Beroun

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Beroun
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Central Bohemian
District	Beroun
Commune	Beroun
River	Berounka
Elevation	235 m (771 ft)
Coordinates	49°57′51″N 14°4′26″E / 49.96417, 14.07389
Area	31.31 km² (12.09 sq mi)
Population	18,206 (2006-10-02)
Density	581 /km² (1,505 /sq mi)
First mentioned	1265
Mayor	Jiří Besser
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	266 01
Location in the Czech Republic
Wikimedia Commons: Beroun
Statistics: statnisprava.cz
Website: www.mesto-beroun.cz

Beroun (IPA: [ˈbɛroʊ̯n], German: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 30 km southwest of Prague and has a population of 18,206 (2006).

Despite its small size, it is an administrative center akin to a "county seat". It lies on the D5 motorway that connects Prague with Plzeň and, farther afield, with Bavaria, Germany.

[edit] Early history

Beroun was originally called na Brodě (by the ford), and received the name of Bern, Berun or Verona in the 13th century, when it obtained the privileges of a city from the emperor Charles IV, who was specially attached to the place, calling it "Verona mea." Under his patronage the town rapidly prospered. In 1421 Jan Žižka stormed the town, which later on was retaken and devastated by the troops of Duke Leopold, bishop of Passau. During the Thirty Years' War it was sacked by the Imperial army, the Saxons and the Swedes in turn; and in the first Silesian war the same fate befell it at the hands of the French and Bavarians.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

[edit] External links

• Municipal website (in Czech)
• Beroun bike gang (in Czech)

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