Our Town – Rakovník

Rakovník is a small district town situated about 55 km west of Prague. There are about 17 000 people in Rakovník. It is historical town – about thousand years ago it was a Slav settlement and later it became a market village. In the 16th century Rudolf II gave some priviliges  and it became a royal town.

There is an old legend about the origin of the town. A poor woman- a widow – wanted to poison herself and her children, because they were hungry and very poor and their life was very difficult. At that time people believed that crayfish were poisonous. So she caught some of them and prepared them for dinner. But nothing happened, everybody felt all right, and so they never were hungry. And so became the town name Rakovník and  a crayfish in our town emblem.

The most beautiful part of the town is the square of Mister Jan Hus. The Hus square is one of the 1argest and the most beautiful squares in Bohemia – it is 400 metres long and 50 metres wide. Thera are many shops, banks, resataurants, post office and other offices in the square.

Very beautiful building  in the  square is  the Town  Hall – it is from 16th century, and it was rebuilt  several times. On the east side of the  square there is  a Column af  Our Lady with  four patron (Wenceslas,  Adalbert,  Procope  and  Vitus).

There is the Church of St. Bartholomew it is built in Late Gothic style. First it was a Romanesque church, later it burnt down and then was rebuilt again with the help of Charles IV. During the Hussite wars it was pulled down and in the 16th century rebuilt again – in Late Gothic style. There is a remarkable Late Gothic pulpit inside – it was made in 1504 from one piece of sandstone. The altar is from the 18th century but the original one (from the 15th century) can be seen in the castle of Křivoklát.

Next to the church there is a belfry from 15th century. Thera are two bells inside – they are called Václav and Žebrak (Beggar).

Behind the belfry there is the building of the oldest Grammar School in Bohemia – The name is Gymnázium Zikmunda Wintra. This Czech writer taught here in 19 century so the school was named after him.

Behind the church we can find the District museum and the Prague Gate – it was built in l6 th century. There are many various exhibitions during the year.

There is one more gate in Rakovnik – it is called High Gate. This gate was also built in Gothic style and it has 46m high tower. You can see all the town from the top of the gate. There is exhibition of photos of old Rakovnik too.

If  you are really interested  in  history  you can visit Jewish Synagogue – there is Rabas Gallery with many works by Václav Rabas – the Czech painter.

Rakovník is also the centre of industry. People work in Rakona, now it is called Procter and Gamble. This factory was founded at the beginning of this century – its owner was Mr Otto. Now there are Americans and they have changed it into a very modern factory. It produces laundry detergents, dishwashing liquids, various household cleaners and powders for washing, fabric softeners.

Another well-known factory is Samotka. It produces floor and wall tiles. The tiles are exported into the whole of Europe.

Other factories are Valeo, Brano or Eberspächer.

In the centre of our town there is a brewery. It started to brew 500 hundred years ago. It was closed several years ago and now it is again producing beer.

In Rakovnik there are some schools too – there are nursery schools, kindergartens, three basic schools, several secondary schools – Grammar School, the Secondary School of Economics, Agriculture School or the Secondary Technical School and a school for mentally handicaped children..

If you like sport – you can play tennis, football, you can go to the swimming pool in winter and in summer too, to the ice-rink and to the gym. You can jog, ride bicycles, go for a walk or hike round the district – there are beautiful woods near our town.

People who like culture can go to the theatre or to the puppet theatre with their children, they can visit some exhibitions or go to the cinema – there are two cinemas in Rakovník – open air cinema and cinema in Tylovo theatre.