Town in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic
Litom??ice
(
Czech pronunciation:
[?l?tom??r??ts?]
;
German
:
Leitmeritz
) is a town in the
Usti nad Labem Region
of the
Czech Republic
. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an
urban monument reservation
.
The town is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Litom??ice
.
Administrative parts
[
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]
Litom??ice is made up of four town parts: Litom??ice-M?sto, Pokratice, P?edm?sti and Za nemocnici.
Geography
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]
Litom??ice is located about 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of
Usti nad Labem
and 51 km (32 mi) northwest of
Prague
. The northwestern half of the municipal territory lies in the
Central Bohemian Uplands
, the southeastern half lies in the
Lower Oh?e Table
, on the edge of the
Polabi
lowlands. The highest point, located in the northern tip of the territory, is at 480 m (1,570 ft) above sea level. The town is situated on the right (northern) bank of the
Elbe
River, at its confluence with the
Oh?e
, which flows from the south.
History
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]
Early history
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]
The settlement of Litom??ice has a deep history of Paleolithic cultures as well as large
Celtic
settlements of the
La Tene culture
, which did not survive the incoming
Germanic
attacks. The area was later settled by Germanic tribes, when Litom??ice first appeared on
Ptolemy's world map
in the 2nd century under the name of Nomisterium. The Germanic tribes later migrated west and those remaining mingled with the incoming Slavs. The earliest evidence of the Slavic settlement comes from the 8th century.
[2]
In the 9th and 10th century, Litom??ice fell under the control of the
P?emyslid
dynasty. P?emyslids built here an early medieval fortress, one of the most important P?emyslid centres in Czech lands.
[2]
The area was settled by the Czech tribe of
Litom??ici
, after which the town was named. In 1057, the Litome?ice Chapter was founded by Duke
Spytihn?v II
, and it is the oldest written evidence of the existence of the town.
[2]
A royal-town statute was granted in 1219 by King
Ottokar I of Bohemia
. At the beginning of the 13th century, Litom??ice was an important political, cultural and economic centre.
[2]
15th?19th centuries
[
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]
The population suffered during the 15th century
Hussite Wars
. After the Protestant tensions with the Catholics that triggered the
Thirty Years' War
and the Protestants' defeat in the
Battle of White Mountain
, the surviving population of the town was forced to accept
Catholicism
or face property confiscation and the obligation to leave the kingdom. In this way, the town became a Catholic bishop's residency in 1655.
[2]
As a result, the Czech Protestant population shrank and the town became largely
germanized
.
In the 18th century, many Baroque building, which are today cultural monuments, were built. However the prosperity of the town suffered from the
War of the Austrian Succession
and the
Seven Years' War
.
[2]
20th century
[
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]
In 1918, Bohemia,
Moravia
and
Czech Silesia
became constituent parts of the newly-created
Czechoslovakia
), along with a large border area inhabited predominantly by
Sudeten Germans
. Local Germans tried to join
German Austria
(which in turn aimed to join post-war
Weimar Republic
), but Czechoslovak troops prevented this. Known under the informal name of the
Sudetenland
, the region became the subject of political controversy in the following years. Czechs settled there again, but remained a minority. In 1938, after the
Munich Agreement
, German troops occupied the Sudetenland (and all the rest of Czech lands a few months later). The Czech population, which had grown to about 5,000 people, had to leave again.
[2]
Jews from Litom??ice were forced to flee to the Protectorate or were deported during
the Holocaust in the Sudetenland
.
[3]
From March 1944 to May 1945,
Leitmeritz concentration camp
was located west of the town. 18,000 prisoners passed through the camp and were forced to work mostly on excavating underground factories (Richard I and II) under
Radobyl
. 4,500 died.
[4]
[5]
In the final stages of World War II, German troops retreated to escape the advancing
Red Army
. The
Czech resistance
took control of the castle on 27 April 1945, and after a few days they started negotiations with the German commander about the terms of his surrender. The
Wehrmacht
capitulated in the night after 8 May, but German troops fled on 9 May, just before Soviet troops entered the town on 10 May 1945. Most of the German population of the town was
expelled
by the
Bene? decrees
in August 1945, along with about 2.5 million other former Czechoslovak citizens of German ethnicity from the country.
Demographics
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Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1869
| 10,811
| ?
|
---|
1880
| 11,728
| +8.5%
|
---|
1890
| 12,203
| +4.1%
|
---|
1900
| 14,063
| +15.2%
|
---|
1910
| 16,595
| +18.0%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1921
| 18,135
| +9.3%
|
---|
1930
| 19,718
| +8.7%
|
---|
1950
| 15,126
| ?23.3%
|
---|
1961
| 16,830
| +11.3%
|
---|
1970
| 19,595
| +16.4%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1980
| 22,869
| +16.7%
|
---|
1991
| 25,719
| +12.5%
|
---|
2001
| 24,879
| ?3.3%
|
---|
2011
| 24,098
| ?3.1%
|
---|
2021
| 23,432
| ?2.8%
|
---|
|
Source: Censuses
[6]
[7]
|
Economy
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There are no large industrial enterprises located in Litom??ice. The largest employer is the hospital.
[8]
Litom??ice is known for
viticulture
and wine-making. It is the centre of the
Litom??icka wine
sub-region. The existence of vineyards is already documented in the first written mention of Litom??ice from 1057.
[9]
Transport
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The I/15 road from
Most
to
?eska Lipa
passes through the town.
Litom??ice is served by three train stations. The station Litom??ice m?sto is located on the
Usti nad Labem
?
Kolin
line.
[10]
The stations
Litom??ice horni nadra?i
and Litom??ice Cihelna are located on the lines Most?Litom??ice and ?eska Lipa?
Postoloprty
.
[11]
Religion
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The town is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Litom??ice
(part of
Archdiocese of Prague
), the 4th oldest (and 3rd still existing) Catholic diocese on present Czech territory.
Culture
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Litom??ice is known for the annual event
Zahrada ?ech
("Garden of
Bohemia
"). It is an extensive
horticultural
trade fair
, attended by tens of thousands of people.
[12]
North Bohemian Gallery of Fine Arts is based close the main square. Extensive collection spans from 13th century to contemporary art with numerous other exhibitions during the year. On the Mirove Square there is also the Gallery and Museum of
Litom??ice diocese
.
Sights
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Since 1978, the historic centre of Litom??ice has been an
urban monument reservation
.
[13]
The protected territory is delimited by remains of town walls. About 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) of town walls is preserved to this day. Originally they had four town gates, none of them is preserved.
[14]
Part of the town fortifications was Litom??ice Castle. Today it contains an exposition of Czech
viticulture
.
Its core form Mirove Square, a large square with an area of about 2 hectares. Most of the houses on the square are in the
Gothic
style.
[15]
The Old Town Hall building on the square is the oldest Renaissance building in the town. Today, the building serves as a regional museum.
[16]
Other sights on the square include the "Chalice house" (new town hall with a lookout tower in the shape of chalice),
D?m u ?erneho orla
("Black Eagle House"; one of the most significant Renaissance houses), and Museum of Crystal Touch.
There are several valuable sacral buildings in Litom??ice. On the main square, there is the All Saints Church. Its existence was firstly mentioned in 1235. Originally it belonged to the town fortification. It has a 54 metres (177 ft) high bell tower.
[17]
The
Baroque
Saint Stephen's Cathedral at the Domske Square was built in place of an older
Romanesque
basilica in the years 1664?1668. It has a 50 metres (160 ft) high tower open to the public.
[18]
The interior is almost completely authentic with main and six side altars and a lot of original paintings. Right next to the dome is a bishop's residence built in 1683?1701 by Giulio Broggio.
[19]
There is also the Jesuit Church of the Annunciation. It is a massive Baroque church built by Giulio and Octavio Broggio in 1701?1731.
[20]
There are numerous cellars connected by an extensive web of underground ways under the town. In some places, the cellars were built in three floors. The ways are about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long and they belong to the longest of their kind in the county. Only 336 metres (1,102 feet) of these underground ways are open to the public.
[21]
Notable people
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- Master of the Litom??ice Altarpiece
(
c.
1470
??), painter
- Antonio Rosetti
(
c.
1750
?1792), composer and double bass player
- Josef Jungmann
(1773?1847), poet and linguist, lived and taught here
- Vincent Bochdalek
(1801?1883), anatomist and pathologist
- Josef Emanuel Hilscher
(1806?1837), Austrian soldier, poet and translator
- Karel Hynek Macha
(1810?1836), poet, originally buried here
- Ferdinand Blumentritt
(1853?1913), Austrian teacher and ethnographer
- Alfred Kubin
(1877?1959), Austrian printmaker and illustrator
- ?t?pan Trochta
(1905?1974), cardinal
- Kurt Honolka
(1913?1988), German musicologist and music critic
- Peter Lerche
(1928?2016), German jurist
- Johann Georg Reißmuller
(1932?2018), German journalist
- Dietrich Mattausch
(born 1940), German actor
- Rudolf Buchbinder
(born 1946), Austrian classical pianist
- Zden?k Pecka
(1954?2024), rower, Olympic medalist
- Ji?i Macha?ek
(born 1966), singer and actor
- Milan Hnili?ka
(born 1973), ice hockey player and politician
- Martin ?koula
(born 1979), ice hockey player
- Old?i?ka Mare?ova
(born 1986), high jumper
Twin towns ? sister cities
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Litom??ice is
twinned
with:
[22]
References
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External links
[
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]
Wikisource has several original texts related to
Litom??ice
.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Litom??ice
.
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