The Šluknov Hook ( cs, Šluknovský výběžek, ; german: Schluckenauer Zipfel or ''Böhmisches Niederland'') or Šluknov Spur or Šluknov Projection is a salient region found in the northern

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

along the border with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The area is part of the southern

Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands''Upper Lusatia''
at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 20 ...

, between the

Elbe Sandstone Mountains The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe Sandstone Highlands (german: Elbsandsteingebirge; cs, Děčinská vrchovina), are a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian ...

in the west and the

Lusatian Mountains The Lusatian Mountains ( cs, Lužické hory; german: Lausitzer Gebirge; pl, Góry Łużyckie) are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic. They are a continuation of the Ore Mountains ...

in the east. It is administratively included in the northeastern

Děčín District Děčín District ( cs, okres Děčín) is one of seven districts ('' okres'') located within the Ústí nad Labem Region in the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Děčín. Complete list of municipalities Arnoltice - Benešov nad Ploučn ...

. The largest towns in the region are

Varnsdorf Varnsdorf (; german: Warnsdorf, hsb, Warnoćicy) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany. Administrative parts Villages of Studánka and Světliny 1.díl ...

Rumburk Rumburk (; german: Rumburg) is a town in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany. Administrative parts Rumburk is made up of town parts of Rumburk ...

, and

Šluknov Šluknov (; german: Schluckenau) is a town in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,700 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany in the geographic region that shares its name, the Šluknov Hoo ...

, after which it is named. The Šluknov Hook was traditionally closely connected with neighboring Saxony because it also had a German-speaking population. The

expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a series of evacuations and deportations of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II. During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, th ...

(1945–46) severed the connection, when new Czech-speaking settlers arrived, creating a new linguistic border. The region did not reach pre-war population because it could not attract enough new settlers to replace the expelled German population.

Tourism

The territory has traditionally been marked by

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and its

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

. It has numerous

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

churches and corresponding cemeteries, as well as many chapels, cloisters, and places of pilgrimage. Many were built on the mountains of the region, while the great Baroque churches are found in each larger town. Most medieval castles in the area have been destroyed or have fallen into disrepair. Impressive ruins are found in the old town center of

and in nearby

Lipová u Šluknova Lipova or Lipová may refer to places: Czech Republic *Lipová (Cheb District), a municipality and village in the Karlovy Vary Region * Lipová (Děčín District), a municipality and village in the Ústí nad Labem Region * Lipová (Přerov Dist ...

; they are awaiting further reconstruction and restoration. The wooden houses of the region, already restored for the most part, are also popular with tourists. The local infrastructure is well-constructed in order to accommodate tourists from nearby Germany. The region is connected with the

Bohemian Switzerland Bohemian Switzerland ( cs, České Švýcarsko; german: Böhmische Schweiz), also known as Czech Switzerland, is a picturesque region in the north-western Czech Republic. It has been a protected area (as Elbe Sandstone Mountains Protected Landscap ...

; the

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

centre is located in town

Krásná Lípa Krásná Lípa (; german: Schönlinde) is a town in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Dlouhý Důl, Hely, Kamenná Horka, Krásný Buk, Kyjov, ...

. To the east is the entrance to the

Zittau Mountains The Zittau Mountains (german: Zittauer Gebirge, cs, Žitavské hory), formerly also called the Lusatian Ridge (''Lausitzer Kamm''), refer to the German part of the Lusatian Mountains that straddle the Saxon- Bohemian border in the extreme sout ...

with its bizarre

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

rock formations and renowned spas. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sluknov Hook Děčín District Geography of the Czech Republic Bohemia Geography of the Ústí nad Labem Region