Bříství

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Bříství is a small municipality and village in the Nymburk District, Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has about 396 residents (2025). The area covers 3.60 square kilometers and lies at about 193 meters above sea level. The postal code is 289 15.

Etymology
The name comes from old Czech words for elm: břest (elm) and břístí (elm forest).

Geography
Bříství is located about 15 kilometers southwest of Nymburk and 21 kilometers east of Prague. The landscape is flat, in the Central Elbe Table. The highest nearby point is Břístevská hůra at 233 meters. The Kounický potok brook flows through the area.

History
The first written mention of Bříství is from 1318. Some older sources claimed 993, but this is not supported.

Demographics
The population has varied over time; in recent years it has been around a few hundred people (396 in 2025).

Transport
The D11 motorway, part of European route E67, passes through Bříství, linking Prague with Hradec Králové.

Sights
The main landmark is the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross, a Gothic church with a Romanesque core, probably founded around 1150. On Břístevská hůra stands the ruin of the Chapel of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, built in Baroque style in 1714; it burned in 1764 after a lightning strike, was repaired in 1816, and burned again in 1818.