Planá nad Lužnicí () is a town in

Tábor District Tábor District () is a district in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Tábor. Administrative division Tábor District is divided into two administrative districts of municipalities with extended competenc ...

in the

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

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 4,600 inhabitants. It is known as an industrial town, associated with the dairy industry and the production of plastics.

Administrative division

Planá nad Lužnicí consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Planá nad Lužnicí (3,012) *Lhota Samoty (169) *Strkov (1,053)

Etymology

The word meant 'barren', but it also denoted a wide, open landscape.

Geography

Planá nad Lužnicí is urbanistically fused with the neighbouring town of

Sezimovo Ústí Sezimovo Ústí (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. Etymology The name literally means "Sezima's river mouth". Geography Sezimovo Ústí is urbanistically fused wi ...

in the north. It is located about south of

Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

. It lies in the

Tábor Uplands Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

. The highest point is the flat hill Holeček at above sea level. The Lužnice River flows through the town. There are several fishponds in the municipal territory.

History

Planá nad Lužnicí was first mentioned in a letter of bishop Tobiáš of Bechyně from 1288 or 1289, when it was part of the Prague episcopacy. From the time Oldřich of Ústí came to power until 1547, Planá was a dependency of the newly established

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

town of Tábor. Then the town was bought by

William of Rosenberg William of Rosenberg (; 10 March 1535 – 31 August 1592) was a Bohemian nobleman. He served as High Treasurer and Supreme Burgrave of Bohemia, High Burgrave of Bohemia. Life William of Rosenberg was a member of the influential noble House of ...

, who had a wooden bridge over the Lužnice river built. The estate was then inherited by

Peter Vok of Rosenberg Peter Vok of Rosenberg (; 1 October 1539 – 6 November 1611) was a nobleman of the House of Rosenberg, descended from the Vítkovci. Rožmberk was a leading Protestant in the unsettled years before Battle of White Mountain. Life Peter Vok was ...

. At the end of the 17th century, it was taken over by the Sternbergs and later by the

House of Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the cen ...

. After 1848, Planá became an independent municipality, which developed also thanks to the construction of the railway line (1869) and

timber rafting Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest mea ...

, which ran here until 1946.

Demographics

Economy

A production plant of Madeta, the largest dairy in the country, is located here since 1969. It is the biggest plant for natural cheeses in the country. The largest employer with its headquarters in Planá nad Lužnicí is Silon. The company was originally founded as a polyamide

filament yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufac ...

producer in 1950. Later it focused on silon production (improved

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

for women's

stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpar ...

s invented by

Otto Wichterle Otto Wichterle (; 27 October 1913 – 18 August 1998) was a Czech chemist, best known for his invention of modern soft contact lenses. Wichterle was the author or co-author of approximately 180 patents and over 200 publications. The studie ...

). Today it is a producer of

polyolefin A polyolefin is a type of polymer with the general formula (CH2CHR)n where R is an alkyl group. They are usually derived from a small set of simple olefins (alkenes). Dominant in a commercial sense are polyethylene and polypropylene. More speciali ...

based performance compounds and

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain one or two ester linkages in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include some natura ...

fibres.

Transport

The D3 motorway (part of the

European route E55 European route E55 is an E-route. It starts in southern Sweden, crosses the Øresund strait to Denmark, and passes through more water (the western Baltic Sea) to reach continental Europe on Rostock, Germany. Thence it continues further southwar ...

) from

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

runs alongside the town. Planá nad Lužnicí is located on the

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 ...

–České Budějovice railway line.

Sights

The Church of Saint Wenceslaus was originally a Gothic building, rebuilt in 1666. Another reconstruction took place in 1796, when the tower was built. There is a sundial on the wall of the church. Architecturally valuable is the rectory from 1784 with bossed corners and a covered mansard roof. Strkov Castle was built in 1903. Today it is privately owned. It has a castle park on the shore of Strkovský pond.

Notable people

* František Douda (1908–1990), shot putter, Olympic medalist

Twin towns – sister cities

Planá nad Lužnicí is twinned with: * Gorenja Vas–Poljane, Slovenia * Hluk, Czech Republic

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plana nad Luznici Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Tábor District