Přeštice (; german: Prestitz) is a town in

Plzeň-South District Plzeň-South District ( cs, okres Plzeň-jih)( German: Bezirk Pilsen-Süd) is a district (''okres'') within the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. Its administrative centre is in Plzeň. The most populated municipality of the district is the t ...

in the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region ( cs, Plzeňský kraj; german: Pilsner Region) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň ( English, german: Pilsen). In terms of area, Plzeň ...

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. Th ...

. It has about 6,600 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Skočice, Zastávka and Žerovice are administrative parts of Přeštice.

Geography

Přeštice is located about south of Plzeň. It lies on the border between the Švihov Highlands and

Plasy Uplands Plasy (; german: Plass) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is known for its former monastery. Administrative parts Villages of Babina, Horní Hradiště, Lomnička, ...

. The highest point is the hill Střížov with an altitude of . The Úhlava River flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Přeštice is in a deed of

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his d ...

from 1226, when it was referred to as a market village. In 1239, the village was bought by the monastery in Kladruby. During the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the ...

(1419–1434), Přeštice was acquired by the Švihovský z Rýzmberk family, who owned it for two centuries. In the early 19th century, Přeštice was badly damaged by a large fire, but the town recovered. The construction of the road from Plzeň to

Klatovy Klatovy (; german: Klattau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts Klatovy is made up of 30 ...

, which began to be built in 1809, contributed to the development of the town. The new town hall was built in 1832. In 1874, the Plzeň–Klatovy railway was put into operation. Until 1918, ''Prestitz – Přeštice'' was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

(Austria side after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungar ...

), in the district of the same name, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in Bohemia.

Demographics

Sights

The main landmark of Přeštice is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was built in the Baroque style in 1770–1775 and was designed by

Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer ( cs, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer) (1 September 1689, Prague – 18 December 1751) was a Bohemian architect of the Baroque era. He was the fifth son of the German architect Christoph Dientzenhofer and the Bohemian-Ge ...

Notable people

Jakub Jan Ryba Jakub Šimon Jan Ryba (surname also Poisson, Peace, Ryballandini, Rybaville; 26 October 1765 – 8 April 1815) was a Czech teacher and composer of classical music. His most famous work is '' Czech Christmas Mass "Hey, Master!"'' (''Česká mše v ...

(1765–1815), composer * Josef Hlávka (1831–1908), architect and philanthropist * Milena Jelinek (1935–2020), Czech-American screenwriter and playwright

Twin towns – sister cities

Přeštice is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Chadron, United States *

Krško Krško (; german: Gurkfeld) is a town in eastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the City municipality of Krško. The town lies on the Sava River and on the northwest edge of the Krško Plain ( sl, Krško polje), which is part of the larger Krka Fla ...

, Slovenia *

Nittenau Nittenau () is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Regen, 18 km southeast of Schwandorf, and 24 km northeast of Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavar ...

, Germany

References

External links

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