Horažďovice

Horažďovice
Town
historical city center
Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
District	Klatovy
Commune	Horažďovice
Parts	Babín, Boubín, Horažďovice, Horažďovická Lhota, Komušín, Svaté Pole, Třebomyslice, Veřechov
River	Otava
Center	Masarykovo náměstí
- elevation	427 m (1,401 ft)
- coordinates	49°19′15″N 13°42′04″E / 49.32083°N 13.70111°E / 49.32083; 13.70111Coordinates: 49°19′15″N 13°42′04″E / 49.32083°N 13.70111°E / 49.32083; 13.70111
Area	43.02 km2 (16.61 sq mi)
Population	5,428 (2015-01-01)
Density	126/km2 (326/sq mi)
Town rights	1292
Mayor	Jindřiška Antropiusová
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	341 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.sumavanet.cz/horazdovice

Horažďovice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɦoraʒɟovɪtsɛ]; German: Horaschdowitz) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the Otava River, some 50 km (31 mi) to the South-East from the region capital of Plzeň.

Horažďovice is also a Municipality with Extended Competence and a Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority within the same borders.

A fortified settlement was established here in the 10th century and two centuries later the stone castle became an administrative centre of the Prácheň region (embracing today’s region of Horažďovice, Sušice, Kašperské Hory, Strakonice and Vimperk). When the stronghold lost its significance, the centre was moved to a settlement on the Otava river. Around 1200, St. Peter's Church was constructed in Horažďovice along with a fortress in the surrounding neighborhood which was connected by a wooden bridge. The king Václav II. gave the settlement the status and rights of town in the year 1292.

The greatest disaster for Horažďovice was the Thirty Years' War, when there was damage caused by two large fires and the town was twice plundered by Swedish troops. The badly damaged castle was rebuilt, the monastery was enlarged and a chapel by Loreta was built during the Šternberks reign in the 17th century.

The 13th century fortification included a Baroque castle which was rebuilt during the Švihovský reign as a Renaissance castle, with the only remains being cellars carved in the rock and a rotund tower. Since 1920, the castle houses a town museum. An important monument is the Convent church of the Virgin Mary standing on the site of the former chapel of St. Michael from the 13th century. For almost 100 years it was the seat of The Order of sisters of Notre Dame for the whole country. After 1989 The Order returned. Near the town, on the hill Prácheň, is the Church of St. Kliment - the ninth Christian church in Bohemia, probably consecrated by Metoděj.

The town has a population of almost 6 000 people today. In 2003 the town office became an administrative centre for 20 villages representing 12,500 people.

Horažďovice's location along the trade route from Prague to Bavaria Trade ensured a promising future for Horažďovice. One of the most significant families with a large impact on the history of the settlement was the Bavor House of Strakonice, who built a Gothic fortress here in the 13th century. The town enjoyed great prosperity in the second half of the 15thcentury, when the ownership was taken over by Půta Švihovský from Rýzmberk. He initiated development of administrative centres in the town vicinity such as the castles Rabí, Švihov and Velhartice.