Rakovice is a municipality and village in

Písek District Písek District ( cs, okres Písek) is a district in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is Písek. It has around 70,000 inhabitants and area of 1,138.13 km². The neighbouring districts are: České Budějovice Dist ...

in the South Bohemian Region 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 200 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name is derived from the personal name Rak, meaning "the village of Rak's people".

Geography

Rakovice is located about north of

Písek Písek (; german: Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Písek is colloquially called "''South ...

and southwest of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. It lies on the border between the Tábor Uplands and Benešov Uplands. The Skalice River flows through the eastern part of the municipal territory. The highest point is the hill Jezvinec at above sea level. There are several fishponds in the municipality.

History

The first written mention of Rakovice is from 1045, when Duke Bretislav I donated the village to the

Břevnov Monastery Břevnov Monastery ( cs, Břevnovský klášter, german: Stift Breunau) is a Benedictine archabbey in the Břevnov Břevnov () is a district in the west of Prague, located in Prague 6. The district is home to the Břevnov Monastery (Czech: ''B� ...

. In the Rakovice

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

, on 12 May 1945, the commander of the German Waffen-SS army

Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss (October 7, 1886 – 12 May 1945) was a German politician and a SS functionary during the Nazi era. He was a member of the German parliament during the Weimar Republic. During World War II, Pückler-Burghau ...

signed the capitulation and thus ended the

Battle of Slivice The Battle of Slivice was the last large World War II battle in the area of the Czech lands. During 11–12 May 1945, German troops, trying to surrender to nearby American troops rather than the USSR, defended themselves against local partisans ...

, which was the last battle of

World War II in Europe The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

Demographics

Transport

The I/4 road from

passes through the municipality.

Sights

The most important monument is the Rakovice Castle. It was built in the Baroque style in 1728–1730. The castle complex also includes several other Baroque buildings and a landscape park. In the centre of Rakovice is the Chapel of Saint John of Nepomuk. It is a simple rural chapel, built in the late Baroque style in 1791–1792.

Etymology

Geography

History

Demographics

Transport

Sights

Twin towns – sister cities

References

External links