View source for Blovice

{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Blovice
| other_name              = 
| settlement_type         = [[Obec|Town]]
<!-- images -->
| image_skyline           = Blovice 04.JPG
| image_caption           = Town hall
| image_flag              = Blovice CZ flag.jpg
| image_shield            = Blovice znak.png
<!-- location -->
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = {{CZE}}
| subdivision_type1       = [[Regions of the Czech Republic|Region]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Plzeň Region|Plzeň]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[Districts of the Czech Republic|District]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Plzeň-South District|Plzeň-South]]
<!-- maps and coordinates -->
| image_map               = 
| map_caption             = 
| pushpin_map             = Czech Republic
| pushpin_relief          = 1
| pushpin_map_caption     = Location in the Czech Republic
| coordinates             = {{coord|49|35|7|N|13|32|14|E|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
<!-- government type, leaders -->
| leader_title            = Mayor
| leader_name             = Robert Zelenka
<!-- established -->
| established_title       = First mentioned
| established_date        = 1284
<!-- area -->
| area_footnotes          = 
| area_total_km2          = 28.96
<!-- elevation -->
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| elevation_m             = 387
<!-- population -->
| population_as_of        = 2025-01-01
| population_footnotes    = <ref>{{cite web|title=Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2025|url=https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/population-of-municipalities-t4l3n8d2iw|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|date=2025-05-16}}</ref>
| population_total        = 4207
| population_density_km2  = auto
<!-- time zone(s) -->
| timezone1               = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1             = +1
| timezone1_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +2
<!-- postal codes, area code -->
| postal_code_type        = Postal code
| postal_code             = 336 01
| area_code_type          = 
| area_code               = 
<!-- website, footnotes -->
| website                 = {{URL|https://www.blovice-mesto.cz/}}
| footnotes               = 
}}
'''Blovice''' ({{IPA|cs|ˈblovɪtsɛ}}; {{langx|de|Blowitz}}) is a town in [[Plzeň-South District]] in the [[Plzeň Region]] of the [[Czech Republic]]. It has about 4,200 inhabitants.

==Administrative division==
Blovice consists of nine municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):<ref>{{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}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
*Blovice (3,035)
*Bohušov (41)
*Hradiště (376)
*Hradišťská Lhotka (49)
*Hradišťský Újezd (41)
*Komorno (80)
*Stará Huť (19)
*Štítov (98)
*Vlčice (260)
{{div col end}}

==Geography==
[[File:Kostel Blovice.JPG|thumb|160px|Church of Saint John the Evangelist]]
Blovice is located about {{convert|20|km}} southeast of [[Plzeň]]. It lies in the [[Švihov Highlands]]. The highest point is a hill with an altitude of {{convert|559|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The [[Úslava]] River flows through the town.

There are several fishponds in the territory, the largest of which is Huťský rybník with an area of {{convert|8.8|ha|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historie rybníku Huťský|url=https://mocrszdirec.estranky.cz/clanky/historie/historie-rybniku-hutsky/|publisher=ČRS z.s. MO Ždírec|language=cs|access-date=2022-11-23}}</ref>

==History==
The first written mention of Blovice is from 1284, when it was a market village owned by the [[Klášter|Pomuk monastery]]. At the end of the 14th century, Blovice was first referred to as a [[Městys|market town]]. During the 15th and 16th centuries, Blovice prospered and acquired various rights.<ref name=history>{{cite web |title=Historie a památky|url=https://www.blovice-mesto.cz/mesto/historie-a-pamatky/|publisher=Město Blovice|language=cs|access-date=2022-11-23}}</ref>

Owners of Blovice often changed. The most notable owners were the [[Kolowrat-Krakowsky]] family, who purchased the estate in the late 17th century and held it until 1872. In the 18th century, Blovice was promoted to a town. In 1865–1868, the railway Plzeň–[[České Budějovice]] was built via the town and the character of the town began to change. From 1872 to 1918, the town was property of the Hungarian [[Pálffy ab Erdöd]] family.<ref name=history/>

==Demographics==
{{historical populations
|align=none|cols=3
|1869|3254
|1880|3469
|1890|3273
|1900|3222
|1910|3249
|1921|3317
|1930|3818
|1950|3576
|1961|3696
|1970|3751
|1980|3732
|1991|3591
|2001|3868
|2011|4177
|2021|3999
|source=Censuses<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>}}

==Economy==
The largest employer based in the town is ProMinent Systems, manufacturer of dosing systems and plastic tanks with more than 300 employers.<ref>{{cite web |title=O nás|url=https://prominentsystems.cz/o-nas/|publisher=ProMinent|language=cs|access-date=2022-11-23}}</ref>

==Transport==
Blovice is located on the railway line Plzeň–[[Horažďovice]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Detail stanice Blovice|url=https://www.cd.cz/stanice/blovice/5473955|publisher=[[České dráhy]]|language=cs|access-date=2024-07-08}}</ref>

==Sights==
[[File:Blovice (4).jpg|thumb|Hradiště Castle]]
[[File:Hrbirtov 2.JPG|thumb|Jewish cemetery]]
The Church of Saint John the Evangelist was built in the Baroque style in 1760–1767. Next to the church is the Chapel of the Holy Cross with the tomb of the Kolowrat-Krakowsky and Pálffy families, which was rebuilt in 1833 from the original older building.<ref name=history/>

The main landmark of the town square is the town hall from 1825. In 1893, it was reconstructed in the pseudo-Gothic style. In front of the town hall is a sandstone statue of St. John of Nepomuk from 1702.<ref name=history/>

Hradiště Castle was built on the site of a former fortress in the 16th century, then baroque rebuilt in 1704 and 1726, and finally rebuilt in the pseudo-Gothic style in 1872–1874. Today it houses the Museum of Southern Plzeň Region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Zámek Hradiště|url=https://www.muzeum-blovice.cz/navstivte-nas/zamek-hradiste/|publisher=Museum of Southern Plzeň Region|language=cs|access-date=2022-11-23}}</ref>

The Jewish cemetery is a remnant of the Jewish community that existed in Blovice. It was allegedly founded in 1683. The cemetery has an area of {{cvt|1433|sqm|abbr=on}}. Approximately 350 Baroque and Neoclassical tombstones have been preserved.<ref name=history/>

==Notable people==
*[[Henri Blowitz]] (1825–1903), journalist
*[[Adolf Kraus]] (1850–1928), American lawyer
*[[Luděk Beneš]] (1937–2016), slalom canoer

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic}}
Blovice is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partnerská města|url=https://www.blovice-mesto.cz/mesto/partnerska-mesta/|publisher=Město Blovice|language=cs|access-date=2022-11-23}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Teublitz]], Germany
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Triptis]], Germany

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Blovice}}
*{{official|https://www.blovice-mesto.cz/}}

{{Plzeň-South District}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places in Plzeň-South District]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Jewish communities in the Czech Republic]]