PobÃÂà ¾ovice (until 1918 Ronà ¡perk; ) is a town in Domaà ¾lice District in the Plzeà  Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.
PobÃÂà ¾ovice consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census):
SezemÃÂn and à  ibanov form an exclave of the municipal territory.
The name is derived from the personal name PobÃÂh, meaning "the village of PobÃÂh's people". The old Czech word pobÃÂh, from which the personal name arose, meant 'wanderer', but also 'apostate'. The German name Ronsperg is derived from Ramsberg, meaning 'ram hill' in German.
PobÃÂà ¾ovice is located about northwest of Domaà ¾lice and southwest of Plzeà Â. It lies mostly in the PodÃÂeskoleská Hills, only a small part of the territory in the south and the exclave lie in the Upper Palatine Forest range. The highest point, located in the exclave, is at above sea level; otherwise, the main part of the municipal territory does not exceed . The Pivoà Âka stream flows through the town.
The continuous settlement of the area is documented by archaeological finds from the 11th century. The village of PobÃÂà ¾ovice was probably founded at the beginning of the 14th century. The first written mention of PobÃÂà ¾ovice is from 1359, when a small fortress was built. In 1424, it became a market town.
In 1459, the market town was bought by the lower nobleman Dobrohost of Drà ¡tka by Skoà Âice. At the latest in 1470, he left the fortress and had built a late Gothic solid water castle called Nový Ronà ¡perk ('new Ronà ¡perk'). Since then he was known as Dobrohost of Ronà ¡perk, and PobÃÂà ¾ovice was renamed Ronà ¡perk. In 1490âÂÂ1501 he also had built a new large church, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, where he was later buried. In 1506, Ronà ¡perk became a town.
In 1864, the castle and the estate were bought by the Coudenhove noble family, later known as Coudenhove-Kalergi family.
PobÃÂà ¾ovice is located on the railway line TachovâÂÂDomaà ¾lice and is the starting point of a local line to Staà Âkov.
The PobÃÂà ¾ovice Castle (formerly Ronà ¡perk Castle) is one of two main landmarks of the town. The medieval late Gothic castle from the end of the 15th century was rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1675. The castle park was founded in 1844. In 1863, the castle was completely reconstructed. In the second half of the 20th century, it gradually fell into disrepair again. The castle is permanently closed due to its poor condition, but in 2020 gradual repairs are planned and the aim is to open it to the public. For its value, it has been protected as a national cultural monument since 2024.
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built in the late Gothic style in 1490. It was rebuilt into its current early Baroque form in the third quarter of the 17th century.
PobÃÂà ¾ovice is twinned with: