Rokycany (; ) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Klabava River in the Švihov Highlands. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.
Administrative division
Rokycany consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
- Nové Město (8,387)
- Plzeňské předměstí (3,359)
- Střed (1,565)
- Borek (447)
Etymology
The term rokycan denoted a person who lives near willows (rokyty in old Czech). The name Rokycany denoted a village of such people.
Geography
thumb|Klabava Reservoir
Rokycany is located about east of Plzeň. It lies in the Švihov Highlands. The highest point is the Čilina hill at above sea level.
Rokycany is situated at the confluence of the Klabava River and the stream Holoubkovský potok. There is another stream (Rakovský potok) which flows through the western part of the town. The largest body of water is Klabava Reservoir with an area of . Today it serves as flood protection and as a recreational area. The second notable body of water is the fishpond Borecký rybník.
History
thumb|Fragments of the fortifications
thumb|300px|Panorama of Rokycany
The area was inhabited since the Stone Age. Celtic and early Slavic settlements were discovered. The first written mention of Rokycany is in Chronica Boemorum from 1110. At that time, the village was owned by the Bishop of Prague, and major Bohemian and German noblemen met here for diplomatic talks with Emperor Henry V.
At the end of the 13th century, bishop Tobiáš of Bechyně made from the settlement a market town and the episcopal court was replaced by an episcopal castle. In the 14th century, the town fortification was made, of which little has survived to this day. In 1406, Rokycany obtained town privileges. The town was a property of the church until the Hussite Wars. In 1421, the town was conquered by Jan Žižka's army, but later that year it was conquered, burned and looted by Plzeň's Catholics.
Demographics
Economy
The largest employer with headquarters in the town is a branch of Hutchinson SA. It is engaged in the production of rubber products.
Transport
thumb|Town hall and the Marian column
thumb|Church of Our Lady of the Snows and Dumet's House (right)
The D5 motorway runs through the northern part of the municipal territory.
Rokycany is located on the railway line Prague–Klatovy via Plzeň.
Culture
Rokycany hosts Fluff Fest, a vegan hardcore punk festival which draws several thousand visitors from across Europe every July. It is held at the Rokycany airfield, having moved there in 2006 from its original location in Plzeň. The festival has been described as a yearly "strain" on the town, which is otherwise unaccustomed to large numbers of foreign visitors and extreme music adherents, and brings a business boom especially in sales of vegetarian and vegan food.
Sights
The square Masarykovo náměstí is in the historic core of Rokycany and contains most of town's cultural monuments. The town hall is a Baroque building by the architect Ignác Jan Nepomuk Palliardi, built in 1804–1808. The stone Baroque fountain from 1827 stands in front of the so-called "Rokycan's House of Enlightenment". In the mid-19th century, this Neo-Renaissance building and the town hall were two only two-storey houses in the square.
The Church of Our Lady of the Snows is located in the northeastern part of the square. It stands on the place of the episcopal court, mentioned already in 1110.
The Dumet's House next to the church was first mentioned in 1512, however it probably exists much longer. In 1784–1787, it served as a school, but it burned down. Nowadays it has a Rococo façade with stucco decorations.
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