Bratkovice

Location: Seven kilometres north of Příbram, the village lies in the floodplain of the Litavka stream.

Area of the cadastral district: 300 ha

Population: 267

Dominikální Paseky owes its origins to mining. It was founded in the 17th century when the Bechyňové family of Hlubič began mining and smelting iron ore there. Near Bratkovice, they built a smelting furnace, and at both Paseky (Dominikální and Německé) they erected hammer mills and smiths’ cottages inhabited by German miners. In the hammer mills, blacksmiths and riveters produced iron fittings, nails, rivets and other items.

Dining: Dominikální Restaurant, Paseky 62

Sports facilities: handball court

Postcode: 262 23 Jince

Transport links: the Příbram–Zdice railway line runs through the village

Village Office: Tel.: 318 611 157, 724 181 375, 731 609 910

Opening hours: Wednesdays: 5.30 pm – 7.00 pm
bratkovice@volny.cz
www.volny.cz//bratkovice

History:
Written history dates back to long before the village was founded, namely to the year 1422, when, in the narrowest part of the Litavka River valley between what are now Dominikální Paseky and the village of Čenkov, the Příbram district governor Alšík and his Utraquists clashed with the vastly superior Catholic forces of Hanuš of Kolovrat. The Hussites’ crushing defeat gave this place its name, and to this day it is known locally as ‘na zabitém’ (at the place of slaughter).

However, this battle was merely an episode in the history of the entire Litavka valley, which, according to numerous archaeological finds, had been sustained by the mining and processing of iron ore since the Middle Ages. In 1634, the landowners from nearby Hluboš finally obtained permission to fell the forests around the Litavka, invited nine families of German settlers here and founded the village of Paseky, where charcoal began to be produced from the felled timber in charcoal kilns, to be used for smelting iron ore in the ironworks. The so-called ‘iron lump’ from the smelting works was then further processed in water-powered forges.
In 1770, Paseky took the epithet ‘Hlubošské’ into its name, after the nearby estate.
However, a shortage of charcoal, used for smelting ore, led to the decline of the local iron industry at the end of the 18th century. The primitive smelting works here could no longer keep pace with the growing demands of industry. Charcoal kilns, smelting works and forges were subsequently replaced by nail-making workshops at most of the farmsteads, and it was around this time that, owing to the fact that all the land belonged to the Hluboš estate, Hlubošské Paseky came to be known as Dominikální Paseky – derived from the Latin word *dominus* – meaning ‘lord’s’.
The scattered character of Dominikální Paseky, resulting from the gradual felling of forests at the time of its formation, persists to this day. There are 267 permanent residents living here across an area of approximately 300 hectares. Dominikální Paseky lies at the heart of the Brdy Mountains in the valley of the Litavka stream and rises a further 300 metres up the slopes towards the ridge of Brda Peak (773 m), which now forms part of the restricted area of the Jince military training area.