Slaný

Slaný (Czech pronunciation: [ˈslaniː]; German: Schlan) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. It is located about 25 km northwest of Prague. The town is part of the Prague metropolitan area.

Slaný
Town
The centre of Slaný with the St. Gotthard Church
Flag
Coat of arms
Slaný
Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°13′50″N 14°4′53″E
Country Czech Republic
RegionCentral Bohemian
DistrictKladno
First mentioned1239
Government
 • MayorMartin Hrabánek
Area
 • Total35.11 km2 (13.56 sq mi)
Elevation
234 m (768 ft)
Population
 (2020-01-01[1])
 • Total15,864
 • Density450/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
273 79, 274 01
Websitewww.meuslany.cz

Administrative parts

The villages of Dolín, Želevčice, Lotouš, Blahotice, Netovice, Kvíc, Kvíček, Trpoměchy and Otruby are all administrative parts of Slaný.

Geography

The town is situated in the Slaný Plain (the northwestern part of a geomorphologic whole called the Prague Plain). A creek called Červený potok (Red creek) flows through it from the southwest to the northeast. Its dominant feature is Slánská Hill.

History

The Bohemian Chronicle of Václav Hájek records Slaný as having been founded in 750, at the site of a salt spring below Slánská Hill (slaný is Czech for "salty").

The town grew as a result of its location on the trade route between Prague and Saxony. The Benedictines established a hospital here in 1136, together with a church dedicated to St. Gotthard. It was this large presence of the church, and the unconsolidated state of landed property that went with it, that allowed king Wenceslas II to charter Slaný as a town and give his royal assent to its Magdeburg rights only sometime in the decade after 1295. In 1348, an earthquake damaged the now-fortified town; in 1371, a large fire broke out, and the church had to be rebuilt.

Slaný was captured by the Taborites in 1425 during the Hussite Wars, and remained in their hands until 1434. Not only did the Benedictine monks have to leave — this town by the hill was also one of Hussite holy cities, and their preachers expected it to survive the anticipated end of the world. Later, the Hussite king George of Poděbrady gave Slaný many privileges, after the town had supported his election to the throne. The town also participated in the Bohemian Revolt that opened the Thirty Years' War, housing the family of king Frederick V of the Palatinate. After the battle of White Mountain, that meant a defeat for the cause, the town suffered as a result of the ravages of war. Afterwards, the new Catholic possessors of Slaný, the Martinic, erected many a baroque church and edifice that, together with a new monastery, adorn the town to this day.

Since the middle of the 19th century, Czech has been the dominant language there. Industrial development was delayed until around 1860. An important engineering factory was built in 1872 and more followed. A factory producing batteries was founded in 1918. The infrastructure and amenities of a modern town have been gradually added since the second half of the 19th century.

Transport

The town of Slaný is situated at the crossing of the Prague – Louny, Prague – Karlovy Vary roads. The Prague – Most railway also goes through the town.

Slaný from Slánská Hill

Sights
  • The town hall, symbol of the town (house from 1378, rebuilt after 1896 and in 1840)[2]
  • The Trinitarian Church, built 1581–1602, a monastery built in 1655–1662[2]
  • Former college of Piarists (built 1658, rebuilt 1877), today a museum[2]
  • St. Gothard's Gothic Church (originally from the 13th century)[2]
  • Renaissance houses[2]

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Slaný is twinned with:[3]

gollark: You shouldn't have `map`...?
gollark: Go literally will not let you write it in a well-typed way.
gollark: At least JS actually has `map`!
gollark: Not really. I'm not good at it.
gollark: Node.js might be bad, but at least it isn't Go.

References
  1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2020". Czech Statistical Office. 2020-04-30.
  2. Historical monuments of the town of Slaný
  3. "O Slaném". meuslany.cz (in Czech). Město Slaný. Retrieved 2020-08-13.

Bibliography
  • Kubánek, Vladimír (2010). Královské město Slaný na pozadí historie. Brno.
  • Dobner, Libor (2016). Slaný - kapitoly z historie královského města. Slaný: Roman Kabátek, Jiří Linke.
  • Lacina, Josef (1885). Paměti královského města Slaného, I. Za svobody i v porobě. Slaný.
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