Lomnice nad Popelkou (german: Lomnitz an der Popelka) is a 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 - Bu ...

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 ...

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 5,600 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone; the local town part of Karlov is protected as a village monument reservation.

Administrative parts

Villages and hamlets of Černá, Chlum, Dráčov, Košov, Morcinov, Nové Dvory, Ploužnice, Rváčov, Skuhrov, Tikov and Želechy are administrative parts of Lomnice nad Popelkou.

Etymology

The name of the town is derived from the local stream, which used to be called Lomnice. The word Lomnice was then derived from ''lomný'', which could mean "noisy" or "crooked".

Geography

Lomnice nad Popelkou 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 on the border between the

Giant Mountains Foothills In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fro ...

and

Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge (; cs, Ještědsko-kozákovský hřbet) is a ridge and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Western Sudetes. The vast majority lies in the Liberec Region. Geomorphology Ještěd–Ko ...

. The highest point is the mountain Tábor at above sea level. The town is situated on the Popelka Stream. The

Cidlina Cidlina () is a river in the Czech Republic, draining south from its source in Tábor hill near Lomnice nad Popelkou through Jičín, Nový Bydžov and Chlumec nad Cidlinou, merging with the Elbe at Libice nad Cidlinou. Cidlina is 87.3 kilometres ...

River originates in the southern part of the municipal territory.

History

The first written mention of Lomnice nad Popelkou written between 1308 and 1314 is in ''

Chronicle of Dalimil The ''Chronicle of Dalimil'' ( cs, Dalimilova kronika; Kronika tak řečeného Dalimila) is the first chronicle written in the Old Czech language. It was composed in Poetry, verse by an unknown author at the beginning of the 14th century. The Chr ...

'', where there is written about the origin of the town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

in 1242. Due to the harsh climatic conditions, Lomnice area was colonized at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. The first documented owner was

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

in 1308.

Demographics

Economy

The largest employer based in the town is Samohýl group a.s., engaged in the wholesale and distribution of

veterinary drugs An animal drug (also veterinary drug) refers to a drug intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in animals. Regulation United States The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the broad mandat ...

and products, and pet food and pet accessories.

Transport

Lomnice nad Popelkou is the starting point of the railway lines to Městec Králové and Stará Paka.

Sport

The town has a notable ski club LSK Lomnice nad Popelkou, represented by ski jumpers such as Roman Koudelka or

Čestmír Kožíšek Čestmír Kožíšek (born 9 November 1991) is a Czech ski jumper from club LSK Lomnice nad Popelkou. Career Kožíšek appeared for the first time in Ski jumping Fis Cup in 2006. He came in 29th place in his first competition. Almost two years ...

. The club was founded in 1925.

Sights

The most valuable part of the town is Karlov, formed by Karlovské Square and its closest surroundings. It was founded in 1739–1740 by Karl Joseph Morzin and named by its founder. Karlov later urbanistically merged with the Lomnice nad Popelkou. Since 1995, it has been declared a village monument reservation. It is known for its preserved

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

houses, a typical example of local

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...

. The historic town centre is formed by Husovo Square. It main landmark is the town hall from 1864, after the previous town hall burned down. It has a neo-Gothic

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

. Town Museum and Gallery was founded in 1891 and since 1945 is located in the ''Hrubý House'', the only Neoclassical building in the town built in the 1820s. Lomnice nad Popelkou Castle in the northern part of Husovo Square was created by rebuilding an old Gothic keep in 1566–1567 into the Renaissance castle, and then in 1730–1737 into its current Baroque form. Today it serves for cultural and social purposes and as the seat of the library. Other sights on the square are two neo-Renaissance fountains from the second half of the 19th century, monument of

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspir ...

from the 1890s, Baroque Marian column from 1713, and Baroque Church of Saint Nicholas from 1781.

Notable people

František Jiránek František Jiránek (24 July 1698 – 1778) was a Czech ( Bohemian) Baroque composer, musician and very likely a student of Antonio Vivaldi. Life Jiránek was born on 24 July 1698 in Lomnice nad Popelkou (Northern Bohemia, present-day Czech Rep ...

(1698–1778), composer, pupil of

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

* František Doubravský (1790–1867), choirmaster, organist and composer *

Karel Kodejška Karel Kodejška (born 20 March 1947, in Lomnice nad Popelkou) is a Czech former ski jumper who competed from 1969 to 1976. He won two medals at the FIS Ski Flying World Championships with a gold in 1975 and a bronze in 1973. Kodejška also ...

(born 1947), ski jumper *

Vladimír Martinec Vladimír Martinec (born December 22, 1949) is a Czech retired ice hockey right wing who played both nationally and internationally in the 1970s and early 1980s. He won the Golden Hockey Stick award as top player in Czechoslovakia four times, i ...

(born 1949), ice hockey player * Ivan Ženatý (born 1962), violinist

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Semily District