Zbůch

Municipality

Flag	Coat of arms

Zbůch

Coordinates: 49°40′45″N 13°13′14″E / 49.67917°N 13.22056°ECoordinates: 49°40′45″N 13°13′14″E / 49.67917°N 13.22056°E

Country

Area

• Total

8.57 km² (3.31 sq mi)

Elevation

338 m (1,109 ft)

Population (2011)

• Total

2,167

• Density

250/km² (650/sq mi)

Postal code

330 22

Website

http://www.zbuch.cz

Zbůch (German Zwug) is a village and municipality (obec) in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. The municipality covers an area of 8.57 square kilometres (3.31 sq mi), and has a population of 2,048 (as at 3 July 2006). Zbůch lies approximately 14 kilometres (9 mi) south-west of Plzeň and 98 km (61 mi) south-west of Prague. The earliest know written record of the village dates from 1253.

Zbůch was previously known as the Zbuoch, Zwug, and Zwuch. The earliest written mention of Zbůch comes from 1253, when it was cited as a property of the monastery in Chotěšov Premonstratensian. However, the settlement is thought to have its roots in prehistoric times, as evidenced by numerous archeological finds in the area dating from the Bronze Age. During the Middle Ages the area was established farmyard that was owned by a number of secular feudal lords, such as the Great Zbůch or Votíka of Chotěšovic during the 15th century. Shortly after the 17th century, tax records state that only five farmers lived in the village. The last feudal lords, whose family farmed Zbůch until the first land reform, built a large noble manor on the northern outskirts of the village. The site is still partially preserved. Records from the 19th century suggest the village consisted of 28 houses. In 1861 a railway line from Plzeň to Brod was built near the village, however, a railway station for the village was not opened until 1906.

By the end of the 19th century Zbůch was a small agricultural village connected to the nearby parish of Úhercům. The village consisted of a small village square lined with farmhouses, which was dominated by the chapel. In the first 20 years of the 20th century, the population increased from the original few dozen to about two thousand by 1921. This population boom was due to the development of the coal mines on the edge of the village. In January 1919, the first general school was established in Zbůch. By 1932, after many delays, a fully functional school building was built in the village. By the mid-1920s, the village had built a town hall with a memorial statue of president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk out front.

...
Wikipedia