Blevice
Encyclopedia
Blevice (ˈblɛvɪtsɛ) is a village and municipality in the Central Bohemian Region
of the Czech Republic
. It is located about 20 km northwest of Prague
, 12 km northeast of Kladno
and 6 km southwest of Kralupy nad Vltavou
. The population as of December 31, 2006 was 283.
which is quite a high ratio in comparison with most villages which are surrounded by open fields.
Blevice was first mentioned in 1282, but the location has been inhabited a long time before that. As a group of 7 or 8 (today barely noticeable) prehistoric burial barrows
in the wood southeast of the villages testifies. They were archaeologically
explored in the 19th century. No definite opinion of the age of the barrows can be stated. Estimates vary from late Bronze Age
(second half of 2nd millennium BC
) to Slavic
period of early Middle Ages
(second half of 1st millennium AD
).
. the population was 282, which is almost exclusively Czechs with two people declaring themselves to be of Ukrainian
and Vietnamese
ethnicity. 82% of population was without religion
, 8% belonged to Roman Catholic Church
, 2% to other religious groups, 9% gave no response. With no significant employment opportunities in the village, over 90% of economically active population commute
to neighbouring towns. The bus
service to Kladno
and Kralupy nad Vltavou
operates on working days only. The same connection by train
from Zákolany station (2.5 km by road from Blevice) is available every day.
Blevice has a Jewish cemetery
located in the southern (upper) end of the village, beside the Zákolany
road. Within an enclosure of about 2,400 m² there are about 300 preserved tombstones dating from early 18th century until the Holocaust. The neighbouring gravedigger
's house from 1880s is well preserved and today serves as a private residence. Only a small number of Jewish families lived in Blevice proper in the 19th century, the cemetery was used mainly by Jews from the nearby town of Velvary
and the village of Ješín. There are no longer any Jews in Blevice.
In the centre of the village there is a small chapel
dating from 1746 which has a memorial plaque on its side wall which lists the local victims of World War I
.
The first public performance of Czech violin
virtuoso
Jan Kubelík
was held in Blevice in 1891.
Central Bohemian Region
Central Bohemian Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative center is placed in the Czech capital Prague , which lies in the center of the region...
of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It is located about 20 km northwest of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, 12 km northeast of Kladno
Kladno
Kladno is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 25 km northwest of Prague. Kladno is the largest city of the region and holds a population together with its adjacent suburban areas of more than 110,000 people...
and 6 km southwest of Kralupy nad Vltavou
Kralupy nad Vltavou
Kralupy nad Vltavou is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. The city lies on the Vltava River some north of Prague, the capital of both the Czech Republic and the Central Bohemian Region...
. The population as of December 31, 2006 was 283.
The village
The village is located away from all major roads at the end of a small valley, whose slopes are partially covered by forest. The forest covers 1/6 of the cadastral areaCadastre
A cadastre , using a cadastral survey or cadastral map, is a comprehensive register of the metes-and-bounds real property of a country...
which is quite a high ratio in comparison with most villages which are surrounded by open fields.
Blevice was first mentioned in 1282, but the location has been inhabited a long time before that. As a group of 7 or 8 (today barely noticeable) prehistoric burial barrows
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
in the wood southeast of the villages testifies. They were archaeologically
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
explored in the 19th century. No definite opinion of the age of the barrows can be stated. Estimates vary from late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
(second half of 2nd millennium BC
2nd millennium BC
The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age.Its first half is dominated by the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Babylonia. The alphabet develops. Indo-Iranian migration onto the Iranian plateau and onto the Indian subcontinent propagates the use of the chariot...
) to Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
period of early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
(second half of 1st millennium AD
1st millennium
File:1st millennium montage.png|From left, clockwise: Depiction of Jesus, the central figure in Christianity; The Colosseum, a landmark of the once Roman Empire; Gunpowder is invented during the latter part of the millennium, in China; Chess, a new board game, takes on popularity across the globe;...
).
Population
According to the 2001 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
. the population was 282, which is almost exclusively Czechs with two people declaring themselves to be of Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
ethnicity. 82% of population was without religion
Irreligion
Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...
, 8% belonged to Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, 2% to other religious groups, 9% gave no response. With no significant employment opportunities in the village, over 90% of economically active population commute
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
to neighbouring towns. The bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
service to Kladno
Kladno
Kladno is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 25 km northwest of Prague. Kladno is the largest city of the region and holds a population together with its adjacent suburban areas of more than 110,000 people...
and Kralupy nad Vltavou
Kralupy nad Vltavou
Kralupy nad Vltavou is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. The city lies on the Vltava River some north of Prague, the capital of both the Czech Republic and the Central Bohemian Region...
operates on working days only. The same connection by train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
from Zákolany station (2.5 km by road from Blevice) is available every day.
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....
located in the southern (upper) end of the village, beside the Zákolany
Zákolany
Zákolany is a village in the Czech Republic.-External links:*...
road. Within an enclosure of about 2,400 m² there are about 300 preserved tombstones dating from early 18th century until the Holocaust. The neighbouring gravedigger
Gravedigger
A gravedigger is a cemetery worker responsible for digging graves used in the process of burial.-Fossors:Fossor or Fossarius , from the Latin verb fodere 'to dig', referred to grave diggers in the Roman catacombs in the first three centuries of the Christian Era...
's house from 1880s is well preserved and today serves as a private residence. Only a small number of Jewish families lived in Blevice proper in the 19th century, the cemetery was used mainly by Jews from the nearby town of Velvary
Velvary
Velvary is a small town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 25 km northwest of Prague and has a population of 2,936...
and the village of Ješín. There are no longer any Jews in Blevice.
In the centre of the village there is a small chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
dating from 1746 which has a memorial plaque on its side wall which lists the local victims of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The first public performance of Czech violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
Jan Kubelík
Jan Kubelík
Jan Kubelík was a Czech violinist and composer.-Biography:He was born in Michle . His father, a gardener by occupation, was an amateur violinist. He taught his two sons the violin and after discovering the talent of Jan, who was aged five at the time, arranged for him to study with Karel Weber and...
was held in Blevice in 1891.
| Blevice between 1869 and 2001 | ||||||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||||
| 1869 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1921 | 1930 | 1950 | 1961 | 1970 | 1980 | 1991 | 2001 |
| 342 | 398 | 436 | 453 | 478 | 488 | 480 | 419 | 349 | 356 | 316 | 281 | 282 |
| Houses | ||||||||||||
| 1869 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1921 | 1930 | 1950 | 1961 | 1970 | 1980 | 1991 | 2001 |
| 44 | 45 | 52 | 59 | 64 | 82 | 101 | 114 | 96 | 96 | 94 | 106 | 106 |