Statutory city in Czech Republic
Usti nad Labem
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Flag
Coat of arms
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Location in the Czech Republic
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Coordinates:
50°39′30″N
14°2′30″E
/
50.65833°N 14.04167°E
/
50.65833; 14.04167
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Country
|
Czech Republic
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Region
| Usti nad Labem
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District
| Usti nad Labem
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First mentioned
| 1056?1057
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? Mayor
| Petr Nedv?dicky (
ANO
)
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? Total
| 93.97 km
2
(36.28 sq mi)
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Elevation
| 218 m (715 ft)
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? Total
| 91,342
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? Density
| 970/km
2
(2,500/sq mi)
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Time zone
| UTC+1
(
CET
)
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? Summer (
DST
)
| UTC+2
(
CEST
)
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Postal codes
| 400 01 ? 400 03, 400 07, 400 10, 400 11, 403 02, 403 21, 403 22, 403 31, 403 40
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Website
| www
.usti-nad-labem
.cz
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Usti nad Labem
(
Czech pronunciation:
[?uːsciː
nad
?lab?m]
ⓘ
;
German
:
Aussig
) is a city in the
Czech Republic
. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the
Usti nad Labem Region
. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active
river port
, is an important railway junction.
Administrative division
[
edit
]
Usti nad Labem is divided into four boroughs,
[2]
which are further divided into 22 administrative parts (in brackets):
[3]
- Usti nad Labem-m?sto (Usti nad Labem-centrum, Bo?t??ice, Bukov, Habrovice, Hostovice, Kli?e, P?edlice, Skorotice, Stra?ky, Va?ov and V?ebo?ice);
- Usti nad Labem-Ne?t?mice (Krasne B?ezno, Moj?i? and Ne?t?mice);
- Usti nad Labem-Severni Terasa (Severni Terasa);
- Usti nad Labem-St?ekov (
Brna
, Cirkvice, Kojetice, Ole?nice, Sebuzin, St?ekov and Svadov).
Etymology
[
edit
]
The name of Usti nad Labem is formed from the
Old Czech
ustie
("
river mouth
") and
Labe
(the
Elbe
River). It thus literally means "Mouth-upon-the-Elbe", in reference to its location at the
Bilina
's confluence with the Elbe.
The Czech name was
Latinized
as
Usk super Albium
and Germanized as
Aussig
or
Außig
. Before
Czechoslovak independence
amid the
dissolution of Austria-Hungary
following
World War I
, the town was usually known in English as Aussig.
Geography
[
edit
]
Usti nad Labem is located about 65 kilometres (40 mi) north of
Prague
and 45 km (28 mi) south of
Dresden
in Germany. It lies mostly in a hilly landscape of the
Central Bohemian Uplands
, but it also extends into the
Most Basin
in the northwest. The highest point is the hill ?iroky vrch at 659 m (2,162 ft) above sea level. The city is situated at the confluence of the
Elbe
and
Bilina
rivers. Half of
Lake Milada
lies in the municipal territory. The southern part of the territory lies in the ?eske st?edoho?i Protected Landscape Area.
Climate
[
edit
]
Climate data for Usti nad Labem (1991?2020)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
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Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
15.9
(60.6)
|
16.3
(61.3)
|
21.0
(69.8)
|
27.5
(81.5)
|
29.8
(85.6)
|
35.4
(95.7)
|
35.8
(96.4)
|
36.6
(97.9)
|
31.1
(88.0)
|
24.9
(76.8)
|
17.0
(62.6)
|
15.4
(59.7)
|
36.6
(97.9)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
1.3
(34.3)
|
3.1
(37.6)
|
7.6
(45.7)
|
14.1
(57.4)
|
18.5
(65.3)
|
21.7
(71.1)
|
23.9
(75.0)
|
23.9
(75.0)
|
18.6
(65.5)
|
12.2
(54.0)
|
6.0
(42.8)
|
2.1
(35.8)
|
12.7
(54.9)
|
Daily mean °C (°F)
|
?1.2
(29.8)
|
0.1
(32.2)
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3.7
(38.7)
|
9.1
(48.4)
|
13.3
(55.9)
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16.4
(61.5)
|
18.4
(65.1)
|
18.1
(64.6)
|
13.5
(56.3)
|
8.4
(47.1)
|
3.4
(38.1)
|
?0.2
(31.6)
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8.6
(47.5)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
?3.2
(26.2)
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?2.4
(27.7)
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0.6
(33.1)
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5.0
(41.0)
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8.8
(47.8)
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11.9
(53.4)
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13.9
(57.0)
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13.7
(56.7)
|
9.9
(49.8)
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5.7
(42.3)
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1.5
(34.7)
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?2.1
(28.2)
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5.3
(41.5)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
?17.2
(1.0)
|
?19.5
(?3.1)
|
?13.3
(8.1)
|
?5.3
(22.5)
|
?1.6
(29.1)
|
2.4
(36.3)
|
7.3
(45.1)
|
6.3
(43.3)
|
1.2
(34.2)
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?4.8
(23.4)
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?12.0
(10.4)
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?18.5
(?1.3)
|
?19.5
(?3.1)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
42.4
(1.67)
|
33.3
(1.31)
|
33.7
(1.33)
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31.9
(1.26)
|
59.2
(2.33)
|
72.4
(2.85)
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81.2
(3.20)
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77.5
(3.05)
|
49.1
(1.93)
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45.5
(1.79)
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42.5
(1.67)
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44.8
(1.76)
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613.5
(24.15)
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Average precipitation days
(≥ 1.0 mm)
|
11.1
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8.3
|
8.1
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6.8
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9.3
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9.9
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10.6
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9.2
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8.2
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8.9
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9.3
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10.6
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110.2
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Mean monthly
sunshine hours
|
36.4
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65.7
|
110.3
|
174.5
|
212.3
|
213.6
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224.2
|
215.9
|
146.8
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88.1
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38.8
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30.1
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1,556.6
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Source:
NOAA
[6]
|
History
[
edit
]
For years, the charter of the Prague Benedictine monastery from 993 was considered to be the first written mention of Usti nad Labem, but it has been proven to be a hoax.
[7]
The first verified written mention is in the charter of the chapter at the Church of St. Stephen in
Litom??ice
, dated to 1056 or 1057. In 1249, it was first mentioned with the title of royal town.
[8]
In the second half of the 13th century,
King
Ottokar II of Bohemia
invited
German
settlers into the country and granted them a German form of municipal incorporation, thereby founding the city proper.
In 1423, as King of Bohemia,
Sigismund
pledged the town to Elector
Frederick I
of Meissen, who occupied it with a
Saxon
garrison.
It was besieged by the
Hussites
in 1426: a German army of 70,000 was sent to its relief but the 25,000 besiegers defeated them amid great slaughter on 16 June; the next day, they stormed and razed the town.
It was left derelict for three years before rebuilding began in 1429.
Usti nad Labem was again burned down in 1583 and was sacked by the
Swedes
in 1639 amid the
Thirty Years' War
.
It also suffered grievously during the
Seven Years' War
and was near the 1813
Battle of Kulm
between
France
and the alliance of
Austria
,
Prussia
, and
Russia
during the
Napoleonic Wars
.
As late as 1830, its population was only 1400.
As part of the
Kingdom of Bohemia
, it was eventually incorporated into
Austria
and heavily
industrialized
over the 19th century. After the
Compromise of 1867
, it headed the Aussig District, one of Austrian Bohemia's 94 District Commissions (
Bezirkshauptmannschaften
).
[9]
In the 1870s, with only 11,000 people, it was a major producer of
woolen
goods,
linen
,
paper
,
ships
, and
chemicals
and carried on a large trade in grain, fruit,
mineral water
, lumber, and
coal
.
By 1900, large-scale immigration had boosted the population to nearly 40,000, mostly German,
and added
glassworking
and
stone
to its trades.
The local river port became the busiest in the entire
Austro-Hungarian Empire
, surpassing even the seaport in
Trieste
.
[10]
The factories of Aussig?as it was then known?were an early center of the
National Socialism
("Nazi") movement. The German Workers' Party in Austria (
Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in Osterreich
) was founded on 15 November 1903 and later gave rise to the
Sudeten German Party
and
Austrian National Socialism
. Their books continued to be printed in Usti nad Labem even after the formation of
Czechoslovakia
in 1918. During the 1930 census, Usti nad Labem was home to 43,793 residents: 32,878 considered
German
, 8,735
Czech
or
Slovak
, 222
Jews
, 16
Russians
, and 11
Hungarians
.
[11]
Usti nad Labem was ceded to
Nazi Germany
with the rest of the
Sudetenland
in October 1938 under the terms of the
Munich Agreement
and placed under the administration of the
Regierungsbezirk Aussig
of
Reichsgau Sudetenland
. On
New Year's Eve
of that year, the Nazis burnt down the local
synagogue
; a meat factory was later raised in its place. The
Jewish community in Usti nad Labem
was mostly exterminated over the course of
World War II
amid
the Holocaust
. In April 1945, the city was severely bombed by
the Allies
.
[
which?
]
Shortly after the war ended, on 31 July 1945, an explosion of the local ammunition depot triggered a
pogrom
of the German population, known as the
Usti massacre
, mostly at the hands of out-of-town paramilitary groups. Whilst the official investigation blamed the explosion on German
saboteurs
, more recent historical work points towards it being a communist provocation, intended to effect the subsequent
expulsion of Germans
. Between 80 and a thousand people died in the event, with estimates varying widely, but being generally much higher than the official body count.
Under the terms of the
Potsdam Conference
and the
Bene? decrees
, the city was restored to
Czechoslovakia
and almost the totality of its previous population expelled as being German. In May 1948, the
Communist
government passed a new constitution
declaring a people's republic
. Communism continued until the 1989
fall of the Berlin Wall
set off a series of events which are now known as the
Velvet Revolution
. Today, Usti nad Labem is a major industrial city of the
Czech Republic
with substantial chemical, metallurgical, textile, food, and machine tool industries.
Mati?ni Street Wall
[
edit
]
The city gained notoriety in the late 1990s when a 150-metre-long (490 ft) wall was constructed along part of the Mati?ni Street separating houses on one side from the tenement blocks on the other. Since the latter were homes mainly to
Romani
, it turned into an international scandal. Mayor Ladislav Hru?ka promised local homeowners' representatives that the wall would be finished by the end of September, 1998. Foreign journalists travelled to Usti nad Labem to investigate, and were told by councillors that the wall was not meant to segregate by race, but to keep respectable citizens safe from noise and rubbish coming from the opposite side of the street.
[12]
In September, city representatives announced that plans would be changed from a four-metre soundproof wall to a 1.8-metre wall of ceramic bricks, and a children's playground would also be constructed in front of the tenement blocks. Despite these changes, the
Roma Civic Initiative
and Deputy Prime Minister
Vladimir ?pidla
vocally opposed the construction.
[13]
The wall was criticised by U.S. Congressman
Christopher Smith
, and a delegation from the
Council of Europe
described it as a "racist" and drastic solution.
[12]
The new plans slated construction to begin 30 August 1999, but a decision by the district office delayed the move because a wall that large would require a permit, and threatened to damage the root systems of trees along Mati?ni Street. On 5 October however, construction began regardless of the opposition by foreign observers and members of the
Czech government
. The following day, 50 Roma physically blockaded construction of the wall and dismantled parts that had already been set up.
[12]
Nonetheless, the wall was completed on 13 October. Domestic and international pressure eventually persuaded the city to dismantle the wall, and it was demolished six weeks after it had been erected. The local zoo uses parts of this ceramic fence as a wall around its main entrance to this day. The original wall was only 1.8 metres high and a few more rows of ceramic parts were needed to make it higher. Mati?ni Street is now uninhabited and its buildings are scheduled for demolition.
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1869
| 20,284
| ?
|
---|
1880
| 27,834
| +37.2%
|
---|
1890
| 40,796
| +46.6%
|
---|
1900
| 57,330
| +40.5%
|
---|
1910
| 68,313
| +19.2%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1921
| 71,659
| +4.9%
|
---|
1930
| 79,644
| +11.1%
|
---|
1950
| 64,179
| ?19.4%
|
---|
1961
| 72,148
| +12.4%
|
---|
1970
| 79,544
| +10.3%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1980
| 89,272
| +12.2%
|
---|
1991
| 98,178
| +10.0%
|
---|
2001
| 95,436
| ?2.8%
|
---|
2011
| 93,000
| ?2.6%
|
---|
2021
| 89,713
| ?3.5%
|
---|
|
Source: Censuses
[14]
[15]
|
Economy
[
edit
]
Usti nad Labem is the economic centre of the Usti nad Labem Region and the seat of many industrial companies. The largest industrial employers with its headquarters in Usti nad Labem and at least 500 employees are Spolek pro chemickou a hutni vyrobu (chemical industry) and
Strabag Rail
(construction industry). Other large industrial companies in the city include
Kone Industrial
(manufacture of elevators), Severotisk (printing industry) and
Pierburg
(manufacture of car parts).
[16]
Transport
[
edit
]
Road transport
[
edit
]
The
D8 motorway
(part of the
European route E55
) from Prague to
Dresden
intersects the western border of Usti nad Labem. The
European route E442
from
Liberec
to
Karlovy Vary
, formed by first class road, also passes through the city.
Mariansky Bridge
is a road bridge over the
Elbe
which was built over a period of five years and opened in 1998. It bleongs to the main landmarks of the city.
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
ranked Mariansky Bridge between the 10 best structures of the world in the decade.
[17]
City mass transport
[
edit
]
The city has a network of mass transport that includes bus and
trolley bus
lines. The city has its own transport company,
Dopravni podnik m?sta Usti nad Labem
.
[18]
Railway transport
[
edit
]
Usti nad Labem is an important railway node with four railway stations. The largest of these is
Usti nad Labem main railway station
which is served by international
EuroCity
trains. Usti nad Labem lies on the line from Prague to D??in, which is part of several international lines, and thus the city has direct connections with
Berlin
,
Budapest
,
Graz
and
Zurich
. Lines of national importance are Prague?
Cheb
and Usti nad Labem ?
Kolin
.
[19]
River transport
[
edit
]
The
Elbe
River Line is a junction with the West-European river lines opening access to Germany, Benelux countries, northern France and to important sea ports. Freight transportation and pleasure cruises are run on the water line section
Pardubice
?
Chvaletice
? Usti nad Labem ?
H?ensko
? Hamburg.
Air transport
[
edit
]
An airport for small sports planes (
ICAO code
LKUL) is located northwest of the city. The nearest airports for airliners are in
Prague
(64 km) and
Dresden
, Germany (56 km).
Education
[
edit
]
The city is home of the
Jan Evangelista Purkyn? University in Usti nad Labem
. This public university has about 8,500 students and with about 900 employees, it is one of the most important employers in the region.
[20]
Sport
[
edit
]
The local ice hockey club
HC Slovan Uste?ti Lvi
. The
football
club is
FK Viagem Usti nad Labem
, which plays at the
Municipal Stadium
.
The city hosts the
Usti nad Labem Half Marathon
, one of the
World Athletics Label Road Races
.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the
motorcycle speedway
team AMK Usti nad Labem raced in the city. It raced initially at a stadium in the Bukov area until it was converted into an athletics facility in 1960. Then the team raced at a track in the Kli?e area from 1967 to 1968 and finally in
Polepy
.
[21]
The team raced in the inaugural 1956
Czechoslovak Championship
and won two silver medals and three bronze medals from 1961 to 1971.
[22]
Sights
[
edit
]
The
St?ekov Castle
is one of the main sights of Usti nad Labem, and one of the most visited tourist destinations in the whole region. It is located in a southern suburb of the city. The castle was built in 1316?1319. With a break in 1945?1992, it has been owned by the
Lobkowicz family
since 1563.
[23]
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built in 1318 and is located in the city centre. It is well known for its leaning tower. The tower is 65 metres (213 ft) high and its deviation, caused by bombing at the end of World War II, is 201 centimetres (6.59 ft). It is the most leaning tower north of the
Alps
.
[24]
A significant landmark is the hill V?tru?e with an observation tower and the V?tru?e Castle, which was built in 1847 as a hotel and restaurant serving cultural and social purposes.
[25]
In Krasne B?ezno part is located the
Usti nad Labem Zoo
, founded in 1908. A notable building is the Krasne B?ezno Castle. It is formed by the Old Castle, built before 1568, and by the New Castle, built in the early 17th century and baroque modified in the first half of the 18th century. The castle is surrounded by an English park. Nowadays the castle serves as the seat of the branch of National Heritage Institute of the Czech Republic.
[26]
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Anton Raphael Mengs
(1728?1779), German painter
- Mimi Wagensonner
(1897?1970), Austrian composer
- Felix Weinberg
(1928?2012), Czech-British physicist
- Gunther Herbig
(born 1931), German conductor
- Alfred Lipka
(1931?2010), German violist
- Vladimir Paral
(born 1932), writer
- Heinz Edelmann
(1934?2009), Czech-German illustrator and designer
- Milan Hejduk
(born 1976), ice hockey player
- Ji?i Jaro?ik
(born 1977), footballer
- Jan Mertl
(born 1982), tennis coach and player
- Toma? ?erny
(born 1985), footballer
- Michal Neuvirth
(born 1988), ice hockey player
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
edit
]
Usti nad Labem is
twinned
with:
[27]
Usti nad Labem also cooperates with
Dresden
, Germany.
[27]
Gallery
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878),
"Aussig"
,
Encyclopædia Britannica
, vol. 3 (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 101
.
- Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911),
"Aussig"
,
Encyclopædia Britannica
, vol. 2 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 936
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Geographic
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Other
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