

Bělá nad Radbuzou is twinned with: * Eslarn, Germany *

Hindelbank Hindelbank is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Emmental (administrative district), Emmental in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former mu ...

, Switzerland

Gallery

Bělá nad Radbuzou - kamenný most přes Radbuzu obr3.jpg, Stone bridge over the Radbuza Staedt rathaus bela nad radbuzou.jpg, Town hall

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bela nad Radbuzou Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Domažlice District