Hrubá Skála () is a municipality and village in

Semily District Semily District () is a Okres, district in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Semily, but the most populated town is Turnov. Administrative division Semily District is divided into three Districts of the Czech Rep ...

in the

Liberec Region Liberec Region () is an administrative unit (Czech language, Czech: ''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Liberec. The region shares international bor ...

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 600 inhabitants. It is known for the Hrubá Skála rock town.

Administrative division

Hrubá Skála consists of eight municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Hrubá Skála (91) *Bohuslav (12) *Borek (27) *Doubravice (292) *Hnanice (104) *Krčkovice (35) *Rokytnice (36) *Želejov (12)

Etymology

The name Hrubá Skála literally means 'rough rock' in Czech.

Geography

Hrubá Skála is located about southeast of

Turnov Turnov (; ) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is a traditional centre for gemstone polishing, glass craftsmanship and arts. The historic town centre is well preserved and ...

and south of

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 ...

. It lies in the

Jičín Uplands The Jičín Uplands () are uplands and a geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is located in the Hradec Králové, Liberec and Central Bohemian regions. Geomorphology The Jičín Uplands are a mesoregion of the North Bohemian ...

. The highest point is the Stávek hill at above sea level. The Libuňka Stream flows through the municipality. The Jordánka Brook flows through the southern part of the municipal territory and supplies several fishonds there. Most of the municipality lies in the

Bohemian Paradise Bohemian Paradise () is a natural and cultural region in the Czech Republic. It is a designated protected landscape area with an area of . Bohemian Paradise is also the name of a geopark with an area of , which is the only UNESCO Global Geopark ...

Protected Landscape Area. West of the Hrubá Skála village is the

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

Hrubá Skála rock town with sandstone pillars. The area has been protected as the Hruboskalsko Nature Reserve since 1998 and is a popular destination for climbers and hikers.

History

The castle is situated on a steep sandstone cliff on a rock platform and was originally called Skála. The first written mention of Hrubá Skála Castle is from 1353, seven years before the first mention of the settlement. It was then a possession of the noble Hynek of Waldstein. The manor was called Hrubá Skála to differ it from nearby

Malá Skála Malá Skála () is a municipality and village in Jablonec nad Nisou District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. Administrative division Malá Skála consists of ten municipal parts (in brackets population ...

. His descendants owned the castle until 1416 when it was taken over by the lords of Jenštejn and then, in 1460, by Zajíc of Hasenburg. Held by the Lords of Smiřice from 1515 onwards, the rebuilt

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

castle had become the centre of one of the largest

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

estates with more than 50 villages. Seized by Emperor Ferdinand II upon the 1620

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 ...

, it was again held by the Waldstein dynasty from 1630 and devastated by both

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

and Imperial troops 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 ...

. It was rebuilt in 1710 and again in 1804. In 1821,

Franz de Paula Adam von Waldstein Franz de Paula Adam Norbert Wenzel Ludwig Valentin von Waldstein (14 February 1759 – 24 May 1823) was an Austrian soldier, explorer and naturalist. Biography A member of an old noble House of Waldstein, he was born in Vienna, the third son o ...

sold Hrubá Skála to Johann Anton Lexa von Aehrenthal. In 1859, Hrubá Skála Castle was again rebuilt, this time in the neo-Gothic style. After World War II, the Aerenthal family was dispossessed in 1945 and the German-speaking population expelled according to the

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

Transport

The I/35 road (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 municipality. Hrubá Skála is located on the main railway lines from

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 ...

to Turnov and from

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

to Turnov.

Sights

The main landmark is the Hrubá Skála Castle. Its present form is a result of modifications from 1923. Under Communist rule, the castle served as a recreation home. Today it serves as a hotel and spa. The Church of Saint Joseph is located near the castle. It was built in the Neoclassical style in 1812.

Notable people

Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal Alois Leopold Johann Baptist Graf Lexa von Aehrenthal (27 September 1854 – 17 February 1912) was a diplomat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. According to his biographer Solomon Wank, he exuded a strong monarchical-conservative outlook, loyalty t ...

(1854–1912), Austro-Hungarian count and politician

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hruba Skala Villages in Semily District