Mšecké Žehrovice

Mšecké Žehrovice
Municipality
Main street
Flag Coat of arms
Mšecké Žehrovice Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°10′45″N 13°55′24″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Central Bohemian
District	Rakovník
First mentioned	1045
Area
• Total	14.05 km^2 (5.42 sq mi)
Elevation	413 m (1,355 ft)
Population  (2024-01-01)[1]
• Total	654
• Density	47/km^2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	270 64
Website	www.msecke-zehrovice.cz

Mšecké Žehrovice (German: Kornhaus Scherowitz) is a municipality and village in Rakovník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

The village of Lodenice is an administrative part of Mšecké Žehrovice.

Etymology

The name Žehrovice is derived from the personal name Žehra, meaning "the village of Žehra's people". The attribute Mšecké is derived from Mšec, to which Žehrovice belonged for some time.[2]

Geography

View from the south

Mšecké Žehrovice is located about 16 kilometres (10 mi) northeast of Rakovník and 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Prague. It lies in the Džbán range. The highest point is the Kopanina hill at 466 m (1,529 ft) above sea level. The Loděnice River flows through the village of Lodenice and supplies the fishpond Loděnický. The village of Mšecké Žehrovice is surrounded by many small fishponds that are fed by the brooks Žehrovický potok and Novodvorský potok.

Mšecké Žehrovice is located in the Džbán Nature Park. The Louky v oboře Libeň Nature Reserve is situated within the Libeň deer park in the southern part of the municipality. It has an area of 9.5 ha (23 acres) and is protected because of its rich flora.[3]

History

The Mšecké Žehrovice Head, discovered in 1943

The location of today's Mšecké Žehrovice has been inhabited since the period of the Knovíz culture in the Late Bronze Age, 13–10 centuries BC. Archaeological findings also confirmed the settlement from the late Hallstatt period. The most important finds come from the La Tène culture, including the Mšecké Žehrovice Head, which is a stone head from the 2nd–3rd century BC discovered in 1943.[4]

The first written mention of Žehrovice was in 1045, when Duke Bretislav I left part of the village to the Břevnov Monastery. At the beginning of the 13th century, the administrator of the royal portion tried to subdue the subjects of the monastic portion, but they left Žehrovice. In 1224, King Ottokar I of Bohemia granted the monastery a protective privilege for the monastic part of Žehrovice. The deed from 1224 is also the first written mention of the newly established village of Lodenice, founded be the people who left Žehrovice.[4]

In 1361, the Kolowrat family acquired Žehrovice and a branch of the family that called itself Žehrovický of Kolowrat arose here. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Žehrov Fortress stood here, which was the seat of the family. In 1506, Mikuláš Žehrovický of Kolowrat annexed Žehrovice to the Mšec estate and it was renamed Mšecké Žehrovice. Since then, the fortress fell into disrepair, and in 1549 it was described as abandoned. The Kolowrat family owned Žehrovice until the second half of the 16th century.[4]

Until 1622, Mšecké Žehrovice and Lodenice were owned by the Knights of Štampach. After the Battle of White Mountain, their properties were confiscated and Mšecké Žehrovice was bought by the House of Fürstenberg. During the Thirty Years' War, Lodenice was completely destroyed, but was later restored. In 1662, the Fürstenbergs sold the estate to the Schwarzenberg family, who owned it until the establishment of a sovereign municipalities of Mšecké Žehrovice and Lodenice in 1850. In 1976, Lodenice was incorporated into Mšecké Žehrovice.[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 728 —     1880 766 +5.2% 1890 731 −4.6% 1900 747 +2.2% 1910 802 +7.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 875 +9.1% 1930 882 +0.8% 1950 749 −15.1% 1961 674 −10.0% 1970 631 −6.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 570 −9.7% 1991 484 −15.1% 2001 470 −2.9% 2011 528 +12.3% 2021 626 +18.6%
Source: Censuses[5][6]

Economy

Statue of St. John of Nepomuk

Mšecké Žehrovice is known for growing hops.

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality. The D6 motorway (part of the European route E48) runs just beyond the southern municipal border.

Sights

View towards the Church of Saint Martin

The main landmark of Mšecké Žehrovice is the Church of Saint Martin. It is a small rural Baroque building from 1774.[7]

The municipality is known for its archaeological site. The life of the Celts in the area is covered by an educational trail that passes near the site.[8] The area of the Viereckschanze is protected as a cultural monument.[9]

A landmark is the 400-year-old European beech tree. It is the oldest tree in Rakovník District. It has a trunk circumference of 5.30 m (17.4 ft) and a height of 14 m (46 ft). It has been protected since 1978. Its crown reaches a diameter of 26 m (85 ft).[4]

References

1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024". Czech Statistical Office. 2024-05-17.
2. Profous, Antonín (1957). Místní jména v Čechách IV: S–Ž (in Czech). p. 822.
3. "Louky v oboře Libeň" (in Czech). Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
4. "Historie" (in Czech). Obec Mšecké Žehrovice. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
5. "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21.
6. "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
7. "Kostel sv. Martina" (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
8. "Archeologické naleziště Mšecké Žehrovice" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
9. "Čtyřúhelníkové valy Viereckschanze, archeologické stopy" (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2023-07-19.

External links

• Official website