Břežany II is a municipality and village in

Kolín District Kolín District () is a Okres, district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Kolín. Administrative division Kolín District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with extend ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

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 900 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name Břežany is derived from the word ('

iver Iver is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central nucleated village, clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets o ...

bank' in Czech, but in old Czech also meaning 'hillside') or from the word ('birch forest'). The word ''břežané'' denoted people who live near a bank, hillside or birch forest, so Břežany was a village of such people. The Roman numeral in the name serves to distinguish it from the nearby municipality of the same name, Břežany I. The Roman numeral is used since 1960.

Geography

Břežany II is located about west of

Kolín Kolín (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservations, urban monume ...

and east of

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 ...

. It lies in a flat agricultural landscape on the border between the

Central Elbe Table The Central Elbe Table () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Central Bohemian Region, but due to its size, it also extends to other regions. The axis of the plateau is the Elbe River, ...

and

Prague Plateau The Prague Plateau () is a plateau and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the area of Prague and in the Central Bohemian Region. Geomorphology The Prague Plateau is a mesoregion of the Brdy Macroregion within ...

. In the eastern part of the municipal territory is a small flooded quarry.

History

The first written mention of Břežany is from 1305. Until 1588, the village was divided into two parts; one part was owned by the royal chamber and the other was owned by the Prague archbishopric. In 1588, the entire village was acquired by the Smiřický noble family and annexed to the Kostelec estate. In 1622, the estate was bought by the Liechtenstein family. In 1639, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, Břežany was looted by the

Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

under the leadership of

Johan Banér Johan Banér (23 June 1596 – 10 May 1641) was a Swedish field marshal in the Thirty Years' War. Early life Johan Banér was born at Djursholm Castle in Uppland. As a four-year-old he was forced to witness the execution of his father, the ...

Demographics

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

Among the protected cultural monuments are a gate of a homestead, dating from the first half of the 19th century, and a fire mast rotary siren. The siren, located on a high mast, was constructed in the 1920s and was brought to Břežany II in 1935 at the latest.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brezany II Villages in Kolín District