Město Touškov

Město Touškov (Tuschkau Stadt) is a town in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Administrative parts
The village of Kůští is an administrative part of Město Touškov. It forms an exclave of the municipal territory.

Geography
Město Touškov is located about 9 km northwest of Plzeň. It lies in the Plasy Uplands. The highest point is at 453 m above sea level.

History
The first written mention of Touškov is in a deed of the monastery in Kladruby from 1115. In 1238, it was referred to as a market town. From 1288, it was referred to as a town. During the Hussite Wars, Touškov was destroyed by the army of Jan Žižka and became a village again, but it recovered and from 1472 it was called a market town again. At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, Touškov acquired an urban character. The Gothic cores of houses from this time have been preserved to this day.

In 1543, Touškov was officially promoted to a market town by Emperor Ferdinand I. After the devastation of Touškov during the Thirty Years' War, settlers from Germany were invited to the market town, and a German majority gradually emerged. In the mid-17th century, the Jewish community of 25 people was documented. Two large fires devastated Touškov in 1659 and 1672 and three small fires in 1683, 1688 and 1724, but the market town continued to develop. In the second half of the 19th century, Touškov became a town.

From 1938 to 1945, Město Touškov was annexed by Nazi Germany and administered as part of Reichsgau Sudetenland. All the Jews and most of the Czechs left the town. After World War II, the Germans were expelled and the town was resettled by Czechs.

Transport
The I/20 road from Plzeň to Karlovy Vary (part of the European route E49) runs along the northern municipal border.

Sights
The most important monument is the Church of Saint John the Baptist. It was built in the Baroque style in 1778–1780.

The landmark of Dolní Square is the Holy Trinity Column. It dates from 1723.

Notable people

 * Simon von Lämel (1766–1845), Austrian-Jewish merchant