Davle is a market town in
Prague-West District
Prague-West District () is a district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Prague. The most populated town of the district is Jesenice.
Administrative division
Prague-West District is formed by only one administ ...
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 1,900 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Davle consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
*Davle (1,127)
*Sázava (307)
*Sloup (440)
Etymology
The name is derived from the personal name Davel, meaning "Davel's (court)". Until the 16th century, the settlement was called Davel, but then the name evolved to the feminine gender.
Geography
Davle is located about south 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 the
Benešov Uplands
The Benešov Uplands or Benešov Hills () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located mostly in the Central Bohemian Region. It belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. It is named after Benešov ...
. The highest point is the hill Suchý vrch with an elevation of . The market town is situated at the confluence of the
Vltava
The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...
and
Sázava rivers.
History
The first written mention of Davle is in the founding deed of the
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monastery of St.
John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
by Duke
Boleslaus II in 999. It became known as Ostrov Monastery, referring to its location on an island (in Czech ''ostrov'').
In the second half of the 13th century, gold was mined around the confluence of the Vltava and Sázava rivers, creating a boom period for the area. In 1310, in a
papal bull
A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it.
History
Papal ...
from Pope
Clement V
Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...
, Davle was referred to as a market town. Davle was also an important stopping point for rafters using the two waterways as trade routes. 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...
, the monastery was destroyed and its restoration was unsuccessful. After the monastery was definitely abandoned in 1517, the importance of Davle decreased.
[
In 1900, a railway line connecting Davle with Prague was completed.
In 1848, Davle was incorporated into a municipality with the nearby villages of ]Měchenice
Měchenice is a municipality and village in Prague-West District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants.
Etymology
The name was initially written as ''Měchynice'' and was derived from the personal name ...
, Sloup and Svatý Kilián. In the 1950s Svatý Kilián lost its status of an administrative part. In 1960, Měchenice became a separate municipality. The village of Sázava was annexed to Davle in 1968.
Demographics
Economy
In 2006, a new sewage and wastewater treatment plant was built near the town.
Transport
Davle is located on the railway line Prague–Čerčany
Čerčany is a municipality and village in Benešov District in the Central Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic. It has about 3,100 inhabitants.
Administrative division
Čerčany consists of 15 municipal parts (in brackets population according t ...
.
Sights
The Island of St. Kilian with the remains of the former monastery is an archaeological site. There was the Romanesque three-nave basilica of St. John the Baptist from the 12th century and other Romanesque buildings, the foundations of which are still visible today.
On the bank opposite the island is the Church of Saint Kilian. The protected Baroque church complex consists of the church, Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, bell tower, rectory, Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk, and enclosure walls with gates. The church has a Gothic core. It was probably built shortly after the monastery was founded. It is the only church in the Czech Republic consecrated to Saint Kilian.[
The Chapel of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in the centre of Davle was built in the neo-Baroque style in 1898.]
In popular culture
In the summer of 1968, scenes for the film ''The Bridge at Remagen
''The Bridge at Remagen'' is a 1969 DeLuxe Color war film in Panavision starring George Segal, Ben Gazzara, and Robert Vaughn. The film, which was directed by John Guillermin, was shot in Czechoslovakia. It is based on the nonfiction book ...
'' were filmed using the Old Davle Bridge.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Market towns in the Czech Republic
Populated places in Prague-West District