Šluknov
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Šluknov (; ) is a town in
Děčín District Děčín District () is a district in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Děčín. Administrative division Děčín District is divided into three administrative districts of municipalities with extende ...
in the
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 5,600 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany and it is the northernmost town of the country. The town centre with the castle and area of Křížový vrch are well preserved and are protected as an urban monument zone.


Administrative division

Šluknov consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Šluknov (4,104) *Císařský (499) *Harrachov (5) *Královka (16) *Království (567) *Kunratice (37) *Nové Hraběcí (103) *Rožany (159)


Geography

Šluknov is located about northeast 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 ...
and northeast of
Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...
. It lies in the salient region of
Šluknov Hook Šluknov Hook (, ; or ), Šluknov Spur, or Šluknov Projection is a Salient (geography), salient region found in the northern Czech Republic along the border with Germany. Geography The area is part of the southern Lusatian Highlands, between ...
on the border with Germany. It is the northernmost town of the Czech Republic. Šluknov is situated in the
Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 2011. or Lusatian HillsBerka of Dubá Berka of Dubá () was a cadet branch of a Bohemian noble family of Lords of Dubá established by Hynek Berka of Dubá (1249–1306). It held estates in what is today the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany throughout the Middle Ages. Ancestors ...
. Under their administration, Šluknov became the administrative and economic centre of the Czech part of their estate. The family'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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
is to this day the
inescutcheon In heraldry, an inescutcheon is a smaller Escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon that is placed within or superimposed over the main shield of a coat of arms, similar to a Charge (heraldry), charge. This may be used in the following cases: * as a sim ...
in the town's coat of arms. In 1359, Šluknov was promoted to a town. During the reign of King
George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...
, the property of Berka of Dubá was confiscated and Šluknov was acquired by Wartenberg family. Next owners of the estate were families of Schleinitz,
Mansfeld Mansfeld (), sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places ...
,
Dietrichstein The House of Dietrichstein was one of the oldest and most prominent Austrian nobility, Austrian noble families originating in the Duchy of Carinthia. The family belonged to the Uradel, high nobility (German: ''Hochadel''). The Mikulov Castle, Niko ...
, and
Harrach The House of Harrach is the name of an old and influential German nobility, Austro-German noble family, which was also part of the Bohemian nobility. The ''Grafen'' (Counts) of Harrach were among the most prominent families in the Habsburg Empire ...
. Before the town became independent, last owner of the estate was count Erwin Leopold Nostitz-Rieneck. Šluknov was struck by many fires, the largest of them were in 1634, 1710 and 1838, when almost the whole town burned down. During 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 ...
, the town was repeatedly severely damaged by
Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...
. In 1813, the town was plundered by a 100,000 man army during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
.


20th century

Until 1918, the town was part of
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, head of the district of the same name, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in
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 ...
. In 1930, Šluknov was home to 5,578 inhabitants who were largely ethnic
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
. Prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Šluknov was a centre in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
for the pro-
Nazist Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...
Sudeten German Party The Sudeten German Party (, SdP, ) was created by Konrad Henlein under the name ''Sudetendeutsche Heimatfront'' ("Front of the Sudeten German Homeland") on 1 October 1933, some months after the First Czechoslovak Republic had outlawed the Germ ...
(SdP) led by Konrad Henlein. This was one reason why, in March 1939,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
chose the town as the first stop of the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
during the German annexation of
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a 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 border districts of Bohe ...
. The Wehrmacht continued on to occupy
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 ...
and establish the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...
. From 1938 to 1945, the town was annexed to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and administered as part of the
Reichsgau Sudetenland The Reichsgau Sudetenland was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. It comprised the northern part of the ''Sudetenland'' territory, which was annexed from Czechoslovakia according to the 30 September 1938 Munich Agreement. ...
. After World War II, the town returned to Czechoslovakia and the German inhabitants were expelled under the terms of
Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees were a series of laws drafted by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II. They were issued by President Edvard Beneš fr ...
.


Demographics

The town has a significant
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...
population.


Economy

The town suffers from its location on the periphery of the Czech Republic. There is persistently high unemployment rate, low supply of services and poor quality of healthcare. Most industrial production has ended and revenues from tourism are insufficient.


Transport

In Rožany is the road border crossing ''Šluknov-Rožany /
Sohland an der Spree Sohland an der Spree (German) or Załom (Upper Sorbian, ) is a municipality in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany near the border of the Czech Republic in a region called Lusatia. The river Spree flows through the village. Together with s ...
'' to Germany. Šluknov 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 ...
via Germany. The town is served by two train stations: ''Šluknov'' and ''Šluknov zastávka''. In the territory of Šluknov is also the train station serving the adjacent village of Valdek.


Education

Šluknov is home to two secondary schools and one of them is focused on
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
. There are three primary schools, including a
special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...
.


Sights

The Šluknov Castle is the main landmark of the town. It was built in the Renaissance style in the 16th century by the Schleinitz family, when it replaced an old fortress from 1487. In the 17th century, Baroque modifications were made. In 1986, Šluknov Castle was burned down. After twenty years of decay, it was repaired. In addition to exhibition and event rooms located in the building, there is a tourist information office. The castle park is often used for public events. Míru Square is the historic centre of the town. Its main landmarks are the Baroque column of the Holy Trinity, built in 1751–1752, and an
Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...
fountain dating from 1794. The Church of Saint Wenceslaus is the third church on its place. The previous were burn down by fires in 1634 and 1710 and the current early Baroque church was built in 1711–1722. The hill Křížový vrch is a valuable complex of sacral buildings, including
Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...
, several chapels and statues. The complex was consecrated in 1756.


Notable people

* Rudolf Kauschka (1883–1960), German-Bohemian sportsman and mountaineer


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sluknov Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Děčín District Romani communities in the Czech Republic