Tachov

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Tachov
Town
The main square
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Pilsen
Little District	Tachov
Municipal parts	8 - Bíletín - Malý Rapotín - Mýto - Oldřichov - Světce - Tachov - Velký Rapotín - Vítkov
Area	40.85 km² (15.77 mi²)
Center	Náměstí Republiky
- coordinates	49°47′43″N, 12°37′59″E
- elevation	483 m (1,585 ft)
Population	13,017 (2006)
Density	319 /km² (826 /mi²)
First record	1115

Website : www.tachov-mesto.cz

Tachov
Municipality with Extended Competence
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Pilsen
Parts	3 - Bor - Planá u Mariánských Lázní - Tachov
Area	947.92 km² (365.99 mi²)
Population	35,140 (2005-31-12)
Density	37 /km² (96 /mi²)

Tachov
Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Pilsen
Little District	Tachov
Municipalities	12 - Ctiboř - Částkov - Dlouhý Újezd - Halže - Hošťka - Lesná - Lom u Tachova - Milíře - Obora - Studánka - Tachov - Tisová
Area	293.11 km² (113.17 mi²)
Population	16,962 (2005-12-31)
Density	58 /km² (150 /mi²)

Tachov (IPA: [ˈtaxof]; German: Tachau) is a town in the Pilsen Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the Mže River, some 55 km (34 mi) to the west from the region capital of Pilsen.

Tachov is also the seat of the Municipality with Extended Competence and the Municipality with Commissioned Local Authority.

[edit] History

Tachov - city walls

The area was inhabited by humans around 8,000-6,000 BCE. The first written document mentioning Tachov comes from 1115. A period of ravishing boom came over the place under Premysl Otakar II who had a new castle with a mighty round tower built of stone here. He also founded a town surrounded with walls near the castle. During the Hussite wars the city was several times besieged and conquered. The Thirty Years' War damaged the city considerably. In 1664, Jan A. Losy became new proprietor and his descendants passed the title to the Windisch-Grätz Family in 1784. The Losys started a conversion of the medieval castle to a large baroque château. The Windisch-Grätzs, in their turn, made large investments to rebuild the house in the classical style.

In 1945 most German-speaking inhabitants, the majority in the city, were expelled.

After the war, during the Russian occupation, the area was only partly repopulated. Not only by Czechs and Slovaks, but also by people from Romania, Ukraine etc. Later on uranium was found here and many adventureres moved to the area to work in the mines.

The mines were closed when the Russians left. After the "velvet revolution" (1989), German companies started to operate factories to make use of the cheap labour. However, Tachov area is still among the economically least developed Czech regions.