Libštát (german: Liebstadtl) is a market town in

Semily District Semily District ( cz, okres Semily) is a district ('' okres'') within the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Semily. List of municipalities Bělá - Benecko - Benešov u Semil - Bozkov - Bradlecká Lhota - B ...

in the

Liberec Region Liberec Region ( cs, Liberecký kraj, german: Reichenberger Region, pl, Kraj liberecki) is an administrative unit (Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after i ...

of the

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 ...

. It has about 900 inhabitants.

Etymology

The name was derived from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...

words ''liube stat'', meaning 'nice place'.

Geography

Libštát is located about southeast of

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preser ...

. It lies in the

Giant Mountains Foothills In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gi ...

. The highest point is the hill U Jeřábu at above sea level. The Oleška River flows through the market town.

History

The first written mention of Libštát is from 1322, when it was a property of Hynek of Waldstein. The village was probably founded in the 13th century by German immigrants. The

Waldstein family The House of Waldstein or House of Valdštejn is a Bohemian noble family that originated from the Kingdom of Bohemia as a branch of the Markwartinger family (House of Markvartic) and gained prominence during the reign of the Přemyslid dynasty. ...

owned Libštát until 1391. After that, less important noble families took turns in ownership. From 1525, the village was referred to as a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Demographics

Transport

Libštát is located on the railway line Liberec–

Jaroměř Jaroměř (; german: Jermer) is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. It is known for the Josefov Fortress. Josefov is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban m ...

Sights

A cultural monument is the former Evangelical prayer house. It was built in 1839–1842 and is a unique proof of renewal of the Evangelical community in the Czech lands. Next to the prayer house is a separate wooden bell tower. A valuable three-arched stone bridge from 1822 spans the river Oleška. It is decorated with statues of St. Wenceslaus and St. John of Nepomuk, dating from 1851.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Libstat Populated places in Semily District Market towns in the Czech Republic