Hořín

Hořín (Horschin) is a municipality and village in Mělník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,000 inhabitants.

Administrative parts
The villages of Brozánky, Vrbno and Zelčín are administrative parts of Hořín.

Geography
Hořín is located about 1 km west of Mělník and 25 km north of Prague. It lies in a flat landscape in the Central Elbe Table. The municipality is situated at the confluence of the Elbe and Vltava rivers, on the left bank of the Elbe. The Vraňany–Hořín Shipping Channel also flows through the territory.

History
The first written mention of Hořín is from 1319. There used to be a fortress, which was destroyed during the Hussite Wars. From the 16th century, Hořín served as an important economic background for the Mělník estate.

The village of Hořín was badly damaged during the 2002 European floods and has been protected by a flood wall since then.

Transport
The I/16 road, which connects the D8 motorway with Mělník, passes through the municipality.

Sights
The main landmarks of Hořín are the church and the castle. The Church of Saint Nicholas was built in the late Baroque style in second half of the 18th century. It includes a valuable Baroque mortuary.

The Baroque castle in Hořín dates was built for the Czernin family around 1696, then it was rebuilt by František Maxmilián Kaňka in 1713–1720. Another modifications took place in 1736–1746. The interior contains valuable Rococo decoration. Today the castle is owned by the Lobkowicz family, and is abandoned and unused. Next to the castle in an extensive park. On the local cemetery is the burial vault of the Lobkowicz family.

There is a lock from 1905, which is protected as a technical monument.

The historic centre of the village of Vrbno is protected as a village monument zone. There is a set of well-preserved agricultural homesteads. The main landmark of the village is the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, buitl in the Romanesque style.

In Zelčín is a zoopark which claims that it is "the largest contact zoo in Bohemia."

Notable people

 * Jan August Vitásek (1770–1839), composer