Česká Kamenice (; ) is a town in

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

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 5,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone.

Administrative division

Česká Kamenice consists of ten municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Česká Kamenice (2,792) *Dolní Kamenice (990) *Filipov (40) *Horní Kamenice (549) *Huníkov (63) *Kamenická Nová Víska (82) *Kerhartice (164) *Líska (136) *Pekelský Důl (69) *Víska pod Lesy (30)

Etymology

The name Kamenice was transferred to the settlement from the Kamenice River. In the 14th century, the settlement was called Německá Kamenice ("German Kamenice") to distinguish it from nearby Srbská Kamenice. From the 17th century, the name Česká Kamenice ("

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n Kamenice") is used.

Geography

Česká Kamenice is located about east of

Děčín Děčín (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the seventth largest municipality in the country by area. Děčín is an important traffic junction. Administrative division Děč ...

. The municipal territory is hilly and extends into three geomorphological regions:

Lusatian Mountains The Lusatian Mountains (; ; ) 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 range west of the Elbe valley. The mountains of the northern, G ...

, Central Bohemian Uplands and Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The highest point is the Studenec hill at above sea level. The Kamenice River and several brooks flow through Česká Kamenice.

History

The first written mention of Česká Kamenice is from 1352. The town was founded at the crossroads of two paths, the so-called "

n Road" and the "

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

n Road", probably in the area of an older Slavic settlement. It was founded before 1283, probably in the 1270s during the reign of King Ottokar II, when the colonization of the region culminates mainly in settlers from neighbouring

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Concentration camp

In spring 1944, the Rabstein sub-camp of

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flos ...

was created here, with a capacity of 600 prisoners. At the end of the war, 1,500 inmates were incarcerated in the camp. The camp provided workers for the nearby underground aircraft factory in the town of Janská, 3 km west of Česká Kamenice. The number of inmate deaths is not known due to the destruction of all camp documentation. The foundations of the camp buildings remain visible, along with a memorial and historical overview.

Demographics

Transport

The I/13 road (the section from

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, part of the

European route E442 European route E 442 is part of the international E-road network. Route * ** E48, E49 Karlovy Vary ** E55 Teplice ** E65 Turnov ** E67 Hradec Králové ** E462 Olomouc * ** E50, E75 Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of Eur ...

) passes through the town. Česká Kamenice is located on the railway line Děčín–

Rumburk Rumburk (; ) 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 division Rumburk consists of three municipal parts (in brackets ...

. Česká Kamenice is also connected with

Kamenický Šenov Kamenický Šenov () is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zone ...

by a short railway line. Historic trains run on it. It is only in operation during the summer tourist season and on weekends in some months out of season.

Sights

Míru Square and its surroundings form the historic town centre. The stone renaissance fountain on the square is from 1574. The main landmarks of the centre are Church of Saint James the Great, Evangelical church, Pilgrimage Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Kamenice Chateau and Salhausen Chateau. There are many preserved houses in Neoclassical and Art Nouveau styles. Due to the natural conditions, there are several rocky lookouts in the area. On Studenec, there is an iron observation tower from 1888, a technical monument. A ruin of Česká Kamenice Castle is preserved on the Zámecký hill, in its premises there is a wooden observation tower. The remains of the concentration camp and the underground aircraft factory contains an exposition and under certain conditions are open to the public.

Notable people

* Joseph Rothe (1759–1808), Austrian operatic singer *

Johann Baptist Emanuel Pohl Johann Baptist Emanuel Pohl (23 February 1782, Česká Kamenice () – 22 May 1834, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, entomologist, geologist, mineralogist, and physician. Biography Johann Emanuel Pohl grew up in ''Politz an der Elbe'' (''Boletic ...

(1782–1834), Austrian botanist, entomologist, geologist and physician *

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

(1841–1904), composer; took organ and music-theory lessons here in 1856 * Hannes Hegen (1925–2014), German illustrator and caricaturist *

Sigurd Hofmann Sigurd Hofmann (15 February 1944 – 17 June 2022) was a German physicist known for his work on superheavy elements. Biography Hofmann was born in Böhmisch Kamnitz, Nazi Germany (now Česká Kamenice, Czech Republic) on 15 February 1944. He d ...

(1944–2022), German physicist

Twin towns – sister cities

Česká Kamenice is twinned with: *

Bad Schandau Bad Schandau (; , ) is a spa town in Germany, in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, at the mouth of the valley of the Kirnitzsch and in the ar ...

, Germany

Gallery

Česká Kamenice - kaple Narození PM z ul. U Kaple.jpg, Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Saalhausen-Schloss-BöhmischKamnitz.jpg, Salhausen Chateau Kamenický hrad.jpg, Kamenice Castle 20170527 Rabštejn Underground Factory 01.jpg, Rabštejn underground factory Rozhledna na Studenci 2014 01.jpg, Observation tower on Studenec

References

External links

* (in Czech)
Microregion Českokamenicko
(in Czech)
Historical postcards of Česká KameniceVirtual show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceska Kamenice Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Děčín District