Zdice is a town in

Beroun District Beroun District () is a district in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Beroun. Administrative division Beroun District is divided into two administrative districts of municipalities with extended compete ...

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 4,100 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Zdice consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Zdice (3,719) *Černín (204) *Knížkovice (192)

Etymology

The initial name of the settlement was Vzdice, derived from the personal name Vzda. From the 15th century, the name Zdice appeared.

Geography

Zdice is located about southwest of

Beroun Beroun (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former part of Beroun. ...

and southwest 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 mostly in the

Hořovice Uplands Hořovice (; ) is a town in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,100 inhabitants. The town is known for the Hořovice Castle. Geography Hořovice is located about southwest of Beroun and southwest ...

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

Křivoklát Highlands Křivoklát () 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 medieval Křivoklát Castle, protected as national cultural monument. Administrative d ...

and

Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area (abbreviated as Křivoklátsko PLA; ) is a protected landscape area in the Czech Republic. Geography Křivoklátsko PLA lies in the western part of the Central Bohemian Region, only a small part extends in ...

, 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 The Litavka is a river in the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Berounka River. It flows through the Central Bohemian Region. It is long. Etymology The river was originally called Pstruhový potok (meaning "Trout Stream") and Bohutínský ...

River and the stream Červený potok.

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 (; ) is a castle in the Czech Republic. It is a large Gothic architecture, Gothic castle founded in 1348 by King Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as ...

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 of ...

, Zdice was annexed to the

Točník Točník is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 300 inhabitants. Demographics Sights The municipality is known for the ruins of the medieval Žebrák Žebrák () is a ...

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. Zdice underwent industrialisation in the second half of the 19th century, and the population grew. In 1872, Zdice was promoted to 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 ...

, and in 1994, it officially became a town.

Demographics

Transport

The D5 motorway 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 ...

and the Czech-German border in

Rozvadov Rozvadov () is a municipality and village in Tachov District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants. Located on the Czech-German border, the municipality is known for one of the busiest road border crossings in the ...

passes through the town.

Sights

The main landmark of Zdice is the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. it 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 Josef Vorel (also Worel) (13 November 1801 – 19 December 1874) was a Czechs, Czech priest and composer. He is known mainly as a composer of songs and choirs in the Folk music, folk style. Vorel was born in Opočno, the son of a teacher. He began ...

(1801–1874), priest and composer

References

External links

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