Vysoké nad Jizerou () is a town 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 1,300 inhabitants.

Administrative division

Vysoké nad Jizerou consists of five municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Vysoké nad Jizerou (819) *Helkovice (36) *Horní Tříč (131) *Sklenařice (178) *Stará Ves (56)

Geography

Vysoké nad Jizerou is located about southeast 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 ...

. It lies in a hilly landscape of the

Giant Mountains Foothills In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from ...

. The highest point is the hill Petruškovy vrchy at above sea level.

History

Vysoké was founded in the 14th century. The first written mention of Vysoké is from 1352, and on 4 August 1354 it officially became a town under the Latin name ''Alta Ciuitas''. Glassworks in the town was mentioned in 1377. The town was conveniently located on the trade routes that gave it importance. The development of Vysoké was hampered by

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 ...

, famine in 1771–1772 and large fire in 1834, which destroyed almost all the wooden buildings.

Demographics

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipal territory.

Sport

Vysoké nad Jizerou is known as a ski resort. There are two ski areas, Větrov and Šachty.

Sights

The main landmark of Vysoké nad Jizerou is the Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It was built in the Baroque style in 1725–1734. Vysoké nad Jizerou is home to the Krakonoš Museum.

Nístějka Castle

Nístějka is a ruin of a castle in Vysoké nad Jizerou founded probably in the 14th century by the

Waldstein family The House of Waldstein (Valdstejn, Valdonio, or Wallenstein) is an old, wealthy and important noble family from Central Europe (Germany and the Czech Republic). They owned many castles across Europe. Origin The House of Waldstein or House of V ...

. In 1390, it was acquired together with the settlement of Vysoké by the Vartemberk family and in 1422 by the Jenštejn family. Around 1460, the castle was briefly held by 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 ...

and his goods were attached to Návarov. Since 1519, the castle has been declared desolate, probably after a previous fire. The ruins consists of remnants of towers, walls and cellars on a narrow, long promontory over the Jizera river near Hradsko. The castle consisted of an elongated barracks protected by a moat and a cylindrical tower at its head, and a small inner castle where only a backyard with a tank and a rectangular palace was on the rocks. The castle is declared a protected area for the occurrence of herb '' Hackelia deflexa.'' In 1954, 1958 and 1972, archaeological research of the castle was carried out.

Notable people

Karel Kramář Karel Kramář (27 December 1860 – 26 May 1937) was a Czech politician. He was a representative of the major Czech political party, the Young Czechs, in the Austrian Imperial Council from 1891 to 1915 (where he was also known as Karl Kramar ...

(1867–1930), politician * Josef Bím (1901–1934), soldier and skier * Dalibor Motejlek (born 1942), ski jumper

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vysoke nad Jizerou Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Populated places in Semily District 14th-century establishments in Bohemia Populated places established in the 14th century