Česká Lípa

City

Česká Lípa city hall at T. G. Masaryk square

Flag	Coat of arms

Official name: The city of Česká Lípa

Country

Commune

River

Elevation

258 m (846 ft)

Coordinates

50°41′19″N 14°32′19″E / 50.68861°N 14.53861°ECoordinates: 50°41′19″N 14°32′19″E / 50.68861°N 14.53861°E

Area

66.10 km² (25.52 sq mi)

Population

40,225 (2009-12-31)

Density

609/km² (1,577/sq mi)

First mentioned

1263

Mayor

Romana Žatecká

Timezone

CET (UTC+1)

- summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

470 01 - 470 06

Location in the Czech Republic

Statistics: mesta.obce.cz

Website: www.mucl.cz

Česká Lípa (Czech pronunciation: [tʃɛskaː liːpa]; German: Böhmisch-Leipa, Yiddish: לאיפא‎ Laypa) is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the district seat and the largest city of the district in the Liberec Region. Together with Liberec, it is a part of the Nisa Euroregion. The Ploučnice River flows through the city, approximately 25 mi (40 km) from its source. Česká Lípa comprises about ten neighbourhoods and 14 municipal parts populated by 40,225 permanent residents. Education is offered by several local high schools. Several sports facilities for entertainment were recently built and others renovated. Approximately 9 mi (15 km) south of Česká Lípa lies Máchovo jezero (Mácha lake), a popular summer resort. Česká Lípa lies 23 mi (38 km) west of Liberec and 42 mi (67 km) north of Prague, counting distances between city borders.

The old town of Česká Lípa was built near a ford by the Ploučnice River where a Slavonic colony existed from the 10th century. The line of the Ronovci and Jindřich z Lipé in particular contributed to the founding of the city between 1305 and 1319, and the line of the Berkové z Dubé promoted its development. A hundred years later the city was occupited by the Hussite army of Jan Roháč z Dubé and devastated by fires. Albert of Valdštejn, and later Kaunitzs, contributed to another boom of the city by founding a monastery and school. The modern urban development of the city was influenced by industrial production and uranium mining in the region. Residential neighborhoods consisting of prefab housing in large were built on the outskirts while the city center was preserved and enunciated as an urban heritage zone.

The current territory of the city was permanently settled around the 13th century. The first written reference of settlement comes from 1263 and is included in the Doksany Prior's purchase roll. The history of the city is associated with Chvala ze Žitavy of the Ronovci ancestry, who founded the Lipý Castle, and mainly his grandson Jindřich z Lipé (1270–1329), a significant royal aristocrat. As rolls have not been preserved, it is not clear who exactly of the ancestry founded the castle and settlement around. Thus the Lipý Castle became another fortified seat in North Bohemia on the trade routes of that time. There was a Slavonic colony near the castle, later renamed to Stará Lípa (a part of the city today). There is a reference of Arnold, said to come from Stará Lípa, who used to be a citizen in Kravaře (a small town today). Historians derive from the reference of Stará Lípa that the Lipý Castle and the colony were established around. Jindřich z Lipé moved to Moravia in 1319 after he had sold the castle with its surroundings to his cousin Hynek Berka. According to other news, in 1327 the mentioned Hynek Berka z Dobé, also a member of the ancestry of Ronovci, was the lord of Lipá and its wider surroundings. When he died in 1348, his son of the same name took the grip and after his death the second of sons Jindřich succeeded him. Then his nephew Hynek Berka z Dubé reigned the area. The eldest city charter, which he issued on 23 March 1381, documents that discretions were granted to the city of Lipá and that it was he who contributed the most to the boom of the city and the castle bearing the same name.

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Wikipedia