The villages of Doubrava and Kamenný Újezd are administrative parts of Nýřany.
Etymology
The name Nýřany referred to the settlement of nyrs. The word nyr denoted a person living in a burrow, lair or den of an animal.[2]
Geography
Nýřany is located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) west of Plzeň. It lies in the Plasy Uplands. The highest point is the flat hill Dobrák at 456 m (1,496 ft) above sea level. The stream of Vejprnický potok flows through the town.
History
The first written mention of Nýřany is from 1272. The village was promoted to a town by Emperor Franz Joseph I on 29 January 1892.[3]
The village of Kamenný Újezd was first mentioned in 1215[4] and Doubrava in 1556.[5]
Around 1830, bituminous coal deposits were discovered. The start of mining meant the rapid development of the village, and new people arrived. The peak of mining was in 1880, when 9,300 people was employed in about 40 mines. The mining ended in 1995.[6] Those mines sometimes yielded valuable well-preserved fossils of early amphibians.[7]
During World War II, Nýřany was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. Near the end of the war one transport of death was surprised by an airstrike and about hundred of prisoners managed to escape. They were chased by SS-Guards and local Germans and either killed on the spot or executed at the place called Humboldtka.[8][9]
The D5 motorway from Plzeň to the Czech-German border in Rozvadov passes through the southern part of the municipal territory.
Nýřany is located on the railway line Plzeň–Domažlice. Local railway line that leads to Heřmanova Huť starts here.[12]
Sights
Church of Saint Procopius
The most important monument is the Church of Saint Procopius in the middle of the town square. It was built in the pseudo-Gothic style in 1903–1904.[13]
The Neo-Renaissance town hall was built in 1885–1886. It was built before Nýřany became a town. Until the church was built, the building was also used for religious services. The Monument of Shot Miners stands in front of the town hall. It commemorates an incident when 13 miners were shot during the 1890 strike.[14]
The Chapel of Saint Wenceslaus was built in the 18th century on the site of a former chapel from 1595.[14]
