Zdice is a town in

Beroun District Beroun District ( cs, okres Beroun) is a district (''okres'') within Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Beroun. Complete list of municipalities Bavoryně - Beroun - Běštín - Březová - Broumy - Bubovi ...

in the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

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. Th ...

. It has about 4,000 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Černín and Knížkovice are administrative parts of Zdice.

Geography

Zdice is located about southwest of

Beroun Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former ...

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 mostly in the

Hořovice Uplands Hořovice (; german: Horschowitz, Horvitz, Horowitz) is a town in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Hořovice is made up of only one administrative part. His ...

, including the built-up area. The northwestern part of the municipal territory extends into the

Křivoklát Highlands Křivoklát (german: Pürglitz) is a market town in Rakovník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. It is known for the Křivoklát Castle. Administrative parts Villages of Častonice and P� ...

and Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area, and includes the highest point of Zdice, which is the hill Kalce at above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the

Litavka Litavka is a river in the Czech Republic, the right tributary of the Berounka. It originates in the Brdy mountain range at the elevation of 736 m and flows to Beroun, where it enters the Berounka. It is 54.9 km long, and its basin area is 629 ...

River and the Červený Stream.

History

The first written mention of Zdice is from 1148. It was probably founded in 1039. Until 1302, it was owned by the bishopric in Prague, then it was joined to the town of Beroun. In 1357, the village was merged with the newly established

Karlštejn Karlštejn Castle ( cs, hrad Karlštejn; german: Burg Karlstein) is a large Gothic castle founded in 1348 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well ...

estate, owned by the royal chamber. During the rule of King

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form o ...

, Zdice was annexed to the Točník estate, to which it belonged until 1607. From 1607 until the establishment of an independent municipal administration after 1848, the village belonged to the Králův Dvůr estate. In the second half of the 19th century, Zdice was industrialised and the population grew. In 1872, Zdice was promoted to a

market town A market town is a Human settlement, 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 marketplace, market; this distinguished it from a village or ...

. In 1994, it became a town. Until 1918, the town was part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(Austrian side after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungar ...

), in the Hořovice district, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' (district administrative authorities) in Bohemia.

Demographics

Transport

The D5 motorway from

to Plzeň and the border with Germany passes through the town.

Sights

The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built in the Baroque style in 1747–1749. It replaced an old Gothic church. A valuable building is the town hall. It is a historical house, rebuilt into its current Neoclassical form in the second half of the 18th century. Gothic barrel vaults are preserved in the basement.

Notable people

* Josef Vorel (1801–1874), priest and composer

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in the Beroun District