Průhonice

Průhonice is a municipality and village in Prague-West District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is known for Průhonice Park, which has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Administrative parts
The village of Rozkoš is an administrative part of Průhonice.

Geography
Průhonice is located about 4 km southeast of Prague. It lies in a flat landscape in the Prague Plateau. The Botič River flows through the municipality. The municipal territory is rich in small fishponds.

History
The first written mention of Průhonice is from 1187, when the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was consecrated. The first documented owners of the village are from the 1270s, when it was the property of a family that called itself the Lords of Průhonice. In the 14th century, Průhonice was owned by the Lords of Říčany. In the 16th century, Průhonice was owned by the Zapský of Zápy family. They had rebuilt the local castle into a Renaissance aristocratic residence.

The estate flourished in the 18th century, when it was owned by the Desfours family. In the 19th, Průhonice was the property of the Nostitz-Rieneck family. Johann Nepomuk von Nostitz-Rieneck has completely rebuilt the Průhonice Castle in the Neoclassical style.

Transport
The D1 motorway from Prague to Brno passes through Průhonice. On 1 January 2023, the 5.2 km long section of the D1 motorway from Prague to Průhonice was reclassified to a first class road.

Sights
Průhonice Castle Park is one of the most significant castle parks in the Czech Republic. Since 2010, it has been protected as a national cultural monument. Later in 2010, it also has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites (as part of Historic Centre of Prague). It is described as "original masterpiece of garden landscape architecture of worldwide importance". It has area of 250 ha, out of which 211.42 ha is UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was founded in 1885 by Count Arnošt Emanuel Silva Tarouca.

The Romanesque Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is located in the park. It is the oldest preserved building in the municipality.

The Dendrological Garden was founded in the 1970s. It has an area of 73 ha. There are about 5,000 taxa of woody plants and perennials, which makes it one of the largest collections of ornamental plants in the country.

Notable people

 * Andrej Babiš (born 1954), politician and businessman; lives here