Svinařov

The village of Svinařov is situated in a picturesque valley surrounded by forested slopes, fields and meadows. Approximately 667 people live there (2007). It is about 30 kilometres (20 mi) from 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...

. Other towns close to Svinařov are Libušín

Libušín

Libušín is a town in the Czech Republic.-External links:*...

, 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...

, Smečno

Smecno

Smečno is a small town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 1,800 inhabitants.-External links:*...

 and Slaný

Slaný

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 part of the Prague metropolitan area....

. The village is connected with the nearby towns and villages by bus. Svinařov has its own association football team and a team of firemen volunteers. Next to the cemetery, we can find a little 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,...

 with a precious statue of St. Mary and Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 from 17th century.

History

The village of Svinařov has very long and rich history. The first official mention dates back to 1328 when the village was sold by Bořita z Ředhoště to the Vyšehrad

Vyšehrad

Vyšehrad is a castle located in the city of Prague, Czech Republic. It was probably built in the 10th century, on a hill over the Vltava River...

 canon. So it belonged to the Vyšehrad chapter house. It is probable that there was some kind of settlement much earlier thanks to an archaeological research carried out in a nearby town of Libušín which proved that the area was inhabited in the 6th–7th centuries. The existence of Svinařov was closely connected with the fort of Libušín. As the name suggests (Svinařov in Czech language can mean that there were either swine or vineyards), Svinařov served as a supplier of agricultural products to the fort.

There was a stronghold built around the year 1330. The owner of Svinařov, Vyšehrad chapter house, used to hire out the Svinařov to different tenants till the reign of Wenceslas IV of Bohemia, when the village was sold. Some years later it became a part of property of the Smečno’s noble family of Martinic and it remained so until 19th century. The family of Martinic gradually became one of the richest and most powerful noble families in the Czech kingdom. In 1885, Svinařov settlement officially became a village.

Most people there earned their living in agriculture, but everything changed in the second half of 19th century with the discovery of coal in the region. Many people from all around the country started to move in and the village started to expand. Most people were therefore employed in the coal industry until the mines closed down in 2002.