Stráž (Tachov District)

Stráž (German: Neustadtl) is a market town in Tachov District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,400 inhabitants.

Stráž
Market town
Church of Saint Wenceslaus at the town square
Flag Coat of arms
Stráž Location in the Czech Republic
Coordinates: 49°40′9″N 12°45′52″E
Country	Czech Republic
Region	Plzeň
District	Tachov
First mentioned	1331
Area
• Total	53.97 km2 (20.84 sq mi)
Elevation	448 m (1,470 ft)
Population  (2025-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,376
• Density	25/km2 (66/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal codes	348 02, 348 06
Website	www.obecstraz.cz

Administrative division

Stráž consists of 11 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):^[2]

• Stráž (791)
• Bernartice (90)
• Bonětice (41)
• Bonětičky (29)
• Borek (37)
• Dehetná (37)
• Jadruž (25)
• Olešná (42)
• Souměř (49)
• Strachovice (57)
• Valcha (5)

Geography

Stráž is located about 17 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of Tachov and 43 km (27 mi) west of Plzeň. It lies in the Upper Palatine Forest Foothills. The highest point is the hill Homole at 579 m (1,900 ft) above sea level. The Úhlavka River flows through the municipality. The territory of Stráž is rich in fishponds.

History

The first written mention of Stráž is from 1331, when it became a market town. Existence of a Jewish community is also documented in 1331. After the Hussite Wars, the area began to be settled by Germans. From the mid-15th century, Stráž was a part of the Přimda estate.^[3]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1869 3,172 —     1880 3,170 −0.1% 1890 3,087 −2.6% 1900 3,009 −2.5% 1910 2,944 −2.2%	Year Pop. ±% 1921 2,800 −4.9% 1930 2,683 −4.2% 1950 1,380 −48.6% 1961 1,305 −5.4% 1970 1,145 −12.3%	Year Pop. ±% 1980 1,019 −11.0% 1991 958 −6.0% 2001 1,070 +11.7% 2011 1,072 +0.2% 2021 1,203 +12.2%
Source: Censuses[4][5]

Transport

Stráž is located on the railway line Tachov–Domažlice.^[6]

Sights

Church of Saint John the Baptist

Church of Saints Peter and Paul

The main landmark of Stráž is the Church of Saint Wenceslaus. It was originally a Romanesque church from the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, rebuilt in all periods: in the Gothic in the second half of the 14th century; in the Renaissance in 1609, when the tower was added; in the Baroque in two stages – 1720–1722 and 1740s; and in 1878, when reconstruction was carried out after the fire in 1876.^[7]

The Church of Saint John the Baptist is a cemetery church located on the western edge of the market town. It was built in the Baroque church in 1734.^[8]

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is located in Bernartice. It is a large Baroque church, built in 1734–1739 on the site of an old Gothic church.^[9]

The Jewish cemetery in Stráž is one of the oldest cemeteries of this kind in Bohemia. The first written mention of the cemetery is from 1450, but it is probably older. The preserved tombstones are from the 17–19th centuries.^[10]

Notable people

• Anton Gag (1859–1908), painter
• Edmund Weil (1879–1922), German bacteriologist