Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

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. The ...

. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000.

Administrative parts

The city is made up of six administrative parts: Kladno, Dubí, Kročehlavy, Rozdělov, Švermov and Vrapice.

Geography

Kladno is located about northwest of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

and is a part of the Prague metropolitan area. It lies in a mostly flat landscape of the Prague Plateau. The highest point is at above sea level.

History

The first written mention of Kladno is from 1318 as a property of noble family of Kladenský of Kladno. After 1543, when Kladenský of Kladno died out, it became a property of Žďárský of Žďár. In 1561 the town rights were secured. In 1566, Žďárský of Žďár rebuilt the local fort to a Renaissance castle. The town walls was built in following decades. The city prospered until

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain ( cz, Bitva na Bílé hoře; german: Schlacht am Weißen Berg) 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 n ...

in 1620, when it was looted by Polish Cossacks. In 18th century the town began to grow behind its walls. In 19th century, the town developed into a significant agricultural and industrial centre. Around 1850, the first coal mines in the area were opened, and the coal was mined until the end of the 20th century. In 1898, Kladno became a city. As a part of the Czech kingdom, the city 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 ...

(Austrian 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 Hungary ...

) for several centuries before 1918, head of the ''Kladno'' district, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in Bohemia. A post-office was opened in 1863. The city's prosperity was once again interrupted by World War II, when it was ruled by the Nazis. In 1941, surrounding municipalities (Kročehlavy, Rozdělov, Dubí, Dříň and Újezd) were joined to Kladno. Vrapice was joined in 1950 and Švermov in 1980. The post-war history of Kladno was influenced by the philosophy of the communist regime. The city's development was determined by migration of labor forces unrelated to the city, by the construction of unified large housing estates and by an effort to erase the original buildings of the city centre. On 21 August 1968, Kladno was occupied for the second time in thirty years, this time by the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

Demographics

Economy

Kladno was the historical birthplace of

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

in Bohemia. For years, the city was home to the Poldi

steel factory Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...

, the region's largest employer. The factory still stands but has been divided into smaller entities after privatisation and changes in ownership. The

mining industry Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

began here in 1842. The proximity to Prague helped to keep the local economy stable in spite of the heavy industrial decline after the collapse of the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

. A series of Western European companies has established production in Kladno, including Lego, Dr. Oetker, NKT Cables and Quickstep Laminate Floors.

Sport

The city is mainly known for its ice hockey club Rytíři Kladno, which was successful in the past and is connected with many famous players of Czech ice hockey history, including Olympic gold medalists

Jaromír Jágr Jaromír Jágr (; born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger for and the owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguin ...

, Pavel Patera, Martin Procházka, Libor Procházka and Milan Hnilička. The club plays in the top tier again, with Jaromír Jágr as its owner and president. The local football club SK Kladno played in the

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

in 2006–2010, but since 2013 it plays in the fourth tier.

Notable people

Anton Cermak Anton Joseph Cermak ( cs, Antonín Josef Čermák, ; May 9, 1873 – March 6, 1933) was an American politician who served as the 44th mayor of Chicago, Illinois from April 7, 1931 until his death on March 6, 1933. He was killed by an assassin, ...

(1873–1933), mayor of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1931–1933 *

Antonin Raymond Antonin Raymond (or cs, Antonín Raymond), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976)"Deaths Elsewhere", ''Miami Herald'', 30 October 1976, p. 10 was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part ...

(1888–1976), Czech-American architect *

Zdeněk Miler Zdeněk Miler (; 21 February 1921 – 30 November 2011) was a Czech animator and illustrator best known for his ''Mole'' (''Krtek'' or ''Krteček'' in original) character and its adventures. Early years Miler was born in Kladno just west o ...

(1921–2011), animator and illustrator * Antonín Kachlík (1923–2022), film director and screenwriter *

Petr Pithart Petr is a Czech given name for males and a Czech surname. Petr is the Czech form of ''Peter''. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and politic ...

(born 1941), politician, former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

* Michal Pivoňka (born 1966), ice hockey player * Jiří Dienstbier Jr. (born 1969), politician *

(born 1972), ice hockey player * František Kaberle (born 1973), ice hockey player * Tomáš Plekanec (born 1982), ice hockey player * Michael Frolík (born 1988), ice hockey player *

Jakub Voráček Jakub Voráček (; born 15 August 1989) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger who plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Voráček was drafted seventh overall by the Blue Jackets at the 2007 NHL Entr ...

(born 1989), ice hockey player *

Radko Gudas Radko Gudas (born 5 June 1990) is a Czech professional ice hockey defenceman for the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played in the NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Ca ...

(born 1990), ice hockey player * Jiří Sekáč (born 1992), ice hockey player

Twin towns – sister cities

Kladno is twinned with: *

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

, United States *

Vitry-sur-Seine Vitry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Name Vitry-sur-Seine was originally called simply Vitry. The name Vitry comes from Medieval Latin ''Vitriacum'', and before that ''Victori ...

, France Kladno also cooperates with Aachen in Germany.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Kladno District