Přeštice (; ) is a town in

Plzeň-South District Plzeň-South District () is a Okres, district in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Plzeň. The most populated town of the district is Přeštice. Administrative division Plzeň-South District is divided into four ...

in the

Plzeň Region Plzeň Region or Plzeňský Region (also known as Pilsen Region; ) is an Regions of the Czech Republic, administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the western part of the historical land of Bohemia and named after the capital, Plz ...

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 6,800 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Přeštice consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Přeštice (5,818) *Skočice (408) *Zastávka (132) *Žerovice (233)

Geography

Přeštice is located about south of

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 ...

. It lies on the border between the

Švihov Highlands Švihov may refer to places in the Czech Republic: *Švihov (Klatovy District), a town in the Plzeň Region **Švihov Castle in the town *Švihov (Rakovník District), a municipality and village in the Central Bohemian Region *Švihov, a village an ...

and Plasy Uplands. The highest point is the hill Střížov at above sea level. The

Úhlava The Úhlava () is a river in the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Radbuza River. It flows through the Plzeň Region to the city of Plzeň. It is long, making it the 19th longest river in the Czech Republic. Etymology The name is probabl ...

River flows through the town.

History

The first written mention of Přeštice is in a deed of King Ottokar II 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 Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

(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 (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zone. Administr ...

, 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, the town was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, in the district of the same name, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

Demographics

Transport

The I/27 road (the section from Plzeň to

, part of the European route E53) passes through the town. Přeštice is located on the railway line

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 ...

–Klatovy via Plzeň.

Sights

The main landmark of Přeštice is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was built in the Baroque style in 1750–1775 and was designed by

Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer (; 1 September 1689 – 18 December 1751) was a German Bohemians, German Bohemian architect of the Baroque architecture, Baroque era. He is among the most prolific and renowned architects of his era in Bohemia. He was bo ...

Notable people

Jakub Jan Ryba Jakub Šimon Jan Ryba (surname also Poisson, Peace, Ryballandini, Rybaville; 26 October 1765 – 8 April 1815) was a Czech people, Czech teacher and composer of european classical music, classical music. His most famous work is the ''Czech Christm ...

(1765–1815), composer *

Josef Hlávka Josef Hlávka (15 February 183111 March 1908) was a Czech architect, builder, philanthropist and founder of the oldest Czech foundation for sciences and arts. Biography He was the second-born son of Mayor Antonín Hlávka and his wife, Anna né ...

(1831–1908), architect and philanthropist * Milena Jelinek (1935–2020), Czech-American screenwriter and playwright

Twin towns – sister cities

Přeštice is twinned with: * Chadron, United States *

Krško Krško (; ) 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 (), which is part of the larger Krka Flat (). The area is divided between t ...

, Slovenia * Nittenau, Germany

References

External links

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