Horažďovice (; ) is žďa town in Klatovy District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Administrative parts
Villages of Babín, Boubín, Horažďovická Lhota, Komušín, Svaté Pole, Třebomyslice and Veřechov are administrative parts of Horažďovice.
Etymology
The name Horažďovice is derived from the old personal Czech name Gorazd, meaning "village of Gorazd's people". The oldest name of Horažďovice was Gorazdějovice.
Geography
Horažďovice is located about east of Klatovy and southeast of Plzeň. It lies on the border between the Blatná Uplands and Bohemian Forest Foothills. The highest point is the hill Svitník at above sea level. The Otava River flows through the town. The territory is rich in ponds.
History
The early history of the territory was influenced by the establishment of the Prácheň gord on the nearby eponymous hill, which became the administrative center of the historical region of Prácheňsko two centuries later. When the stronghold lost its significance, the centre was moved to Horažďovice.
The first written mention of Horažďovice is from 1251. It was a market village located on a trade route from Prague to Bavaria. It was owned by the Bavors of Strakonice, who had a Gothic castle and fortifications built. In 1292, King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia promoted Horažďovice to a town.
After the town became property of Půta Švihovský of Rýzmberk in 1483, the town began to develop rapidly and prosper. He initiated development of administrative centres in the town vicinity such as the castles Rabí, Švihov and Velhartice. At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, a monastery was built behind the walls. In the 16th century, the town's development continued.
After the Battle of White Mountain, the properties of the Švihovský family were confiscated. The prosperity of Horažďovice ended with the Thirty Years' War, when the town was damaged by two large fires and twice looted by the Swedish army. The estate was sold to the Sternberg family in 1622. During their rule, the badly damaged castle was rebuilt and the monastery was enlarged during the Sternbergs rule in the 17th century.
Since the mid-19th century, walls and barbicans have been demolished in the northern part of Horažďovice. The Rummerskirch family owned Horažďovice from 1800 to 1843 and had a significant impact on the town by introducing pearl oysters farming. The collecting of pearls was organised by the gentry and was even attended by the Emperor Francis II. In the last pearl oyster harvest in 1944, 20,000 oysters were opened. After the World War II the pearl oysters farming declined.
The last owners of Horažďovice were the Kinsky family, who bought it in 1843. In the second half of the 19th century, industry, trade and crafts developed, which was mainly influenced by the construction of the railway. The Kinskys founded an English park with many rare specimens of trees and plants on an island in the Otava, today called "Ostrov". They owned Horažďovice until 1945.
Jewish community
A Jewish presence in Horažďovice is believed to have existed from ancient times and the first written reference to the Jewish community is contained in the records of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) which indicate that 10 Jewish families were present in 1618. Archival evidence indicates that a Jewish cemetery existed in 1619. The first synagogue and Jewish school were founded in 1684. Officially banned from guilds, the early Jewish residents were farmers and traders. The earliest Jewish homes were concentrated in an area that is now called Prácheňská Street.
The Jews of Horažďovice were subject to orders and decrees that made life extraordinarily difficult throughout much of their entire history. In the 17th century, the number of Jewish residents in Horažďovice was limited to 10 families, partially in an effort to discourage competition for local tradesmen. Renting homes to Jews was strictly prohibited. In the late 17th century, an edict prohibited the Jews from allowing their cattle to graze with the communal herd. In 1687, Jews were targeted further with special taxes, prohibitions on carrying firearms and an edict requiring Jews to wear a yellow cloth badge.
The most far-reaching restrictions on Horažďovice's Jews were a series of measures known as the Family Laws (Familianten), introduced by Emperor Charles VI in 1726 and designed to limit Jewish population numbers. All marriages between Jews required the State's permission. No Jew under the age of 30 could marry and only the eldest male in each family was permitted to do so.