Plasy

Plasy
Town
Aerial view
Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
District	Plzeň-sever
Commune	Kralovice
Municipality	Plasy
Parts	Babina, Horní Hradiště, Lomnička (Brno-Country District), Nebřeziny, Plasy, Žebnice
River	Střela
Elevation	350 m (1,148 ft)
Coordinates	49°56′N 13°23′E
Area	57.13 km2 (22.06 sq mi)
Population	2,598 (2006-10-02)
Density	45 / km2 (117 / sq mi)
Founded	1144
Mayor	Miloslav Hurt
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	331 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Plasy
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.mestoplasy.cz

Plasy
Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
Little District	Kralovice
Municipalities	Dobříč, Dolní Bělá, Horní Bělá, Jarov, Kaznějov, Koryta, Líté, Loza (Plzeň-North District), Mrtník, Obora, Pláně, Plasy, Rybnice
Area	159.38 km2 (61.54 sq mi)
Population	9,222 (2005-12-31)
Density	58 / km2 (150 / sq mi)

Plasy (Czech pronunciation: [ˈplasɪ]; German: Plass) is a small town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the Střela River, some 20 km (12 mi) to the north from the region capital of Plzeň.

Plasy is also a Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority within the Kralovice Municipality with Extended Competence.

No important industry is located in the town. With its scenic surroundings, the town is an important tourist center.

Cistercian monastery

It is famous for its huge Cistercian monastery founded in 1144, which was rebuilt between 1661 and 1739 under the guidance of J. B. Mathey and J. B. Santini and became an important center of Baroque art. A pilgrimage church and provost office in Mariánská Týnice belonged to the monastery for almost all its religious history. After Emperor Joseph II abolished nearly all religious orders in the Habsburg Empire, the monastery became the seat of the Princes of Metternich.

Today, the monastery is owned by the state and it has deteriorated quite badly, nevertheless it is being slowly restored (and remains opened to public). There are also some regional archives placed there.

History

Plasy grew up around the Cistercian monastery, which stands on the site of earlier princely courts. Joseph II closed the monastery in 1785. At the beginning of the 19th century Plasy was still seen as a town or village, an extension of the former monastery. The situation remained unchanged until 1850, when the first municipal council elections were held. Once Prince Metternich took control, iron ore factories were quickly constructed; the access roads to them pulled down some of the monastic complex, including a church. At the beginning of the 19th century the state highway from Pilsen to Žatec began. Although the road caused the disappearance of a former monastery garden, it brought economic advantages. A railway along the state road brought further advantages. An attempt to elevate Plasy status to town in 1906 was unsuccessful. After World War I, the local labor movement sought to strengthen its influence. In 1920 the town decided to electrify, by using district power, rather than attempting to generate its own.

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  The front of the monastery main building ("château")

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  The central court in the "château"

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  Corridor on the first floor in the "château"

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  The "Large Hall" in the "château"

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  Baroque granary of the monastery

Resources

• Czech Statistical Office (2005), Vybrané údaje podle správních obvodů obcí s rozšířenou působností a správních obvodů obcí s pověřeným obecním úřadem k 31. 12. 2005, http://www.czso.cz/xp/redakce.nsf/i/B78124165F6D1D93C1256F1800285EDB/$File/1-vybr.xls, retrieved 2005-03-08 

(The History section comes substantially from selected sentences in the Czech Wikipedia article, and used an automatic translation tool.)