Horní Jiřetín (; ) is a town in

Most District Most District () is a Okres, district in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Most (city), Most. Administrative division Most District is divided into two Districts of the Czech Republic#Municipalities with ...

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 2,200 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Horní Jiřetín consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Horní Jiřetín (1,800) *Černice (232) *Dolní Jiřetín (11) *Jezeří (0) *Mariánské Údolí (47)

Geography

Horní Jiřetín is located about northwest of

Most Most or Möst may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** Autodrom Most, moto ...

and west 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 on the border between the

Most Basin The Most Basin (also known as North Bohemian Basin; , ) is a structural basin and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is named after the city of Most. It forms the southwestern and central parts of the Ústí nad Labem Region. ...

and

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

. The highest point is a mountain at above sea level. The Loupnice Stream flows though the town. There are several ponds and artificial lakes in the municipal territory.

History

The first written mention of Horní Jiřetín is from 1263 under the name ''Jorenthal''. In 1409, Jiřetín was divided into Horní ("Upper") and Dolní ("Lower") Jiřetín. During the 17th century, Horní Jiřetín was affected by 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 ...

and by the great plague epidemic in 1680. From the 17th century, Horní Jiřetín, divided by the stream Jiřetínský potok, was mainly governed by the

Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the ce ...

and Waldstein families. From 1938 to 1945, the municipality was annexed by

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 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 ...

, most of the population was expelled and replaced by Czechs.

Demographics

Economy

In the past, the inhabitants of Jiřetín subsisted mainly on fishing in

Lake Komořany Lake Komořany () is a former lake in the Czech Republic that is now non-existent as it has dried up. It had an area of approximately . It was located in the Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, sepa ...

, ore mining and various forms of agriculture, mainly

arboriculture Arboriculture (, from ) is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices and to their env ...

Lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

has been continuously mined in Horní Jiřetín since the middle of the 19th century. Today, a significant part of the municipal territory is occupied by a lignite surface mine,

Lom ČSA The Czechoslovak Army Mine (, shortened to Lom ČSA) is an opencast lignite mine located in the Most Basin of the Czech Republic, located between the city of Most (city), Most and the town of Litvínov. Since 2008, mining operations have been run b ...

. In 2015, the Ministry of Industry proposed breaking the mining limits imposed on the mine. This would lead to the demolition of 170 houses in Horní Jiřetín. However, the proposal specifically for this mine was not accepted. In 1828, a cotton plant was built in Mariánské Údolí. It is still in operation today as the Triola company and it manufactures underwear and swimwear.

Transport

The I/27 road (the section from Most to

Litvínov Litvínov (; ) is a town in Most District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. It is known as an industrial centre. Administrative division Litvínov consists of 12 municipal parts (in brackets po ...

) runs along the eastern municipal border.

Sights

The most important architectural monument is the Jezeří Castle incorporated into the slopes of the

. It was originally a Gothic castle from the 14th century, later rebuilt in the Renaissance and then in the Baroque style. Most of its English-style park was destroyed by coal mining. Since 2023, it has been protected as a national cultural monument. In Horní Jiřetín is the valuable Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was built in the early Baroque style in 1694–1700 according to design of the architect

Jean Baptiste Mathey Jean Baptiste Mathey (c. 1630 – c. 1695) was a French architect and painter born in Dijon. Between 1675 and 1694, Mathey worked in Prague. He enjoyed a remarkable career in which his French planning and devotion to classical rationality (as opp ...

Notable people

* Franz Joseph Glæser (1798–1861), Czech-Danish composer * Vladimír Sommer (1921–1997), composer *

Walter Womacka Walter Womacka (22 December 1925 – 18 September 2010) was a German socialist realism, Socialist Realist artist. His work was pioneering early East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR) aesthetics. Biography Walter Womacka was born on ...

(1925–2010), German artist *

Vladimír Buřt Vladimír Buřt (3 March 1964, Albrechtice) is a Czech politician and environmentalist, and mayor of the town of Horní Jiřetín. Career He is one of the most prominent advocates of the brown coal mining limits in North Bohemia as Horní Jiř ...

(born 1964), ecologist, mayor of the town

Twin towns – sister cities

Horní Jiřetín is twinned with: * Battenberg, Germany

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horni Jiretin Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Most District Towns in the Ore Mountains