The story
The area was inhabited since the Stone Age. Celtic and early Slavic settlements were discovered. The first written mention of Rokycany is in Chronica Boemorum from 1110. At that time, the village was owned by the Bishop of Prague, and major Bohemian and German noblemen met here for diplomatic talks with Emperor Henry V.
At the end of the 13th century, bishop Tobiáš of Bechyně made from the settlement a market town and the episcopal court was replaced by an episcopal castle. In the 14th century, the town fortification was made, of which little has survived to this day. In 1406, Rokycany obtained town privileges. The town was a property of the church until the Hussite Wars. In 1421, the town was conquered by Jan Žižka's army, but later that year it was conquered, burned and looted by Plzeň's Catholics.
In 1436–1498, Rokycany was owned by the Lords of Švamberk and in 1498, it was bought by King Vladislaus II. In 1584, it was promoted by Emperor Rudolf II to a royal town. The prosperity came to an abrupt end with the Thirty Years' War. Rokycany was repeatedly afflicted by various armies, most notably by the Swedish army, which almost completely burned the town. The town was among the most destroyed Bohemian towns. Thanks to the ironworks and woodworking industry, the town began to flourish again. However, two huge fires in 1757 and 1784 deprived the town of its medieval character. Almost everything was destroyed, including municipal buildings, the town hall and the church.
Thanks to favorable economic conditions of the residents, the post-1784 renewal proceeded rather quickly. In the 1840s, it again became one of the most richest Bohemian towns. In the 19th century, the traditional iron-ore mining and processing industry became main source of Rokycany's economy. In 1862, Rokycany was connected via railway with Prague and Plzeň. Industrial development continued for most of the 20th century.
On 7 May 1945, Rokycany was liberated by the United States Army which halted its eastward advance here, meeting with the allied Soviet troops in the eastern part of the town (creating the so-called demarcation line). It was the very first meeting of United States Army and Soviet Army in Czechoslovakia. After 1945, most ethnic Germans were expelled.
In the post-World War II era, the development of the town was carried out in line with the ruling communist regime. The new massive construction activity focused on uniform tenement houses, from the 1960s built with concrete panels (so-called panelák). The local industry was further expanded and the life of the town was strongly influenced by strong army garrison (located in two barracks built in 1899 and 1933 respectively). In 1960, the neighbouring municipality of Borek was merged with Rokycany. In 1980, another three municipalities (Kamenný Újezd, Svojkovice and Litohlavy) joined Rokycany (however the first two have separated in 1990 and Litohlavy in 1994).
From Wikipedia’s article on Rokycany, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4