used cemetery at PRASKOLESY
49°50′10″N 13°54′18″E. Archaeological excavations show settlement in 10th century that grew at the end of the 13th century and beginning of the 14th century with the establishment of a trading post that was later rebuilt and expanded to a Gothic castle ('Old Castle').The family of Hořovice named themselves after the village, the first being siblings Neostup and Habart, in 1233. The village became a town in 1322 whereas the 'Old Castle' and the Church remained outside ot the town walls, forming the borough of Velká Víska until the 20th century: in 1919 Velká Víska became a part of Hořovice. The common Jewish surname Horowitz derives from Hořovice, which at one time had a substantial Jewish population (although not in modern times Josel of Rosheim (1480-1554) , advocate of the German Jews, lived here.
"A settlement with a fortified court or fort was founded in Horovice no later than in the middle of the 12th century. The earliest recorded reference to Horovice dates from the 13th century when it is mentioned in connection with the aristocratic Zirotin of Horovice family member, Neostup, was in the service of King Wenceslas I. The Zirotin family owned the castle that stood on the site of the later Old Chateau. At the end of the 14th century Horovice briefly was in the hands of King Wenceslas IV, patron of the local parish in 1390. Shortly after, Horovice was in the hands of Zikmund Huller, probably a relative of the royal chamberlain and favorite Ondrej Huller, executed in 1405. Zikmund Huller of Horovice is mentioned in 1430 when captain Jan Zmrzlik of Svojsin took possession of the estate. In 1437, the owner of nearby Zbiroh and many other estates across West Bohemia, Zdenek of Rozmital, acquired Horovice. Between 1458 and 1475 Horovice belonged to Sezema Stepan of Vrtba, and then to the Litvin family of Ricany, which held it until after the Battle of the White Mountain (1620) when it was confiscated from them. This period was marked by Jewish entry into Bohemia, caused by the expulsion from Spain. Horovice, about 50 km SW from Prague, was on their route East. In this wave some Jewish families came to Horovice and settled in the lower part of the town, scattered along a hillslope (from here comes the town's name - "hora" in Checz means "mountain"). Today, nothing remains of the Jewish presence in Horovice." Photos [February 2009]