Beroun

Beroun (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbɛroun]; German: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former part of Beroun. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.

Beroun consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):

Beroun is located about 26 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Prague. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers, in the valley of the rivers. The Loděnice River flows through Beroun-Hostim in the easternmost part of the municipal territory and then joins the Berounka just outside the territory of Beroun.

The surrounding landscape is hilly. The southern part of the municipal territory, including the built-up area, lies in the Hořovice Uplands. The northern part lies in the Křivoklát Highlands. The highest point is the Děd hill at 493 m (1,617 ft) above sea level. The lowest point is the river basin of the Berounka, at 212 m (696 ft).

The settlement Na Brodě ("By the Ford"), which was the predecessor of Beroun, was first mentioned in a 1088 deed. The first written mention of Beroun (under its Latin name Verona) is in a deed of King Ottokar II from 1265. Ottokar II designated a strategically important place for the establishment of a settlement, from which the town of Beroun originated, that formed the shortest and easiest connection between Prague and Plzeň.

In 1295, King Wenceslaus II decided to re-settle and expand the town. At this time, the historic core of Beroun was created, which has been roughly preserved to this day. A Dominican convent was also founded. In 1303, Wenceslaus II made Beroun a royal town.

During the reign of Emperor Charles IV, the town prospered and rapidly developed. In 1421, Hussite forces under the command of Jan Žižka stormed the town and demolished the Dominican convent, and though it was retaken and devastated after the Battle of Lipany, it has remained a mainly Czech settled town since then. During the reign of King Vladislaus II (1471–1516), Beroun reached its greatest prosperity.

Under the rule of the House of Habsburg from 1526, the town's estates were seized. During the Thirty Years' War it was sacked in turn by the Imperial army, Saxon forces, and Swedish forces. In the First Silesian War the same fate befell it at the hands of French and Bavarian troops.