Starý Plzenec

Starý Plzenec
Town
256px Starý Plzenec as seen from the Radyně Hill
120px Flag 90px Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
District	Plzeň-City
Commune	Plzeň
Municipality	Starý Plzenec
Parts	Sedlec, Starý Plzenec
River	Úslava
Center	Masaryk Square
- elevation	343 m (1,125 ft)
- coordinates
Highest point	Radyně Hill
- elevation	567 m (1,860 ft)
Area	18.38 km2 (7.1 sq mi)
Population	4,628 (2006-10-02)
Density	252 / km2 (653 / sq mi)
First mentioned	976
Mayor	Zdeněk Matas
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	332 02
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Starý Plzenec
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.staryplzenec.cz

Starý Plzenec
Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority
256px Rotunda of St Peter above the town
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
Little District	Plzeň
Municipalities	Chválenice, Letkov, Lhůta, Losiná, Mokrouše, Nezbavětice, Nezvěstice, Starý Plzenec, Šťáhlavy, Štěnovický Borek, Tymákov
Area	96.52 km2 (37 sq mi)
Population	11,347 (2005-12-31)
Density	118 / km2 (306 / sq mi)

Starý Plzenec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈstariː ˈpl̩zɛnɛts]; German: Altpilsen) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. 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.

File:Stary Plzenec CZ Masaryk Square pano from S 0605.jpg

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