Mšecké Žehrovice

Mšecké Žehrovice consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):{{cite web |title=Public Census 2021 – basic data|url=https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/en/index.jsf?page=vystup-objekt-parametry&z=T&f=TABULKA&sp=A&skupId=4690&katalog=33475&pvo=SLD21043-CO|work=Public Database|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|language=cs|date=2022}}

• Mšecké Žehrovice (494)
• Lodenice (132)

The name Žehrovice is derived from the personal name Žehra, meaning "the village of Žehra's people". The attribute Mšecké is derived from Mšec, to which Žehrovice belonged for some time.{{cite book |last=Profous|first=Antonín|title=Místní jména v Čechách IV: S–Ž|url=https://mjc.ujc.cas.cz/search.php|page=822|year=1957|language=cs}}

File:Mšecké Žehrovice, vypuštěný rybník a obec.JPG

Mšecké Žehrovice is located about {{convert|16|km|0}} northeast of Rakovník and {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} northwest of Prague. It lies in the Džbán range. The highest point is the Kopanina hill at {{convert|466|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. The Loděnice River flows through the village of Lodenice and supplies the fishpond Loděnický. The village of Mšecké Žehrovice is surrounded by many small fishponds that are fed by the brooks Žehrovický potok and Novodvorský potok.

Mšecké Žehrovice is located in the Džbán Nature Park. The Louky v oboře Libeň Nature Reserve is situated within the Libeň deer park in the southern part of the municipality. It has an area of {{cvt|9.5|ha}} and is protected because of its rich flora.{{cite web |title=Louky v oboře Libeň|url=https://drusop.nature.cz/ost/chrobjekty/zchru/index.php?SHOW_ONE=1&ID=1221|publisher=Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic|language=cs|access-date=2023-07-19}}

File:Stone sculpture of celtic hero.jpg, discovered in 1943]]

The location of today's Mšecké Žehrovice has been inhabited since the period of the Knovíz culture in the Late Bronze Age, 13–10 centuries BC. Archaeological findings also confirmed the settlement from the late Hallstatt period. The most important finds come from the La Tène culture, including the Mšecké Žehrovice Head, which is a stone head from the 2nd–3rd century BC discovered in 1943.{{cite web |title=Historie|url=https://www.msecke-zehrovice.cz/obec/historie/|publisher=Obec Mšecké Žehrovice|language=cs|access-date=2023-07-19}}

The first written mention of Žehrovice was in 1045, when Duke Bretislav I left part of the village to the Břevnov Monastery. At the beginning of the 13th century, the administrator of the royal portion tried to subdue the subjects of the monastic portion, but they left Žehrovice. In 1224, King Ottokar I of Bohemia granted the monastery a protective privilege for the monastic part of Žehrovice. The deed from 1224 is also the first written mention of the newly established village of Lodenice, founded be the people who left Žehrovice.

In 1361, the Kolowrat family acquired Žehrovice and a branch of the family that called itself Žehrovický of Kolowrat arose here. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Žehrov Fortress stood here, which was the seat of the family. In 1506, Mikuláš Žehrovický of Kolowrat annexed Žehrovice to the Mšec estate and it was renamed Mšecké Žehrovice. Since then, the fortress fell into disrepair, and in 1549 it was described as abandoned. The Kolowrat family owned Žehrovice until the second half of the 16th century.

Until 1622, Mšecké Žehrovice and Lodenice were owned by the Knights of Štampach. After the Battle of White Mountain, their properties were confiscated and Mšecké Žehrovice was bought by the House of Fürstenberg. During the Thirty Years' War, Lodenice was completely destroyed, but was later restored. In 1662, the Fürstenbergs sold the estate to the Schwarzenberg family, who owned it until the establishment of a sovereign municipalities of Mšecké Žehrovice and Lodenice in 1850. In 1976, Lodenice was incorporated into Mšecké Žehrovice.

{{historical populations

|align=none|cols=3

|1869|728

|1880|766

|1890|731

|1900|747

|1910|802

|1921|875

|1930|882

|1950|749

|1961|674

|1970|631

|1980|570

|1991|484

|2001|470

|2011|528

|2021|626

|source=Censuses{{cite web |title=Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011|url=https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/historicky-lexikon-obci-1869-az-2015|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|language=cs|date=2015-12-21}}{{cite web |title=Population Census 2021: Population by sex|url=https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/en/index.jsf?page=vystup-objekt-parametry&z=T&f=TABULKA&sp=A&skupId=4429&katalog=33515&pvo=SLD21001-OB-OK|work=Public Database|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|date=2021-03-27}}}}

File:Mšecké Žehrovice sv. Jan 2.jpg

Mšecké Žehrovice is known for growing hops.

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality. The D6 motorway (part of the European route E48) runs just beyond the southern municipal border.

File:Mšecké Žehrovice rybník 2.jpg

The main landmark of Mšecké Žehrovice is the Church of Saint Martin. It is a small rural Baroque building from 1774.{{cite web |title=Kostel sv. Martina|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/kostel-sv-martina-14611577|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2023-07-19}}

The municipality is known for its archaeological site. The life of the Celts in the area is covered by an educational trail that passes near the site.{{cite web |title=Archeologické naleziště Mšecké Žehrovice|url=https://www.kudyznudy.cz/aktivity/archeologicke-naleziste-msecke-zehrovice|publisher=CzechTourism|language=cs|access-date=2023-07-19}} The area of the Viereckschanze is protected as a cultural monument.{{cite web |title=Čtyřúhelníkové valy Viereckschanze, archeologické stopy|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/ctyruhelnikove-valy-viereckschanze-archeologicke-stopy-14529752|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2023-07-19}}

A landmark is the 400-year-old European beech tree. It is the oldest tree in Rakovník District. It has a trunk circumference of {{cvt|5.30|m}} and a height of {{cvt|14|m}}. It has been protected since 1978. Its crown reaches a diameter of {{cvt|26|m}}.

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Mšecké Žehrovice}}

• {{official|https://www.msecke-zehrovice.cz/}}

{{Rakovník District}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Msecke Zehrovice}}

Category:Villages in Rakovník District