Discover Zlonice

For travelers interested in local history and culture, Zlonice can be explored through several distinct themes: religious buildings, the history of the Jewish cemetery, Antonín Dvořák and railway collections. The timeline ranges from the town’s first written mention in 1318 to locomotives built between 1912 and 1955. The town’s cultural heritage is therefore not limited to a single period.

History and architecture in Zlonice

The first written mention of Zlonice dates back to 1318, when it was referred to as a village with a church and a fortress. A notable later landmark stands in Pod Lipami Square: the Boží muka shrine dates from 1700. After 1968, it was moved to Zlonice from a site near the pilgrimage Church of St. Isidore in Budenice. Its present location and its former connection with Budenice thus belong to different chapters of its history.

The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built as a Baroque church between 1727 and 1735. It is a High Baroque building with a cruciform floor plan. The construction dates and floor plan offer two concrete points of reference when exploring Zlonice’s religious architecture. Štáf Castle also represents an earlier chapter in the town’s architectural history: around 1560, Václav Valkoun z Adlaru had it extensively remodeled as a family residence. The statue of Zlonický Onufrius may date back to the 17th century; it was restored in 2008.

Antonín Dvořák and other places of remembrance

The Antonín Dvořák Memorial is housed in a Baroque hospital building, which was reconstructed and converted into a memorial in 1954. The exhibition covers the composer’s life and work and includes items from his personal collection. In the neighboring building, Varhaníkovna, an exhibition focuses on Antonín Liehmann, Dvořák’s teacher in Zlonice. Two people connected with Dvořák are thus presented in neighboring locations: the composer himself and his teacher.

Another place of remembrance in Varhaníkovna is dedicated to Eduard Ingriš, who was born in Zlonice. Since 1994, the memorial hall has been located in a former classroom in the building. Together with the exhibition about Liehmann, it offers a different perspective on local history than the buildings themselves: a focus on people connected with Zlonice.

Jewish cemetery and directions

The Jewish cemetery lies about half a kilometer southeast of the square. A turnoff from the road between Zlonice and Beřovice leads to it along a field track; check local path conditions before your visit. The cemetery has been documented in writing since 1703, while the oldest surviving gravestones date from the second half of the 18th century. The written record therefore begins earlier than the oldest surviving stones.

Railway collection and educational trail

The Zlonice Railway Museum focuses in particular on locomotives from sugar factories and the narrow-gauge railways of brickworks. Its collection comprises around 200 exhibits and collection items, including six sugar factory locomotives dating from 1912 to 1955. This specific focus connects industrial history with railway technology; the locomotives’ dates provide a time frame.

The educational trail covers local history and geography as well as nature, landscapes and natural monuments. Its thematic perspective complements the buildings and collections with landscape-related topics, without focusing on any one period.

The schedule published from March 2023 for the Antonín Dvořák Memorial listed visiting hours on Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. and on the first Saturday of the month from 1 to 5 p.m. Check before your visit whether these hours apply to your date.

Discover more destinations: Uhy, Stochov, Pletený Újezd, Líský, Dřetovice, Drnek, Běleč na Křivoklátsku, Hobšovice

For the broader travel overview: Kladno District.