Pec (Domažlice District)

Pec
Municipality
Western part of Pec
Flag Coat of arms
Pec Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°23′55″N 12°49′52″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
District	Domažlice
First mentioned	1652
Area
• Total	8.00 km^2 (3.09 sq mi)
Elevation	507 m (1,663 ft)
Population  (2024-01-01)[1]
• Total	216
• Density	27/km^2 (70/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	344 01
Website	obecpec.cz

Pec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈpɛts]; German: Hochofen) is a municipality and village in Domažlice District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 200 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name literally means 'furnace'.

Geography

Pec is located about 8 kilometres (5 mi) southwest of Domažlice and 52 km (32 mi) southwest of Plzeň. It lies in the Upper Palatine Forest. In the western tip of the municipality is located the highest mountain of the Upper Palatine Forest, Čerchov at 1,042 m (3,419 ft) above sea level. The stream of Černý potok flows through the municipality.

History

The first written mention of Pec is from 1652, when the construction of iron ore processing blast furnaces and smelters was documented. Around 1805, the smelters were abolished and replaced by glassworks. In the 19th century, the inhabitants made a living mainly by logging and making tools and shoes.[2]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 545 —     1880 520 −4.6% 1890 513 −1.3% 1900 554 +8.0% 1910 626 +13.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 622 −0.6% 1930 460 −26.0% 1950 388 −15.7% 1961 380 −2.1% 1970 341 −10.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 259 −24.0% 1991 224 −13.5% 2001 242 +8.0% 2011 235 −2.9% 2021 217 −7.7%
Source: Censuses[3][4]

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

Chapel of Saint Procopius

The main landmark of Pec is the Chapel of Saint Procopius. It was built in 1908–1909 and consecrated to the patron saint of lumberjacks. In the municipal office there is the Lumberjack Museum with the industrial history of the village and logging.[5]

On Čerchov is a stone observation tower, known as Kurz Tower. It was built in 1904–1905.[6]

Notable people

• Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939), painter; spent his honeymoon here and created several paintings here[5]

References

1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024". Czech Statistical Office. 2024-05-17.
2. "Obec" (in Czech). Obec Pec. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
3. "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21.
4. "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
5. "Kaple sv. Prokopa v Peci pod Čerchovem" (in Czech). Chodskemschodem.cz. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
6. "Kurzova rozhledna na Čerchově" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2022-07-07.

External links

• Official website