Nýřany (; ) is a town in

Plzeň-North District Plzeň-North District () is a Okres, district in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Plzeň. The most populated town of the district is Nýřany. Administrative division Plzeň-North District is divided into two Dis ...

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 7,000 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Nýřany consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Nýřany (5,797) *Doubrava (263) *Kamenný Újezd (581)

Etymology

The name Nýřany referred to the settlement of ''nyrs''. The word ''nyr'' denoted a person living in a burrow, lair or den of an animal.

Geography

Nýřany is located about west 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 ...

. It lies in the Plasy Uplands. The highest point is the flat hill Dobrák at above sea level. The stream of Vejprnický potok flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Nýřany is from 1272. The village was promoted to a town by Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

on 29 January 1892. The village of Kamenný Újezd was first mentioned in 1215 and Doubrava in 1556. Around 1830,

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the coal seam, ...

deposits were discovered. The start of mining meant the rapid development of the village, and new people arrived. The peak of mining was in 1880, when 9,300 people was employed in about 40 mines. The mining ended in 1995. Those mines sometimes yielded valuable well-preserved fossils of early

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

s. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Nýřany was annexed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

and administered as part of

Reichsgau Sudetenland The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the ''Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from Czechoslovakia according to the 30 September 1938 Munich Agreement. ...

. Near the end of the war one transport of death was surprised by an

airstrike An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

and about hundred of prisoners managed to escape. They were chased by SS-Guards and local Germans and either killed on the spot or executed at the place called Humboldtka.

Demographics

Transport

The D5 motorway from Plzeň to the Czech-German border in Rozvadov passes through the southern part of the municipal territory. Nýřany is located on the railway line Plzeň–

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 ...

. Local railway line that leads to Heřmanova Huť starts here.

Sights

The most important monument is the Church of Saint Procopius in the middle of the town square. It was built in the pseudo-Gothic style in 1903–1904. The Neo-Renaissance town hall was built in 1885–1886. It was built before Nýřany became a town. Until the church was built, the building was also used for religious services. The Monument of Shot Miners stands in front of the town hall. It commemorates an incident when 13 miners were shot during the 1890 strike. The Chapel of Saint Wenceslaus was built in the 18th century on the site of a former chapel from 1595.

Notable people

* Anna Letenská (1904–1942), actress

Twin towns – sister cities

Nýřany is twinned with: *

Zeulenroda-Triebes Zeulenroda-Triebes () is a German town in the district of Greiz in the state of Thuringia. Zeulenroda-Triebes is situated in the south of Greiz in the mountains of the Thuringian Slate Mountains (Thüringer Schiefergebirge), on the border with S ...

, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyrany Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Plzeň-North District