Lány (Kladno District)

Lány is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants. Lány is known for the Lány Castle.

Lány
Municipality
Lány Castle
Flag
Coat of arms
Lány
Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 50°7′23″N 13°57′2″E
Country Czech Republic
RegionCentral Bohemian
DistrictKladno
First mention1392
Government
 • MayorKarel Sklenička
Area
 • Total33.97 km2 (13.12 sq mi)
Elevation
421 m (1,381 ft)
Population
 (2021-01-01)[1]
 • Total2,291
 • Density67/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
270 61
Websitewww.obec-lany.cz

Administrative parts

The village of Vašírov is an administrative part of Lány.

Etymology

The word 'lány means in Czech "fields" or "tracts (of land)".

Geography

Lány lies about 35 km (22 mi) west of Prague. Most of the municipality is located in the Křivoklátsko Protected Landscape Area.

History

The first written mention of Lány is from 1392.[2]

Until 1918, the municipality was part of the Austrian monarchy (Austria side after the compromise of 1867), in the Schlan (Slaný) district, one of the 94 Bezirkshauptmannschaften (district office) in Bohemia.[3]

The second oldest horse-drawn iron wagonway in continental Europe operated between Prague and Lány (originally planned to reach Plzeň) from 1830 until 1869. Its final station was in present-day forester's lodge of Píně.

Transport

The closest train station is Stochov (formerly Lány) about 3 km (2 mi) away.

Sights

Its major landmark is Lány Castle, serving as a summer residence of Czechoslovak and later Czech presidents. There is also a sports car museum and Museum of T. G. Masaryk, the first President of Czechoslovakia.

Lány Castle

In the 16th century, a Renaissance fortress was built in Lány. In 1592, the fortress was rebuilt into a hunting castle. It changed owners many times and underwent a major reconstruction in 1902–1903. In 1921, it was purchased by the Czechoslovak state and designated as an official summer presidential residence. Slovene architect Jože Plečnik was commissioned to make improvements both to the castle and the adjacent park. T. G. Masaryk liked the castle and was allowed to stay there after his abdication in 1935 until his death in 1937. From 1921 served as his favourable summer residence.[4] During World War II, the castle was a residence of Emil Hácha, an increasingly ill and incapacitated President of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

The castle was used only rarely during the Communist era. Many valuable artefacts, especially those designed by Jože Plečnik, were discarded during the tenure of Gustáv Husák. Only after the Velvet Revolution did the new President Václav Havel start to come to the castle regularly. Since then, it has been a place of many official sessions between the president and other top politicians.

The castle itself is closed to the public. The castle park is partially accessible.

Notable people
  • Horse stable
  • Castle entry
  • Church
  • Grave of the Masaryk family
  • MTX Tatra V8 in Sports car museum

References
  1. "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2021". Czech Statistical Office. 2021-04-30.
  2. "Obec Lány" (in Czech). Obec Lány. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  3. Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890, Wilhelm Klein, 1967
  4. Vratislav Preclík: MDH uctilo památku Prezidenta Osvoboditele, in Čas: časopis Masarykova demokratického hnutí, July–September 2015, year XXIII. No. 111. ISSN 1210-1648, pp. 16–17
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