Toužim

Toužim (Theusing) is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as urban monument zone.

Administrative parts
The villages of Bezděkov, Branišov, Dobrá Voda, Dřevohryzy, Kojšovice, Komárov, Kosmová, Lachovice, Luhov, Nežichov, Políkno, Prachomety, Radyně, Smilov and Třebouň are administrative parts of Toužim.

Geography
Toužim is located about 21 km south of Karlovy Vary. It lies in the Teplá Highlands. The highest point is the hill Třebouňský vrch at 825 m above sea level. The Střela River originates in the municipal territory and flows through the town proper.

History
The first written mention of Toužim is in a document from 1354, where there was written about the site of a Premonstratensian provostry. The surrounding fortified town was founded in 1469.

Transport
Toužim is located on the railway line of local importance heading from Rakovník to Bečov nad Teplou.

Sights
The main landmark of the historic centre is the castle complex, formed by two castle buildings, a manorial brewery and fragments of town walls.

The parish deanery Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built after 1488. The original late Gothic church building was damaged by fires and rebuilt in 1738–1742. The northern Gothic tower and the Baroque side chapel of Christ the Sufferer from 1699 have been preserved.

The former town hall on the town square is a Neoclassical-Empire building with a Gothic core. It was rebuilt to its present form after numerous fires. In the middle of the town square is a Marian column from 1705, a fountain from the mid-18th century, and a modern sculpture of King George of Poděbrady, after whom the square is named.

Notable people

 * Francis Erdmann, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1629–1666), German nobleman
 * Josef Antonín Sehling (1710–1756), composer
 * Ignaz Friedrich Tausch (1793–1848), botanist
 * Emil Triner (born 1961), racing driver