Liberec Region ( cs, Liberecký kraj, german: Reichenberger Region, pl, Kraj liberecki) is an administrative unit (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

: ''

kraj A kraj ( ''kraje'') is the highest-level administrative unit in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. For lack of other English expressions, the Slavic term is often translated as "province", "region", or "territory", although it approxim ...

'') 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 ...

, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. It is named after its capital

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 ...

. The region shares international borders with Germany and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Domestically the region borders the

Ústí nad Labem Region Ústí nad Labem Region or Ústecký Region ( cs, Ústecký kraj, , ), is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western part of the historical land of Bohemia, and named after the capital, Ústí nad Labem ...

to the west, the

Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...

to the south and the

Hradec Králové Region Hradec Králové Region ( cs, Královéhradecký kraj, ; pl, Kraj hradecki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec K ...

to the east.

Administrative divisions

The Liberec Region is divided into 4 districts: At a lower level, the region has 215 municipalities, comprising 65 in the Semily District, 59 in the Jablonec nad Nisou District, 57 in the Česká Lípa District and 34 in the Liberec District.

Cities and towns

The table below gives an overview of towns and cities in the region that have at least 7,000 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2019).

Physical geography

The region's landscape includes the

Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains ( cz, Jizerské hory), or Izera Mountains ( pl, Góry Izerskie; german: Isergebirge), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera River, which rises a ...

, part of the

Krkonoše The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif ...

Mountains and part of 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 ...

. The region was affected by flash floods in August 2010, with swelling of the river

Smědá The Smědá (, german: Wittig, pl, Witka) is a river of the Czech Republic and Poland. A right tributary of the Neisse River with a length of 51.9 km (5.9 km within Poland) and basin area 331 km2 (60 km2 in Poland).Black Triangle Black triangle may refer to one of the following: * Black triangle (badge), a Nazi concentration camp badge worn by inmates deemed "asocial" ** LGBT symbols#Triangle badges of Nazi Germany, Lesbian or feminist symbol reclaimed from the Nazi use * A ...

, an area of heavy industrialization and environmental damage on the three-way border of Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Culture

The Liberec Region is home to 11 national cultural monuments including

Bezděz Castle Bezděz Castle is a Gothic castle located some southeast of Česká Lípa, in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Its construction began before 1264 by order of Ottokar II of Bohemia. The royal castle of Bezděz was one of the most import ...

, Dlaskův statek in Dolánky u Turnova and the

Ještěd Tower Ještěd Tower is a 94-meter-tall television transmitter built on the top of Mount Ještěd near Liberec in the Czech Republic. It is made of reinforced concrete shaped in a ''hyperboloid'' form. The tower's architect is Karel Hubáček who ...

which transmits television signals as well as being a hotel. 2013 saw the proposal of an additional two sites to the list, those being a glass grinding plant in

Harrachov Harrachov (; german: Harrachsdorf) is a town in Jablonec nad Nisou District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic, close to the border with Poland. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. It is known for its ski resort. Administrative parts The town ...

dating from 1895 and the Janatův Mlýn

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

in Buřany,

Jablonec nad Jizerou Jablonec nad Jizerou (german: Jablonetz an der Iser) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,700 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Blansko, Bratrouchov, Buřany, Dolní Dušnice, Dolní ...

part of which remains from 1767. A

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

site dating to around 4,500 BC was uncovered in 2007 near the village of Příšovice.

Lake Mácha Lake Mácha ( cz, Máchovo jezero) is a pond in the municipal territory of Doksy in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. With an area of it is the largest pond in the region and therefore is called a lake, despite its artificial origin. Hi ...

near the town of Doksy is an important regional centre for leisure, attracting around 30,000 visitors annually. The vicinity of the lake has a caravan park and hosts an annual music festival called ', which was attended by approximately 8,000 people in 2013. Since the region was for a long time part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, and later (in 1938–1945) the major part of the reagion was a part of

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 ...

as part of

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

, the local buildings and the culture in general have been influenced by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, also considering the fact that parts of the region were populated by a majority of

Sudeten Germans German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

, prior to their expulsion after World War II.

Transport

The region is linked to Prague by the D10 motorway, which terminates in the town of Turnov. The length of operated railway lines in the region is . Three airports are in the region; Hradčany Airport, a disused military airport near the town of

Ralsko Ralsko (german: Roll) is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,100 inhabitants. It comprises area of the former military training area with Hradčany Air Base. Because of the former military ...

, is the most significant. Other minor airports exist in Česká Lípa and

Hodkovice nad Mohelkou Hodkovice nad Mohelkou (until 1949 Hodkovice; german: Liebenau) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ur ...

Education

The region is home to the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

Technical University of Liberec The Technical University of Liberec is a university in the city of Liberec, Czech Republic. The university has undergone great transformation in its over sixty-year history. When it was founded, it was called the Institute of Mechanical Engineerin ...

, which was founded in 1953. The university, which originally specialized in Mechanical and Textile Engineering, added a further four faculties in the 1990s, namely those specialising in Education, Economy, Architecture and

Mechatronics Mechatronics engineering also called mechatronics, is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that focuses on the integration of mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering systems, and also includes a combination of robotics, electronics, ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Regions of the Czech Republic