Zálužice is a municipality and village in

Louny District Louny District () is a Okres, district in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Louny, but the most populated town is Žatec. Administrative division Louny District is divided into three Districts of the Cze ...

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 100 inhabitants. The village of Stekník within the municipality is well preserved and is protected as a village monument zone. The area of Stekník is part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

called Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops.

Administrative division

Zálužice consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Zálužice (37) *Rybňany (28) *Stekník (31)

Geography

Zálužice is located about east of

Žatec Žatec (; ) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Žatec is famous for an over-700-year-long tradition of growing Saaz hops, Saaz noble hops u ...

, west of

Louny Louny (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument ...

and southwest 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 an agricultural landscape in 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. ...

. The highest point is at above sea level. The

Ohře The Ohře (), also known in English and German as Eger (), is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia in Germany, and through the Karlovy Vary Region ...

River flows through the municipality. The confluence of the Ohře and Blšanka rivers is located in the municipal territory.

History

The first written mention of Zálužice is from 1517, when the town of

bought half of the village from the

Lobkowicz family 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 cent ...

. Stekník was first mentioned in 1389 and Rybňany in 1405.

Demographics

Economy

Zálužice lies in the Žatec Hop Region where

Saaz hops Saaz is a "noble" variety of hops. It was named after the Czech town of Žatec (). This hop is used extensively in Bohemia to flavor beer as the Czech pilsner. Saaz hops accounted for more than of total 2009 hop production in the Czech Republi ...

are grown. The area of Stekník became part of the

called Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops in 2023.

Transport

There are no railways or major roads passing through the municipality.

Sights

The most important monument in the municipality is the Stekník Castle. In 1681, Jan Kulhánek (later promoted to lord of Klaudenstein) bought Stekník and had built the Baroque castle on the site of a former fortress. During the rule of his grandson Jan František between 1760 and 1772, the castle was rebuilt in the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

style. Today the castle is owned by the state and offers guided tours. The village of Stekník is protected as a village monument zone for its valuable set of preserved vernacular architecture. All the historic buildings of the village show specific features that demonstrate their use for drying and processing hops.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaluzice Villages in Louny District