Beroun is a town in the Central Bohemian Region at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers; it was founded as a royal town at the end of the 13th century, and its area had been settled since prehistoric times.
Beroun is a town in the Central Bohemian Region, situated in the Berounská kotlina basin at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. According to the town's website, it lies on the shortest and easiest connection between Prague and Plzeň. [1]
Prehistoric settlement
According to surveys cited by the town, the Berounská kotlina basin has been continuously inhabited for at least seven thousand years, that is, since the Neolithic. The limestone landscape offered a milder climate, sufficient water and food, and shelter for game and people, and so it was among the busiest areas of central Bohemia. The large number of finds shows that the surroundings of Beroun were exceptionally suitable for settlement. [1]
Beginnings of the town
In the 11th century a settlement arose on the left bank of the Berounka, then called the Mže, at a place now known as U Ovčína in Závodí. The river could be forded most easily here, and according to a charter for the Vyšehrad chapter of 1088 the settlement was called Na Brodě. A trade route from Prague to Plzeň and on to Bavaria ran through it. The surrounding hills hid iron ore, silver, gold and rare quartzites. In Beroun itself, brick and pottery clay, limestone, building stone and marble were extracted, and the forests on the edge of the Křivoklát woodlands supplied fuel for ironworking. [1]
The first written record of the town comes from a charter of Ottokar II of Bohemia of 1265, issued for the monastery in Ostrov. It contains the Latin form of the name of Beroun, Verona. From the Latin name came the German form Bern and the Czech forms Berón, Berún and Beroun. Ottokar II designated the site for founding the settlement from which the town grew. It stood on gently sloping terrain bounded by the Městská hora hill and the confluence of the two rivers. [1]
The medieval town
After thirty years in which the town was hardly mentioned, King Wenceslaus II issued a charter for the Prague bishopric in 1295. It shows that he had decided to resettle and build up the town. The historic core of Beroun arose at that time, and its broad outlines survive to this day. A Dominican monastery was also founded. In 1303 the burghers obtained a privilege from Wenceslaus II which confirmed their ownership of several villages and gave them the right to be governed by the law of the Old Town of Prague. Beroun thus became a royal town in law, with its own bodies, such as a town council headed by a mayor, supervised by a royal judge. [1]
Under Charles IV the town flourished economically and crafts developed. Cloth makers, maltsters, winegrowers, brewers and potters lived there. Their red pottery with white plant motifs enjoyed a good reputation. Wealthy burghers, often of German origin, were also part of town society. At the start of the Hussite Wars, together with the Dominican order, they sided with Emperor Sigismund. The emperor sent a garrison of four hundred mercenaries to the town, yet Jan Žižka took Beroun in 1421, razed the Dominican monastery and had opponents of the chalice burned. The town then joined the Hussite brotherhood. Under George of Poděbrady, the people of Beroun stood by the new king and supported him militarily. [1]
According to the town's website, Beroun reached its greatest prosperity under Vladislaus Jagiellon. Development was hampered, however, by fires, in which most houses were often reduced to ashes. The town was also hit by floods, epidemics and wartime plundering. [1]