Kbelany

Kbelany (Wellana) is a municipality and village in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 100 inhabitants.

Etymology
The name was probably derived from the personal name Kbel, or referred to settlers who came from a place called Kbel or Kbely.

Geography
Kbelany is located about 17 km west of Plzeň. It lies in the Plasy Uplands. The highest point is the hill Harabaska at 502 m above sea level.

History
The first written mention of Kbelany is from 1239, when the village was owned by the Kladruby Monastery. The monastery owned Kbelany until its abolition in the second half of the 18th century. During the 19th century, the village expanded considerably. In 1938, the municipality was annexed by Nazi Germany. After World War II, the German-speaking population was expelled.

Transport
The D5 motorway (part of the European route E50) from Plzeň to the Czech-German border in Rozvadov runs along the southern municipal border.

Kbelany is located on the railway line of local importance from Nýřany to Heřmanova Huť. The train station in the municipality is called Přehýšov after the neighbouring municipality of Přehýšov.

Sights
Kbelany is poor in monuments. The only protected cultural monuments are a stone conciliation cross and a border stone, both from the 16th century. A landmark is the Chapel of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, located in the centre of the village.