| Panenské Břežany | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central Bohemian |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Prague-East |
| Pushpin Map: | Czech Republic |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Czech Republic |
| Coordinates: | 50.2139°N 14.4403°W |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1233 |
| Area Total Km2: | 5.79 |
| Elevation M: | 245 |
| Population As Of: | 2024-01-01 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 660 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 250 70 |
Panenské Břežany (German: Jungfern-Breschan) is a municipality and village in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants.
The name Břežany is derived from the word Czech: břeh ('bank' in Czech, but in old Czech also meaning 'hillside') or from the word Czech: březí ('birch forest'). The word břežané denoted people who live near a bank, hillside or birch forest, so Břežany was a village of such people. The attribute panenské ("virgin's") referred to the women's convent that owned the village.[2]
Panenské Břežany is located about 10km (10miles) north of Prague. The western part of the municipality lies in the Prague Plateau, the eastern part lies in the Central Elbe Table.
The settlement was first mentioned in 1233 as the possession of the Benedictine St. George's Convent at Prague Castle.[3] The first mention of a fortress in Panenské Břežany is from 1441. In the first half of the 18th century a Baroque palace was built, which came to be called the Horní Castle ("Upper Castle").[4]
After the secularization of the monastery during reign of Emperor Joseph II, the estate fell to the Virgin Teinitz Religious foundation. Until 1828 the owners changed several times, then it was purchased by Matthias von Riese-Stallburg. Around 1840 he built the Dolní Castle ("Lower Castle"). His descendants lost the property in 1901 because of indebtedness to the Prague Credit Bank. In 1909 the property was bought by Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a financially strong Jewish buyer involved in the sugar industry.[4]
Following the Nazi occupation after 1939, the Jewish industrialist fled and the estate was confiscated. From 1939 to 1942 the Lower Castle was the residence of the Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia. In the castle complex lived both Konstantin von Neurath and from 1941 his deputy (Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor), the SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, with their families.[4]
In May 1942, while driving from the mansion to his work in Prague, Heydrich died as a result of an assassination attempt. After Heydrich's death, his widow Lina lived with the children at the castle until 1945. Their ten-year-old son Klaus died in a car accident there in October 1943.
The Horní Castle was occupied by Karl Hermann Frank during World War II.
"In April 1943 Hitler finally decided that the future of the [Heydrich] family must be safeguarded, and by a special Fuehrer-decree he ordered that Heydrich's "beloved schloss Jungfern-Breschan" with all its contents and lands should be handed over to his widow and family in perpetuity. The Fuehrer added that it was his desire that the heirs should always be associated with the property."[5]
The D8 motorway from Prague to Ústí nad Labem passes through the municipality.
The Upper Castle is open to the public. It contains several exhibitions with chapters of Czech history during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Next to the castle is the Chapel of Saint Anne. This valuable chapel was built by the architect Jan Santini Aichel.[6]
The Lower Castle is also a landmark of Panenské Břežany. It is a Neoclassical building with a monumental staircase in Art Deco style. Since 2016, it has been unused and inaccessible to the public.[7]