Podbořany (; ) is a town in

Louny District Louny District () is a Okres, district in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Louny, but the most populated town is Žatec. Administrative division Louny District is divided into three Districts of the Cze ...

in the

Ústí nad Labem Region Ústí nad Labem Region or Ústecký Region () is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western part of the historical land of Bohemia, and named after the capital, Ústí nad Labem. I ...

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 6,300 inhabitants. The town is known for producing

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

Administrative division

Podbořany consists of 13 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Podbořany (4,938) *Buškovice (380) *Dolánky (17) *Hlubany (383) *Kaštice (61) *Kněžice (92) *Letov (146) *Mory (58) *Neprobylice (6) *Oploty (20) *Pšov (77) *Sýrovice (107) *Valov (30)

Geography

Podbořany is located about southwest of

Louny Louny (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument ...

and east of

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

. It lies mostly in the

Most Basin The Most Basin (also known as North Bohemian Basin; , ) is a structural basin and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is named after the city of Most. It forms the southwestern and central parts of the Ústí nad Labem Region. ...

, but a small western part of the municipal territory extends into the

Doupov Mountains Doupov Mountains (, ) is a Cenozoic volcanic mountain range with the typical structure of stratovolcano. The centre of the stratovolcano was in the place of a former town of Doupov. The highest mountain is Hradiště (934 metres), the lowest p ...

and includes the highest point of Podbořany at above sea level. The stream Dolánecký potok flows through the town.

History

According to archaeological research,

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

tribes lived here before the 10th century, and there was an important Slavic gord on the nearby Rubín hill. Some researchers even identify Rubín with the mythical Wogastisburg, which was the scene of the

Battle of Wogastisburg According to the contemporary ''Chronicle of Fredegar'', the Battle of Wogastisburg (also called the siege of Wogastisburg) took place between Slavs (''Sclav, cognomento Winidi'') under King Samo and Franks under King Dagobert I in 631 or 632. Th ...

. The first written mention of Podbořany is in a deed of the monastery in

Postoloprty Postoloprty (; ) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,700 inhabitants. Administrative division Postoloprty consists of 13 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 cen ...

from 1362. The village was owned by the monastery until 1426, when it was bought by the Lords of Gutštejn. During their rule, Podbořany became a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

. In 1575, as a property of the Schlick family, Podbořany received town rights. During the 16th century, the

Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people, and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nati ...

of Podbořany started. After 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 ...

, Germans became a majority. In 1945–1946, the German population was expelled and they were partially replaced by Czechs from

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

Demographics

Economy

Podbořany was historically known for the mining of

kaolin Kaolinite ( ; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (). ...

and the production of porcelain. Today it is one of the centres of

cultivation.

Transport

The I/27 road (the section from

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

Most Most or Möst may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** Autodrom Most, moto ...

) passes through the eastern part of the municipal territory. Podbořany is located on the railway line Plzeň–Most.

Sights

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is a late Baroque building from 1781. Next to the church is a rectory from 1788. The Church of the Savior was built by German Lutherans living in and around Podbořany in 1901–1902. Today the pseudo-Romanesque building serves mainly cultural purposes.

Notable people

Radomil Eliška Radomil Eliška (6 April 1931, Podbořany – 1 September 2019, Prague)Stanislav Štech Stanislav Štech (born 23 August 1954) is a Czech Republic, Czech politician and psychologist. From June to December 2017, he was the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (Czech Republic), Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Re ...

(born 1954), politician and psychologist * Jan Pelc (born 1957), writer * Mikael Kubista (born 1961), Czech-Swedish chemist

Twin towns – sister cities

Podbořany is twinned with: *

Ehrenfriedersdorf Ehrenfriedersdorf () is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 8 km northwest of Annaberg-Buchholz, and 21 km south of Chemnitz. Theatre At the start of the 1990s the folk theatre, the ''Mundartth ...

, Germany *

Russi Russi () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about east of Bologna and about southwest of Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the ...

, Italy *

Spalt Spalt ( Franconian dialect: ''Schbåld'') is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 19 km southwest of Schwabach. Spalt is famous for growing hops for brewing beer. Geography Spalt is situated between Nuremberg, ...

, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Podborany Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Louny District