Starý Plzenec

Starý Plzenec
Town
Starý Plzenec as seen from the Radyně Hill
Flag Coat of arms
Starý Plzenec Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°41′52″N 13°28′25″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
District	Plzeň-City
First mentioned	976
Parts	Sedlec, Starý Plzenec
Government
• Mayor	Vlasta Doláková
Area
• Total	18.38 km2 (7.10 sq mi)
Elevation	343 m (1,125 ft)
Population  (2020-01-01)
• Total	5,151
• Density	280/km2 (730/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	332 02
Website	www.staryplzenec.cz

Starý Plzenec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈstariː ˈpl̩zɛnɛts]; Template:Lang-de) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,200 inhabitants. Starý Plzenec is also the seat of the Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority within the Plzeň Municipality with Extended Competence.

History

The first mention of the settlement dates back to 976 when, according to Thietmar of Merseburg, Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia, defeated a Bavarian army below a local stronghold, then called Plzeň. The urban settlement below the castle evolved into an administrative and mercantile centre of western Bohemia, but this came to an end in 1295 when King Wenceslas II founded the new city of Plzeň in a more suitable location at the nearby confluence of the Mže and Radbuza rivers. The new city soon took over the functions of old Plzeň and became known as Nová Plzeň (New Plzeň), later simply as Plzeň, while the older settlement on the Úslava river was called Stará Plzeň (Old Plzeň) and since then, in a more recent variant, Starý Plzenec.

Sights

Radyně Castle (the ruin of a medieval castle from the 14th century open to the public) is on Radyně Hill above the town (to the south). On Hůrka Hill above the town (to the north) there is the St Peter and Paul Rotunda, a Romanesque church from the late 10th century and the foundations of other buildings of the old stronghold.

Masaryk Square with church of St John The Baptist (left) and Town Hall (right)

Notable people

• Filip Jícha (born 1982), handballer