Panenské Břežany | |
|---|---|
 Centre of Panenské Břežany | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Panenské Břežany Location in the Czech Republic | |
| Coordinates:50°12′50″N14°26′25″E / 50.21389°N 14.44028°E /50.21389; 14.44028 | |
| Country |  Czech Republic |
| Region | Central Bohemian |
| District | Prague-East |
| First mentioned | 1233 |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.79 km2 (2.24 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 245 m (804 ft) |
| Population (2025-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 665 |
| • Density | 115/km2 (297/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 250 70 |
| Website | www |
Panenské Břežany (German:Jungfern-Breschan) is a municipality and village inPrague-East District in theCentral Bohemian Region of theCzech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants.
The name Břežany is derived from the wordbřeh ('bank' in Czech, but in old Czech also meaning 'hillside') or from the wordbřezí ('birch forest'). The wordbřežané denoted people who live near a bank, hillside or birch forest, so Břežany was a village of such people. The attributepanenské ("virgin's") referred to the women's convent that owned the village.[2]
Panenské Břežany is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north ofPrague. The western part of the municipality lies in thePrague Plateau, the eastern part lies in theCentral Elbe Table.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1233 as the possession of the BenedictineSt. George's Convent atPrague Castle.[3] The first mention of a fortress in Panenské Břežany is from 1441. In the first half of the 18th century a Baroque palace was built, which came to be called the Horní zámek ('upper castle').[4]
After the secularization of the monastery during reign of EmperorJoseph II, the estate fell to the Virgin Teinitz Religious foundation. Until 1828 the owners changed several times, then it was purchased by Matthias von Riese-Stallburg. Around 1840 he built the Dolní zámek ('lower castle'). His descendants lost the property in 1901 because of indebtedness to the Prague Credit Bank. In 1909 the property was bought byFerdinand Bloch-Bauer, a financially strong Jewish buyer involved in the sugar industry.[4]
Following theNazi occupation after 1939, the Jewish industrialist fled and the estate was confiscated. From 1939 to 1942 the Lower Castle was the residence of theReichsprotektor ofBohemia and Moravia. In the castle complex lived bothKonstantin von Neurath and from 1941 his deputy (Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor), the SS-ObergruppenführerReinhard Heydrich, with their families.[4]
In May 1942, while driving from the mansion to his work inPrague, Heydrich died as a result ofan assassination attempt. After Heydrich's death, his widowLina lived with the children at the castle until 1945. Their ten-year-old son Klaus died in a car accident there in October 1943.
The Horní zámek Castle was occupied byKarl Hermann Frank during World War II.
"In April 1943 Hitler finally decided that the future of the [Heydrich] family must be safeguarded, and by a special Fuehrer-decree he ordered that Heydrich's "beloved schloss Jungfern-Breschan" with all its contents and lands should be handed over to his widow and family in perpetuity. The Fuehrer added that it was his desire that the heirs should always be associated with the property."[5]
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| Source: Censuses[6][7] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheD8 motorway from Prague toÚstí nad Labem passes through the municipality.
The Upper Castle is open to the public. It contains several exhibitions with chapters of Czech history during theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Next to the castle is the Chapel of Saint Anne. This valuable chapel was built by the architectJan Santini Aichel.[8]
The Lower Castle is also a landmark of Panenské Břežany. It is a Neoclassical building with a monumental staircase inArt Deco style. Since 2016, it has been unused and inaccessible to the public.[9]
