Ústí nad Orlicí (; ) is a town in the

Pardubice Region Pardubice Region () is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located mainly in the eastern part of its historical region of Bohemia, with a small part in northwestern Moravia. It is named after its capital Pardubice. As an administrat ...

of the

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

. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.

Administrative division

Ústí nad Orlicí consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Ústí nad Orlicí (8,978) *Černovír (295) *Dolní Houžovec (52) *Horní Houžovec (48) *Hylváty (3,017) *Kerhartice (888) *Knapovec (326) *Oldřichovice (354)

Etymology

The name ''Ústí'' literally means 'mouth (of the river)'. It refers to its location at the confluence of rivers. The German name ''Wildenschwert'' was created by a distortion of the original German name ''Wilhelmswerd'', which referred to one of colonizers on the area, Wilhelm von Dürnholz, and meant "Wilhelm's promontory".

Geography

Ústí nad Orlicí is located about east of

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

. It lies in the

Svitavy Uplands The Svitavy Uplands or Svitavy Hills () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Pardubice Region and it belongs to the largest mesoregions in the country. Geomorphology The Svitavy Uplands is a ...

. The highest point is the Strážný hill at above sea level. The town is situated at the confluence of the Tichá Orlice and Třebovka rivers.

Climate

History

Ústí nad Orlicí was founded in the second half of the 13th century, during the reign of King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...

. Its predecessor was a Slavic settlement called ''Oustí''. The first written mention of the town is from 1285, when King Wenceslaus II gifted it to Záviš of Falkenstein. In 1292, after death of Záviš, Wenceslaus II gifted the settlement to the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks at Königsaal. They passed the town to the

Litomyšl Litomyšl (; ) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 10,000 inhabitants. It is a former bishopric and Latin Catholic titular see. Litomyšl is known for the château-type castle complex of the Lit ...

bishopric in 1358. During the 15th and 16th centuries, it was owned by various noble families, including the Kostkas of Postupice or the Pernštejn family. The town was damaged by a large fire in 1495. After the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

in 1620, Ústí was acquired by the Liechtenstein family. There were

guilds A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

of weavers established here in the 16th century. The town was slow to recover from the lootings of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, then was destroyed by fire in 1705. It gained municipal status in 1795. When Ústí was connected to the railway network by the

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

–

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

line in 1845, the textile business boomed. It gained the tagline of ''The

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

of Eastern Bohemia'', and became an important textile centre. It was an important railway junction and from 1850 became a regional centre.

Demographics

Economy

The largest industrial employer based in the town is Rieter CZ, a manufacturer of textile machinery with more than 500 employees.

Transport

The I/14 road (the section from

Rychnov nad Kněžnou Rychnov nad Kněžnou (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban m ...

Česká Třebová Česká Třebová (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Mon ...

) passes through the town. Ústí nad Orlicí is located on the

–

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

international railway line. The town is also served by the Prague– Luhačovice and Prague–

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

interregional lines and by a regional line heading from Česká Třebová to

Sights

Mírové Square is a regular rectangular square with a floor plan preserved since the founding of the town. The square is surrounded by valuable arcaded houses. In the middle of the square is Marian column from 1737. The Baroque town hall was built in 1721–1723 and replaced the old town hall destroyed by fire. A school was built next to it in 1793. In 1850, the two buildings were structurally connected. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is a late Baroque church, built in 1770–1776. The adjoining deanery building was built in 1742–1748. The Church of the Visitation of Our Lady in Horní Houžovec was built around 1800. It is a wooden rural church with an octagonal nave, valued as an example of vernacular architecture in the region. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is located in Knapovec. It was built in the late Empire style in 1832–1834. The adjoining deanery building was built in 1742–1748.

Notable people

* František Martin Pecháček (1763–1816), composer * Leopold Jansa (1795–1875), violinist and composer * Fritz Löhner-Beda (1883–1942), Jewish author * Jaroslav Kocian (1883–1950), violinist *

Oldřich Marek Oldřich Marek (3 April 1911 – 26 December 1986) was a Czechs, Czech entomologist and teacher. He was a member of Czechoslovak entomological society in Prague starting in 1940. Life Oldřich Marek was born on 3 April 1911 in Ústí nad Orlicí. ...

(1911–1986), entomologist * Emila Medková (1928–1985), photographer * Josef Lux (1956–1999), politician * Roman Dostál (born 1970), biathlete * Zdeňka Žádníková-Volencová (born 1974), actress * Martin Netolický (born 1982), politician * Michal Šlesingr (born 1983), biathlete *

Ondřej Moravec Ondřej Moravec (; born 9 June 1984) is a former Czech biathlete. Life and career Moravec represented the Czech Republic at the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. At the 2014 Winter Olympics, he won silver medals in both the pursuit and the mixed re ...

(born 1984), biathlete * Jaroslav Kulhavý (born 1985), mountain biker, Olympic winner * Kamil Vacek (born 1987), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Ústí nad Orlicí is twinned with: *

Amberg Amberg () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate about halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. History The town was first mentioned in 1034 with the name Ammenberg. It became an important trading c ...

, Germany * Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Poland * Massa Martana, Italy * Neukölln (Berlin), Germany *

Poprad Poprad (; ; ) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatras, High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vic ...

, Slovakia

Gallery

Ústí nad Orlicí, Hernychova vila Dm269166-4392 IMG 6650 2018-08-04 18.03.jpg, Hernych's villa Ústí nad Orlicí, Socha Panny Marie Dm447696-3780 IMG 6661 2018-08-04 18.10.jpg, Marian column Ústí nad Orlicí, Socha Bubnující legionář Dm422816-3778 IMG 6676 2018-08-05 09.20.jpg, ''Bubnující legionář'' Sculpture

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Usti nad Orlici Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Ústí nad Orlicí District Jewish communities in the Czech Republic House of Liechtenstein