Litoměřice

Coordinates: 50°32′3″N 14°7′58″E / 50.53417°N 14.13278°E / 50.53417; 14.13278
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Leitmeritz" redirects here. For the Nazi concentration camp, see Leitmeritz concentration camp.
Litoměřice
Town
Cathedral of St. Stephen with belfry
Cathedral of St. Stephen with belfry
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
412 01
Websitewww.litomerice.cz

Litoměřice (Czech pronunciation: [ˈlɪtomɲɛr̝ɪtsɛ]; German: Leitmeritz) is a town in the Ústí 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 Litoměřice.

Administrative parts

Litoměřice as seen from the Radobýl Hill

Litoměřice is made up of four town parts: Litoměřice-Město, Pokratice, Předměstí and Za nemocnicí.

Geography

Litoměřice is located about 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of

Central Bohemian Uplands, the southeastern half lies in the Lower Ohře Table, on the edge of the Polabí 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 Ohře
, which flows from the south.

History

Early history

The settlement of Litoměřice has a deep history of Paleolithic cultures as well as large Celtic settlements of the La Tène culture, which did not survive the incoming Germanic attacks. The area was later settled by Germanic tribes, when Litoměřice 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, Litoměřice fell under the control of the

Přemyslid dynasty. Přemyslids built here an early medieval fortress, one of the most important Přemyslid centres in Czech lands.[2] The area was settled by the Czech tribe of Litoměřici, after which the town was named. In 1057, the Litomeřice Chapter was founded by Duke Spytihněv 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, Litoměřice was an important political, cultural and economic centre.[2]

15th–19th centuries

The population suffered during the 15th century

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

Occupation, 1938

In 1918, Bohemia,

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 Litoměřice 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 Radobýl. 4,500 died.[4][5]

In the final stages of World War II, German troops retreated to escape the advancing

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 Beneš decrees
in August 1945, along with about 2.5 million other former Czechoslovak citizens of German ethnicity from the country.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
186910,811—    
188011,728+8.5%
189012,203+4.1%
190014,063+15.2%
191016,595+18.0%
YearPop.±%
192118,135+9.3%
193019,718+8.7%
195015,126−23.3%
196116,830+11.3%
197019,595+16.4%
YearPop.±%
198022,869+16.7%
199125,719+12.5%
200124,879−3.3%
201124,098−3.1%
202123,432−2.8%
Source: Censuses[6][7]

Economy

There are no large industrial enterprises located in Litoměřice. The largest employer is the hospital.

Litoměřice is known for viticulture and wine-making. It is the centre of the Litoměřická wine sub-region. The existence of vineyards is already documented in the first written mention of Litoměřice from 1057.[8]

Transport

The I/15 road from Most to Česká Lípa passes through the town.

Litoměřice is served by three train stations. The station Litoměřice město is located on the Ústí nad Labem–Kolín line.[9] The stations Litoměřice horní nádraží and Litoměřice Cihelna are located on the lines Most–Litoměřice and Česká Lípa–Postoloprty.[10]

Religion

The town is the seat of the

Archdiocese of Prague
), the 4th oldest (and 3rd still existing) Catholic diocese on present Czech territory.

Culture

Litoměřice is known for the annual event Zahrada Čech ("Garden of

trade fair, attended by tens of thousands of people.[11]

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 Mírové Square there is also the Gallery and Museum of Litoměřice diocese.

Sights

Old Town Hall and the Church of All Saints
Mírové Square with the town hall

Since 1978, the historic centre of Litoměřice has been an urban monument reservation.[12] 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.[13] Part of the town fortifications was Litoměřice Castle. Today it contains an exposition of Czech viticulture.

Its core form Mírové Square, a large square with an area of about 2 hectares. Most of the houses on the square are in the Gothic style.[14] The Old Town Hall building on the square is the oldest Renaissance building in the town. Today, the building serves as a regional museum.[15] Other sights on the square include the "Chalice house" (new town hall with a lookout tower in the shape of chalice), Dům u černého orla ("Black Eagle House"; one of the most significant Renaissance houses), and Museum of Crystal Touch.

There are several valuable sacral buildings in Litoměřice. 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.[16] The Baroque Saint Stephen's Cathedral at the Dómské 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.[17] 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.[18]

There is also the Jesuit Church of the Annunciation. It is a massive Baroque church built by Giulio and Octavio Broggio in 1701–1731.[19]

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.[20]

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Czech Republic

Litoměřice is twinned with:[21]

References

  1. ^ "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2023". Czech Statistical Office. 2023-05-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Eight centuries of stories". Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  3. ISBN 978-1-78238-444-1
    .
  4. ^ Le Blond, Josie (26 May 2014). "Slave probe exposes Audi's Nazi past". The Local. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  5. ISBN 9783406562297
    .
  6. ^ "Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2011 – Okres Litoměřice" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2015-12-21. pp. 7–8.
  7. ^ "Population Census 2021: Population by sex". Public Database. Czech Statistical Office. 2021-03-27.
  8. ^ "Litoměřická vinařská oblast" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  9. ^ "Detail stanice Litoměřice město" (in Czech). České dráhy. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  10. ^ "Detail stanice Litoměřice horní n." (in Czech). České dráhy. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  11. ^ Sedlák, Václav (2016-02-03). "Zahrada Čech letos dovrší jubilejní čtyřicátý ročník". Litoměřický Deník (in Czech). Deník.cz. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  12. ^ "Litoměřice" (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  13. ^ "Town fortifications". Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  14. ^ "Peace Square". Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  15. ^ "Regional Museum". Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  16. ^ "All Saints Church". Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  17. ^ "Tower of St. Štěpán". Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  18. ^ "Biskupská rezidence v Litoměřicích" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  19. ^ "Jesuit Church of the Annunciation". Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  20. ^ "Katakomby a historické podzemí královského města Litoměřice" (in Czech). CzechTourism. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  21. ^ "Partnerská města" (in Czech). Město Litoměřice. Retrieved 2020-08-17.

External links

Wikisource has several original texts related to Litoměřice.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Litoměřice.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Litoměřice.
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