Liberec (; ) is a city in 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 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Liberec was once home to a thriving textile industry and hence nicknamed 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 ...

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 ...

". A symbol of the city and the main landmark of the panorama of Liberec is the

Ještěd Tower Ještěd Tower () is a television transmitter on top of Mount Ještěd near Liberec in the Czech Republic. Measuring , it is made of reinforced concrete shaped in a "hyperboloid" form. The tower was designed by architect Karel Hubáček, w ...

. Since the end of the 19th century, the city has been a conurbation with the suburb of

Vratislavice nad Nisou Vratislavice nad Nisou () is a self-governing borough of the city of Liberec in the Czech Republic. As of 2021, it has about 8,900 inhabitants. It straddles the Lusatian Neisse river between Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou, around 3.5 km south- ...

and the neighbouring city of

Jablonec nad Nisou Jablonec nad Nisou (; ) is a city in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the second-largest city in the region. It is a local centre for education, and is known for its glass and jewelry production, espe ...

Administrative division

Liberec consists of 33 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Liberec I-Staré Město (9,793) *Liberec II-Nové Město (2,979) *Liberec III-Jeřáb (5,657) *Liberec IV-Perštýn (3,117) *Liberec V-Kristiánov (5,312) *Liberec VI-Rochlice (17,268) *Liberec VII-Horní Růžodol (3,430) *Liberec VIII-Dolní Hanychov (2,358) *Liberec IX-Janův Důl (1,072) *Liberec X-Františkov (3,676) *Liberec XI-Růžodol I (2,281) *Liberec XII-Staré Pavlovice (4,683) *Liberec XIII-Nové Pavlovice (2,578) *Liberec XIV-Ruprechtice (8,429) *Liberec XV-Starý Harcov (7,090) *Liberec XVI-Nový Harcov (377) *Liberec XVII-Kateřinky (540) *Liberec XVIII-Karlinky (539) *Liberec XIX-Horní Hanychov (1,490) *Liberec XX-Ostašov (672) *Liberec XXI-Rudolfov (155) *Liberec XXII-Horní Suchá (490) *Liberec XXIII-Doubí (2,960) *Liberec XXIV-Pilínkov (642) *Liberec XXV-Vesec (4,622) *Liberec XXVIII-Hluboká (21) *Liberec XXIX-Kunratice (172) *Liberec XXX-

(8,935) *Liberec XXXI-Krásná Studánka (967) *Liberec XXXII-Radčice (704) *Liberec XXXIII-Machnín (1,050) *Liberec XXXIV-Bedřichovka (109) *Liberec XXXV-Karlov pod Ještědem (172) In the early 1990s, some parts became independent municipalities:

Stráž nad Nisou Stráž may refer to places in the Czech Republic: *Stráž (Domažlice District), a municipality and village in the Plzeň Region *Stráž (Tachov District), a market town in the Plzeň Region *Stráž nad Nežárkou, a town in the South Bohemian ...

(formerly Liberec XXVI-Stráž nad Nisou and Liberec XXVII-Svárov),

Dlouhý Most Dlouhý Most () is a municipality and village in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The count ...

(formerly Liberec XXXVI-Dlouhý Most),

Jeřmanice Jeřmanice () is a municipality and village in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. Etymology The name is derived from the personal name Herman. It was the ''lokator'' of the village. Geogra ...

(formerly Liberec XXXVII-Jeřmanice) and

Šimonovice Šimonovice () is a municipality and village in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The count ...

(formerly Liberec XXXVIII-Minkovice and Liberec XXXIX-Šimonovice). Vratislavice nad Nisou is declared a self-governing borough, while the rest of the city is governed directly.

Etymology

The oldest known names of the city are German, Reychinberch (1352) and Reychmberg (1369), meaning "rich/resourceful mountain" (''reicher Berg'' in modern German). It was also spelled Reichenberg (1385–1399) and Rychmberg (1410). The

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

equivalent originated as a distortion: Rychberk (1545), Libercum (1634), Liberk (1790), and finally Liberec (1845). In Czech, words starting with "R" were often dissimilated into "L". Since then, the city was known as Liberec in Czech and as Reichenberg in German.

Geography

Liberec is located about northeast of

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 ...

. Most of the municipal territory lies in the

Zittau Basin Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the German state of Saxony, and belongs to the district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost district. Zittau is located in Upper Lusatia, the southern part ...

. In the northeast, the territory extends into the

Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains (), or Izera Mountains (; ), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera (river), Jizera River, which rises at the southern base of the Smrk (Jizera), ...

and to the eponymous protected landscape area. In the west, the territory extends into the

Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge The Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge (; ) is a ridge and geomorphological mesoregion of the Czech Republic. It is part of the Western Sudetes. The vast majority lies in the Liberec Region. Geomorphology Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge is a mesoregion of th ...

and includes the highest point of Liberec and of the entire Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge, the mountain

Ještěd Ještěd (; ) is the highest mountain of the Ještěd–Kozákov Ridge in the north of the Czech Republic, at . It is the symbol of the city of Liberec. On the summit is the Ještěd Tower restaurant, hotel and television tower, designed by Kare ...

at above sea level. Liberec is situated on the

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

River. The largest body of water is Harcov Reservoir (also called Liberec Dam). The reservoir is located inside the built-up area on the Lusatian Neisse's tributary, the stream of Harcovský potok. Today it serves mainly as a recreational place for the residents of Liberec, but it was originally designed to protect the city from floods and as a water reservoir for industrial use. It is also important as a biotope with the occurrence of protected animals.

Climate

Liberec has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfb''; Trewartha: ''Dcbo''). The annual average temperature is , the hottest month in July is , and the coldest month is in January. The annual precipitation is , of which July is the wettest with , while April is the driest with only . The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from on 11 February 1929 to on 16 July 1928.

History

11th–16th centuries

In the 11th or 12th century, a settlement named Habersdorf, which was the predecessor of Liberec, was established on the

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

from

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 ...

by Czech settlers and German colonizers. In the 13th century, a second settlement named Reichenberg was established near the first one. The two settlements later merged. The first written mention of Liberec under its German name Reichenberg is from 1352. Starting in 1278, the area was owned by the noble Bieberstein family. Reichenberg suffered from the passing through of troops during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

, then was burned down in 1469 during a battle with the army 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 ...

. After the Biebersteins died out, the

Frýdlant Frýdlant (, also known as Frýdlant v Čechách; ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Cz ...

estate, which included Reichenberg, was bought by the Redern family in 1558. The Rederns contributed significantly to the development of the settlement, as they built new buildings, modernized the settlement and laid the foundation of the textile industry. In 1577, Reichenberg was promoted to a town by Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

. He gave the town the coat of arms it still uses today.

17th–19th centuries

From 1600, the town was administered by Kateřina of Redern, who obtained the right to trade in salt for the town, had a chapel added to the castle and contributed to the construction of the town hall. When the Redern family was forced to leave Reichenberg 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 ...

(1620), it was acquired by

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

. After his death it belonged to the Gallas and Clam Gallas families, who did not care much about the town. The prosperous local industry was interrupted 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 a great plague in 1680. The crises resulted in a series of harshly suppressed serf uprisings. In the 18th century, Reichenberg flourished. The number of inhabitants tripled and the cloth industry was very successful. The Battle of Reichenberg between

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

occurred nearby in 1757 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, but the town continued to develop. During the 19th century, the town became the centre of textile industry for all 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 ...

. In 1850, it became a self-governing city. Reichenberg became a rich industrial city without representative buildings. In the late 19th century, a spectacular collection of representative buildings was created, mostly in the neo-Renaissance style: the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, the

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

, the North Bohemian Museum, the Old Synagogue, and others. A representative villa district and a forest with a botanical garden and a zoo were created.

20th century

Until 1918, the city was part of

, seat of the Reichenberg district, one of the 94 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in

. After the end of World War I, Austria-Hungary fell apart and the Czechs of Bohemia joined newly established

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 ...

on 29 October 1918 whilst the Germans wanted to stay with Austria to form reduced

German Austria The Republic of German-Austria (, alternatively spelt ), commonly known as German-Austria (), was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethni ...

on 12 November 1918, both citing

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

Fourteen Points The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress ...

and the doctrine of

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

. Liberec was declared the capital of the German-Austrian province of German Bohemia. Czechs however argued that these lands, though German-settled since the Middle Ages, were historically an integral part of the Duchy and Kingdom of Bohemia. On 16 December 1918, the Czechoslovak Army entered Liberec and the whole province remained part of Bohemia. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

devastated the economy of the area with its textile, carpet, glass and other light industry. The high number of unemployed people, hunger, fear of the future and dissatisfaction with the Prague government led to the flash rise of the populist

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), founded by

Konrad Henlein Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (6 May 1898 – 10 May 1945) was a Sudeten German politician in Czechoslovakia before World War II. After Germany invaded Czechoslovakia he became the and of Reichsgau Sudetenland under the occupation of Nazi Germa ...

, born in the suburbs of Liberec. The city became the centre of

Pan-German Pan-Germanism ( or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanism seeks to unify all ethnic Germans, German-speaking people, and possibly also non-German Germanic peoples – into a sin ...

movements and later of the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

, especially after the 1935 election, despite its important democratic mayor, Karl Kostka ( German Democratic Freedom Party). The final change came in Summer 1938, after the radicalization of the terror of the SdP, whose death threats forced Kostka and his family to flee to Prague. In September 1938, the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

awarded the city 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 ...

. In 1939, it became the capital of

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. ...

. Most of the city's Jewish and Czech population fled to the rest of Czechoslovakia or were expelled. The important synagogue was burned down. Henlein himself confiscated a villa in Liberec that had belonged to a Jewish businessman, which remained Henlein's home until 1945. After World War II, the city again became a part of Czechoslovakia and nearly all of the city's German population was expelled following 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 ...

. The region was then resettled with Czechs.

Demographics

Economy

The largest employers with headquarters in Liberec and at least 1,000 employees are: The

Liberec-Jablonec agglomeration The Liberec-Jablonec agglomeration () is the agglomeration of the cities of Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou and their surroundings in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It was defined in 2020 as a tool for drawing money from the European Str ...

was defined as a tool for drawing money from the

European Structural and Investment Funds The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds, ESIFs) are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultu ...

. It is an area that includes the cities of Liberec and

and their surroundings, linked to the cities by commuting and migration. It has about 227,000 inhabitants.

Transport

Liberec city transport provides

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

and

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

lines. The first tram was used in Liberec in 1897. Liberec shares the tramway line which connects it to its neighbouring Jablonec nad Nisou. There are also two city lines with . The first connects Horní Hanychov (next to the cable car to

) and Lidové Sady via Fügnerova. The second connects Dolní Hanychov and Lidové Sady via Fügnerova (only during workdays). There are also four historical trams. In the city centre there are two tracks as a memorial; in the past trams were used also on the central place in front of the city hall. 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 Liberec. A private international airport is located in Liberec XX-Ostašov.

Education and science

Technical University of Liberec The Technical University of Liberec () is a university in the city of Liberec, Czech Republic. The university has undergone great transformation in its over sixty-year history. When it was founded, it was called the Institute of Mechanical Engin ...

was founded in 1953 as "University of Mechanical Engineering in Liberec". After the number of fields has grown, in 1995, the university was renamed. It is known especially for its research in the field of textile engineering. It has about 9,000 students in 6 faculties (Mechanical Engineering, Textile Engineering, Arts and Architecture, Mechatronics Informatics and Inter-Disciplinary Studies, Science-Humanities and Education, and Economics), and it also comprises Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation. Regional Research Library in Liberec is a general public science library, aiming at general education in the region. Founded in 1900, based on the decision of the municipal council to establish a municipal library. It has an exceptional collection of Germano-Slavica and Sudetica (periodicals and books in German language from Bohemia). New building was completed in 2000 on the site of the Old Synagogue, which was burnt down by the Nazis in November 1938. Its building comprises also a modern New Synagogue.

Culture

Mateřinka is a theatre festival held biennially in June. Since 2020 Liberec has hosted

Anifilm Anifilm is an international festival of animated films held in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 2010. Until 2019, it was held in Třeboň, and since 2020, it is held in Liberec. The festival features the most interesting films from the entir ...

, an annual international festival of

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

films.

Sport

The city is home to

FC Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech professional association football, football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won thr ...

, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club founded in Liberec which plays in the

Czech First League The Czech First League () also known as the Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Czech Republic and the highest level of the Czech Republic football league system. Seasons typically run from A ...

, the top tier. Slovan Liberec is one of the most successful clubs in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles. There is also SK VTJ Rapid Liberec. It plays in one of the lowest divisions. The

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team

HC Bílí Tygři Liberec Bílí Tygři Liberec (English: ''Liberec White Tigers'') are a professional ice hockey club based in Liberec, Czech Republic. The team competes in the Czech Extraliga, the highest level of play in professional Czech ice hockey. History The firs ...

play in the

Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1993 following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia midway through the 1992–93 Czechoslovak Extraliga season (which all Slovak and ...

, the national top tier. It plays in

Home Credit Arena The Home Credit Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Liberec, Czech Republic. The capacity of the arena is 9,000 people and it was built in 2005. It is currently home to the HC Bílí Tygři Liberec ice hockey team. It hosted matches fro ...

. Liberec has hosted two

European Luge Championships The FIL European Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place since 1914. From 1914 to 1934, these championships were part of the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV - International Sled Sport Federa ...

, having done so in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, it hosted the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial Nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship eve ...

. The

Ski Jumping World Cup The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup is the world's highest level of ski jumping and the FIS Ski Flying World Cup as the subdivisional part of the competition. It was founded by Torbjørn Yggeseth for the 1979/80 season and organized by the Internati ...

always comes to Liberec in January. The World

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

Championships took place in May 2011. In 2015, Liberec hosted the 2015

World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships The World Mountain Bike Orienteering Championships is the official event for awarding World Champion titles in mountain bike orienteering. The World Championships, also known as WMTBOC, were first held in 2002, and since 2004 they have been orga ...

Motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

takes place at the Pavlovický Stadion. It was built in 1930. The most important event that was run on it was the semi-final of the Under-21 World Championship in 2019. The team Start Gniezno Liberec race at the stadium.

Sights

The main landmark and one of the symbols of the city is the

on the

mountain,which is used as a transmitter, observation tower and hotel. It was built in 1966–1973 according to the design by the architect Karel Hubáček. It is the most important monument in the city, protected as a national cultural monument since 2006. The building has won many architectural awards and a poll for the most important Czech building of the 20th century. Among the most valuable buildings of the city centre is the Liberec City Hall. It was built in the

Neo-Renaissance style Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

in 1888–1893, according to the design by Franz Neumann. It has three towers; the highest of them is high. In the summer season, the interiors and one of the towers are open to the public. Since 2024, it has been protected as a national cultural monument. The Liberec Castle was built in several stages, the oldest part was built in the Renaissance style in 1582–1583. After World War II, it was in a state of disrepair, after which it was insensitively reconstructed and used by a glass manufacturer. The castle has not been used since 1997 and is gradually deteriorating. A notable building is the F. X. Šalda Theatre. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1881–1883. A valuable element is the curtain with the theme Triumph of Love, made by

Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sket ...

Ernst Klimt Ernst Klimt (3 January 1864 in Vienna – 9 December 1892 in Vienna) was an Austrian history painter and decorative painter. He was a younger brother of the better-known artist Gustav Klimt. Biography He was the third of seven children born to ...

and

Franz von Matsch Franz Josef Karl Edler von Matsch (16 September 1861, in Vienna – 5 October 1942, in Vienna), also known as Franz Matsch, was an Austrian painter and sculptor in the Jugendstil style. Along with Gustav and Ernst Klimt, he was a member of the Ma ...

. The North Bohemian Museum was founded in 1873 as the first arts and crafts museum in the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands (, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia out of which Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, were formed. ...

. The current museum building dates from 1898. It was designed by the architect

Friedrich Ohmann Friedrich Ohmann (21 December 1858, Lemberg - 6 April 1927, Vienna) was an Austrian architect in the Historicism (art), Historicist style. Life and work His father was a building official. In 1877, he began his studies in architecture at the ...

and built by Hans Grisebach in the romantic-historicist style. The building has a high tower, which is a replica of the Liberec City Hall tower. ''Liberecká výšina'' is a significant landmark of the eastern part of the city. It is a restaurant with a high observation tower, built in the style of a medieval castle. It was built in 1900–1901 and its look is inspired by the watchtower of the

Nuremberg Castle Nuremberg Castle () is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the City walls of Nuremberg, city walls, is considered to be one ...

. The most visited tourist destinations in the city are the Liberec Zoo, iQ Landia (a science centre) and Centrum Babylon (an entertainment centre which includes a large

water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...

, amusement park, casino, shopping court and hotel).

Zoo and botanical garden

The Liberec Zoo was founded in 1904 and is the oldest one in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia. Today it has an area of almost and keeps more than 160 species. The symbol of the zoo and the main attraction are the

white tiger The white tiger (ashy tiger) is a leucistic morph of the tiger, typically the Bengal tiger. It is occasionally reported in the Indian wilderness. It has the typical black stripes of a tiger, but its coat is otherwise white or near-white, and ...

s. However, since they are a breed of the

mainland Asian tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

and not a separate species, it is planned to end their breeding after the death of the last individual. The Botanical Garden Liberec was established in 1876 by the ''Verein der Naturfreunde'' ("Society of Friends of Nature") and is the oldest one in the Czech Republic. It was originally located on the site of the North Bohemian Museum, but was moved in 1895 due to the construction of the museum. In 1996–2000, it was completely rebuilt. Today it comprises nine glasshouses for visitors with a total area of and more than 8,000 exotic plants.

Notable people

Christoph Demantius Johann Christoph Demantius (15 December 1567 – 20 April 1643) was a German composer, music theorist, writer and poet. He was an exact contemporary of Monteverdi, and represented a transitional phase in German Lutheran music from the polypho ...

(1567–1643), German composer and poet * Joachim Johann Nepomuk Spalowsky (1752–1797), Austrian naturalist * Josef Proksch (1794–1864), composer and teacher of

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...

* Friedrich Karl Ginzel (1850–1926), Austrian astronomer *

Heinrich Herkner Heinrich Herkner (27 June 1863 – 27 May 1932) was a German economist as well as a social reformer. Biography Herkner was born in Liberec (), Bohemia and died in Berlin, Germany. Herkner studied with Lujo Brentano in Strasbourg. Later he ...

(1863–1932), German economist *

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...

(1875–1951), Austrian-Czech car designer *

Vlasta Burian Josef Vlastimil Burian, better known as Vlasta Burian, (9 April 1891 – 31 January 1962) was a Czechs, Czech actor, singer, comedian, footballer and film director. He is among the most famous Czech actors and comedians of the first half of the 2 ...

(1891–1962), actor * Edmund Nick (1891–1973), German composer *

Jaroslav Řídký Jaroslav Řídký (25 August 1897 – 14 August 1956) was a Czech composer, conductor, harpist, and music teacher. Life Řídký was born at Reichenberg, now Liberec. From 1919 to 1923 he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Bohuslav ...

(1897–1956), composer *

(1898–1945), German Nazi politician *

Arthur Beer Arthur Beer (28 June 1900 – 20 October 1980) was a German astronomer who worked at Cambridge UniversityObituary: Dr Arthur Beer The Times, Thursday, Oct 23, 1980; pg. 18; Issue 60757; col G Biography He was born in Reichenberg, Bohemia, the ...

(1900–1980), German astronomer *

Harald Kreutzberg Harald Kreutzberg (December 11, 1902 – April 25, 1968) was a German dancer and choreographer associated with the Ausdruckstanz movement, a form in which the individual, artistic expression of feelings or emotions is essential. Though largely fo ...

(1902–1968), German dancer and choreographer *

Herbert Feigl Herbert Feigl (; ; December 14, 1902 – June 1, 1988) was an Austrian- American philosopher and an early member of the Vienna Circle. He coined the term " nomological danglers". Biography The son of a trained weaver who became a textile designer ...

(1902–1988), Austrian-American philosopher *

Guido Beck Guido Beck (29 August 1903 – 21 October 1988) was an Argentine physicist of German Bohemian origin, who was born in Liberec and died in Rio de Janeiro. He discovered all cylindrically symmetric nonrotating vacuum solutions in general relativit ...

(1903–1989), Argentinian physicist * Augustin Schramm (1907–1948), communist politician and officer *

Roderich Menzel Roderich Ferdinand Ottomar Menzel (; 13 April 1907 – 17 October 1987) was a Czech-German amateur tennis player and, after his active career, a writer. Birth Roderich Menzel was born in Reichenberg in Bohemia (today Liberec in the Czech Repub ...

(1907–1987), Czech-German tennis player * Fritz Preissler (1908–1948), German luger *

Egon Hartmann Egon Hartmann (24 August 1919 – 6 December 2009) was a German architect and city planner who won prizes for his city planning concepts for both East and West Berlin. Early life and education Egon Hartmann was born on 24 August 1919 in Reiche ...

(1919–2009), German architect *

Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler (; sometimes spelled Preussler; born Otfried Syrowatka; 20 October 1923 – 18 February 2013) was a German children's books author. More than 50 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide and they have been translate ...

(1923–2013), German writer * Marketa Goetz-Stankiewicz (1927–2022), Canadian scholar and translator *

Roland Bulirsch Roland Zdeněk Bulirsch (10 November 1932 – 21 September 2022) was a German mathematician specialising in numerical analysis. He studied and taught at the Technical University of Munich, and taught internationally as visiting professor. He was ...

(1932–2022), German mathematician *

Markus Lüpertz Markus Lüpertz (born 25 April 1941) is a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and writer. He also publishes a magazine, and plays jazz piano. He is one of the best-known German contemporary artists. His subjects are characterized by suggest ...

(born 1941), German artist *

Barbara Bouchet Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943)
, glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; ...

(born 1944), German-American actress and entrepreneur *

Jirina Marton Jirina Marton (born April 19, 1946) is a Czech-born Canadian artist and illustrator. She was born in Liberec, studied at the School of Applied Arts in Prague and continued her studies in Paris. Marton had her first exhibitions there and also beg ...

(born 1946), Canadian artist and illustrator *

Oldřich Kaiser Oldřich Kaiser (born 16 May 1955) is a Czech television, film, and stage actor known mostly for his comedic roles. Education and career Kaiser graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1978. He began his acting career with the ...

(born 1955), actor * Vladimír Šlechta (born 1960), writer * Jaroslav Nedvěd (born 1969), ice hockey player *

Petr Nedvěd Petr Nedvěd (born December 9, 1971) is a Czech-Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1990 and 2007. Early career Nedvěd was born in Liberec, Czechoslovakia to Jaroslav ...

(born 1971), ice hockey player *

Martin Damm Martin Damm Sr. (born 1 August 1972) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known as a doubles player (his highest ranking being No. 5 in the world in April 2007). His highest singles ranking was No. 42 in A ...

(born 1972), tennis player *

Tomáš Enge Tomáš Enge (; born 11 September 1976) is a Czech former professional racing driver who has competed in many classes of motorsport, including three races in Formula One. Career Born in Liberec, Enge started his career at the age of 16, entering ...

(born 1976), racing driver * Jan Víšek (born 1981), ice hockey player *

Yemi A.D. Yemi Akinyemi Dele (born 4 November 1981) is a Czech multidisciplinary creative and serial entrepreneur. In December 2022, he was selected as one of eight crew members for dearMoon, a cancelled commercial lunar space mission. Life and career ...

(born 1981), choreographer and artist *

Lukáš Derner Lukáš Derner (born August 24, 1983) is a Czech professional ice hockey player. He plays defence for HC Liberec in the Czech Extraliga The Czech Extraliga () is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created in 1 ...

(born 1983), ice hockey player *

Pavla Havlíková Pavla Havlíková (born 20 April 1983) is a Czech professional racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountai ...

(born 1983), cyclist *

Zuzana Hejnová Zuzana Hejnová (; born 19 December 1986) is a retired Czech athlete who specialised in the 400 metres hurdles. She won the silver medal in the event at the 2012 London Olympics. Hejnová is a two-time World Champion, having claimed titles at t ...

(born 1986), athlete *

Martin Cikl Martin Cikl. Martin Cikl (born 17 August 1987 in Varnsdorf) is a Czech ski jumper who has competed since 2002. He finished 41st in the individual large hill event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Cikl's best World finish was seventh twi ...

(born 1987), ski jumper

Twin towns – sister cities

Liberec is twinned with: *

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

, Netherlands *

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, Germany *

Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...

, Israel *

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

, Germany

Gallery

Vyhled z Liberecke radnice 13.JPG, View from the city hall Liberec z Ještědu 002.jpg, View of Liberec from Ještěd Liberec-synagoga.JPG, The Liberec New Synagogue

References

External links

*
Official tourist portalFacebook pageTramway Liberec

Oblastni galerie v Liberci (Museum of art)
{{authority control Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Liberec District Holocaust locations in Czechoslovakia