The Royal town1 of Slaný ( ;  ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, located about 25 km northwest of Prague.

The town is situated in the Slaný Plain (the northwestern part of a geomorphologic whole called the Prague Plain). A creek called Červený potok (Red creek) flows through it from the southwest to the northeast. Its dominant feature is Slaný Hill.

¹ The granting of Royal town (Královské město) status signified important privileges during medieval times.

History

The Chronicle of Václav Hájek records Slaný as having been founded in 750, at the site of a salt spring below Slaný Hill. (Slaný is Czech for "salty".) The Benedictines established a hospital and church in 1136. Wenceslas II chartered the settlement as a town either in 1295 or 1305. The town was captured by the Taborites in 1425, during the Hussite Wars, and remained in their hands until 1434. It also participated in the Bohemia revolt that opened the Thirty Years' War, and suffered greatly after the nearby battle of White Mountain.

Since the middle of the 19th century Czech has been the dominant language there. Industrial development was delayed until around 1860. An important engineering factory was built in 1872 and more followed. A factory producing batteries was founded in 1918. The infrastructure and amenities of a modern city have been gradually added since the second half of the 19th century.

Slaný Today

The villages of Dolín, Želevčice, Lotouš, Blahotice, Netovice, Kvíc, Kvíček, Trpoměchy and Otruby are all administrative parts of Slaný.

The town of Slaný is situated at the crossing of the Prague - Louny, Prague - Karlovy Vary roads. The Prague - Most railway also goes through the town.

Important buildings and tourist sights

• the town hall, symbol of the town (house from 1378, rebuilt after 1896 and in 1840) [112151], [112152]
• The Trinity church, built 1581 - 1602, monastery added 1655 - 1662 [112153], [112154]
• former college of Piarists (built 1658, rebuilt 1877), today museum [112155], [112156]
• St. Gothard's Gothic church (originally from 13th century) [112157], [112158]
• preserved Renaissance house [112159], [112160]
• nearby ruins of Gothic Okoř Castle [112161]
• outdoor museum of army in the village Smečno (shows pre-World War II fortifications)[112162]
• museum of historical cars in the village Hobšovice [112163]
• outdoor museum about mining in the village Vinařice [112164]

Famous People

• Václav Beneš Třebízský (1849 - 1884), priest and novelist, born in Třebíz near Slaný
• Karl Josef Biener from Bienenberg (1731- 1798), archeologist and coin collector
• František Bílek (1885 - 1972), founder of Czech modern livestock breeding
• Ladislav Čepelák (1924 - 2001), painter and graphic artist
• František Duras (1851 - 1931, photographer, director of the museum of Slaný
• Jaroslav Fencl (1913 - ?), graphic artist, lived and worked in Slaný
• Josef František Frič (1804 - 1876) - lawyer, promoted Czech language in the legal area
• Josef Holub (1870 - 1957), painter, born in Slaný
• Eduard Hradec (1918), co-founder of Czech modern urology
• Jindřich Hulinský, historian, archivist, wrote about the city and area history
• Dominik Kynský (1777 - 1848), writer and translator
• Josef Lacina (1850 - 1907), historian, historical writer (pen-name Kolda Malínský), maintained town archive
• Jan Malypetr (1873 - 1947), politician, prime minister of Czechoslovakia, died there
• František Karel Miltner (1797 - 1874), archeologist, coin collector, active in politics around 1848
• Václav Moucha (1933), archeologist, born there
• Josef Matěj Navrátil (1787 - 1869), painter, born there
• Václav Nejtek (1899 - 1958), academic sculptor, several of his statues can be found in the town
• Josef Pacák, professor of organic chemistry at Charles University [112165]
• Martin Přibyl, priest, national revivalist, royal archivist in exile in Berlin
• Karel Scheinpflug (1869 - 1948), writer, entrepreneur
• Olga Scheinpflugová (1902 - 1968), actress and author, born there
• Václav Smetáček (1906 - 1986), composer, conductor
• Miloslav Stiebr, professor at Charles University, lawyer and juridical historian
• Jaroslav Suchý (1926 - 1975), anthropologist
• Rudolf Štech (1858 - 1908), architect, reconstructed town hall
• Václav Štech (1859 - 1947) writer, dramatist, co-founder of the Museum of Slaný
• Václav Vilém Štech (1885 –1974), historian of arts, journalist
• Jan Šultys from Felsdorf (Johann Schulz von Felsdorf), later on mayor of the town of Kutná Hora
• Jiří Tlustý, hockey player, a forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL
• Rudolf Urbánek (1877 - 1962), historian, professor at the University of Brno
• Ferdinand Velc (? - 1920), painter, art historian, journalist
• Daniel Vepřek (1600 - 1657), chronicler of the town, born there
• Karel Alois Vinařický (1803–1869), writer and translator
• Jakub Voráček, hockey player, a forward with the Columbus Bluejackets of the NHL

External links

• English version of the municipal website
• Other municipal website (in Czech)
• Very detailed history of the town (in Czech)
• Museum of Slaný (in Czech)
• Culture life in Slaný (in Czech)
• Slany - travel guide ( basic facts, history, sights, day trips)