Ústí nad Labem (; ) 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 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of 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 ...

. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction.

Administrative division

Ústí nad Labem is divided into four self-governing boroughs. In addition, Ústí nad Labem consists of 22 municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Ústí nad Labem-město (35,015) **Božtěšice (496) **Bukov (5,988) **Habrovice (395) **Hostovice (249) **Klíše (6,944) **Předlice (1,544) **Skorotice (1,379) **Strážky (234) **Vaňov (755) **Všebořice (2,870) **Ústí nad Labem-centrum (14,161) *Ústí nad Labem-Neštěmice (22,148) **Krásné Březno (12,417) **Mojžíř (4,222) **Neštěmice (5,509) *Ústí nad Labem-Severní Terasa (18,965) **Severní Terasa (18,965) *Ústí nad Labem-Střekov (13,585) ** Brná (1,308) **Církvice (179) **Kojetice (129) **Olešnice (89) ** Sebuzín (503) **Střekov (10,249) **Svádov (1,128)

Etymology

The name of Ústí nad Labem is formed from the

Old Czech The Czech language developed at the close of the 1st millennium from common West Slavic languages, West Slavic. Until the early 20th century, it was known as ''Bohemian''. Early West Slavic Among the innovations in common West Slavic languag ...

' (' river mouth') and ' ('

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

'). It thus literally means "Mouth-upon-the-Elbe", in reference to its location at the Bílina's confluence with the Elbe. The Czech name was Latinized as ' and Germanized as ' (also written as '). Before Czechoslovak independence amid the dissolution of Austria-Hungary following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the town was usually known in English as Aussig.

Geography

Ústí nad Labem is located about north 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 ...

and south of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

in Germany. It lies mostly in a hilly landscape of the Central Bohemian Uplands, but it also extends into the Most Basin in the northwest. The highest point is the hill Široký vrch at above sea level. The city is situated at the confluence of the

and Bílina rivers. Half of Lake Milada lies in the municipal territory. The southern part of the territory lies in the České středohoří Protected Landscape Area.

Climate

History

10th–15th centuries

The first verified written mention is in the charter of the chapter at the Church of St. Stephen in Litoměřice, dated to 1056 or 1057. In 1249, it was first mentioned with the title of royal town. The charter of the Prague Benedictine monastery from 993 was considered to be the first written mention of Ústí nad Labem, but its legitimacy has been called into question. In the second half of the 13th century, King Ottokar II invited German settlers into the country and granted them a German form of municipal incorporation, thereby founding the city proper. In 1423, as King of Bohemia, Sigismund pledged the town to Elector Frederick I of Meissen, who occupied it with a Saxon garrison. On 16 June 1426, after the city was besieged by the 25,000 Hussites, the besiegers defeat a German army of 70,000 troops was sent to its relief but the Hussites defeated the Germans amid great slaughter. The next day, the Hussites stormed and razed the town. It was left derelict for three years before rebuilding began in 1429.

16th–19th centuries

Ústí nad Labem was again burned down in 1583 and was sacked by the

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

in 1639 amid 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 also suffered grievously 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 ...

and was near the 1813 Battle of Kulm between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the alliance of

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 ...

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, ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. As late as 1830, its population was only 1,400. As part of the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

, it was eventually incorporated into the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and heavily industrialized over the 19th century. After the Compromise of 1867, it headed the Aussig District, one of Austrian Bohemia's 94 district commissions (). In the 1870s, with only 11,000 people, it was a major producer of woolen goods,

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

, paper, ships, and chemicals and carried on a large trade in grain, fruit, mineral water, lumber, and coal. By 1900, large-scale immigration had boosted the population to nearly 40,000, mostly German, and added glassworking and

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

to its trades. The local river port became the busiest in the entire

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 ...

, surpassing even the seaport in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

20th century

The factories of Aussig—as it was then known—were an early centre of the Nazi movement. The German Workers' Party in Austria () was founded on 15 November 1903 and later gave rise to the Sudeten German Party and Austrian National Socialism. Their books continued to be printed in Ústí nad Labem even after the formation of

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 ...

in 1918. During the 1930 census, Ústí nad Labem was home to 43,793 residents: 32,878 considered German, 8,735 Czech or Slovak, 222 Jews, 16 Russians, and 11 Hungarians. Ústí nad Labem was ceded 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 ...

with the rest of the Sudetenland in October 1938 under the terms of 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 ...

and placed under the administration of the ''Regierungsbezirk Aussig'' of the Reichsgau Sudetenland. On New Year's Eve of that year, the Nazis burnt down the local

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

; a meat factory was later raised in its place. The Jewish community in Ústí nad Labem was mostly exterminated over the course of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

amid

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. In April 1945, the city was severely bombed by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. Under the terms of the Potsdam Conference and 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 city was restored to

and almost the totality of its previous population expelled as being German.

Ústí massacre

Shortly after the war ended, on 31 July 1945, an explosion of the local ammunition depot triggered a

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

of the German population, known as the Ústí massacre, mostly at the hands of out-of-town paramilitary groups. Whilst the official government investigation attributed the explosion to Nazi Werwolves (German saboteurs), contemporary historians have questioned the attribution as several other equally probable possibilities have been proposed. The pogrom was used as part of the justification of the Potsdam Conference to deport German citizens from Czechoslovakia, as continued cohabitation was argued to be impossible. It is estimated that between 80 and a 100 people died in the explosion and subsequent murders, nearly double the 43 confirmed victims.

After World War II

In May 1948, the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

government passed a new constitution declaring a people's republic. Beginning in the 1960s dissidence and general unhappiness with communist rule gave way to new artistic pursuits tackling the country's issues, Ústí nad Labem was primarily representative of this with Kladivadlo, a theatre which moved to Ústí nad Labem after it ran into issues with support from organizers, and Dialog a monthly political magazine. The city gained notoriety in 1999, when the Matiční Street Wall was built to separate Matiční Street with mainly Romani population from other residents, which turned into an international scandal. The wall was torn down after six weeks of its existence.

Demographics

Economy

Ústí nad Labem is the economic centre of the Ústí nad Labem Region and the seat of many industrial companies. The largest industrial employers with its headquarters in Ústí nad Labem and at least 500 employees are Spolek pro chemickou a hutní výrobu (chemical industry) and Strabag Rail (construction industry). Other large industrial companies in the city include Kone Industrial (manufacture of elevators), Severotisk (printing industry) and Pierburg (manufacture of car parts).

Transport

Road transport

The D8 motorway (part of the European route E55) from Prague to

intersects the western border of Ústí nad Labem. The European route E442 from

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 ...

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

, formed by first class road, also passes through the city. Mariánský Bridge is a road bridge over the

which was built over a period of five years and opened in 1998. It bleongs to the main landmarks of the city. International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering ranked Mariánský Bridge between the 10 best structures of the world in the decade.

City mass transport

The city has a network of mass transport that includes bus and trolley bus lines. The city has its own transport company, ''Dopravní podnik města Ústí nad Labem''.

Railway transport

Ústí nad Labem is an important railway node with four railway stations. The largest of these is Ústí nad Labem main railway station which is served by international

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

trains. Ústí nad Labem lies on the line from Prague to Děčín, which is part of several international lines, and thus the city has direct connections with

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. Lines of national importance are Prague–

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

and Ústí nad Labem – Kolín.

River transport

The

River Line is a junction with the West-European river lines opening access to Germany, Benelux countries, northern France and to important sea ports. Freight transportation and pleasure cruises are run on the water line section

Pardubice Pardubice (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Repub ...

– Chvaletice – Ústí nad Labem – Hřensko – Hamburg.

Air transport

An airport for small sports planes ( ICAO code LKUL) is located northwest of the city. The nearest airports for airliners are in

(64 km) and

, Germany (56 km).

Education

The city is home of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. This public university has about 8,500 students and with about 900 employees, it is one of the most important employers in the region.

Sport

The local ice hockey club HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi. The

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 is FK Viagem Ústí nad Labem, which plays at the Městský stadion. The city hosts the Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon, one of the World Athletics Label Road Races. During the 1950s and 1960s, the

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 ...

team AMK Ústí nad Labem raced in the city. It raced initially at a stadium in the Bukov area until it was converted into an athletics facility in 1960. Then the team raced at a track in the Klíše area from 1967 to 1968 and finally in Polepy. The team raced in the inaugural 1956 Czechoslovak Championship and won two silver medals and three bronze medals from 1961 to 1971.

Sights

The Střekov Castle is one of the main sights of Ústí nad Labem, and one of the most visited tourist destinations in the whole region. It is located in a southern suburb of the city. The castle was built in 1316–1319. With a break in 1945–1992, it has been owned by the Lobkowicz family since 1563. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built in 1318 and is located in the city centre. It is well known for its leaning tower. The tower is high and its deviation, caused by bombing at the end of World War II, is . It is the most leaning tower north of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. A significant landmark is the hill Větruše with an observation tower and the Větruše Castle, which was built in 1847 as a hotel and restaurant serving cultural and social purposes. In Krásné Březno part is located the Ústí nad Labem Zoo, founded in 1908. A notable building is the Krásné Březno Castle. It is formed by the Old Castle, built before 1568, and by the New Castle, built in the early 17th century and modified in the Baroque style in the first half of the 18th century. The castle is surrounded by an English park. Nowadays the castle serves as the seat of the branch of National Heritage Institute of the Czech Republic.

Notable people

Anton Raphael Mengs Anton Raphael Mengs (12 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter. Early life Mengs was born on 12 March 1728, at Ústí nad Labem in the Kingdom of Bohemia, the son of Ismael Mengs, a Danish-born painter wh ...

(1728–1779), German painter * Mimi Wagensonner (1897–1970), Austrian composer * Felix Weinberg (1928–2012), Czech-British physicist * Günther Herbig (born 1931), German conductor * Alfred Lipka (1931–2010), German violist * Vladimír Páral (born 1932), writer * Heinz Edelmann (1934–2009), Czech-German illustrator and designer * Milan Hejduk (born 1976), ice hockey player * Jiří Jarošík (born 1977), footballer * Petra Gelbart (born 1978), musicologist, musician, music therapist and human rights defender * Jan Mertl (born 1982), tennis coach and player * Tomáš Černý (born 1985), footballer * Michal Neuvirth (born 1988), ice hockey player

Twin towns – sister cities

Ústí nad Labem is twinned with: *

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

, Germany * Halton, England, United Kingdom Ústí nad Labem also cooperates with

, Germany.

Gallery

Ústí nad Labem, Větruše, přes Labe (02).jpg, Větruše Castle ZamekKrasneBrezno1.JPG, Krásné Březno Castle Ústí nad Labem, Centrum, Trolejbus Škoda 22Tr.JPG, Municipal trolleybus Z Erbenovy vyhlídky, směr Střekov (01).jpg, Panorama from a nearby observation tower Holocaust memorial in Ústí nad Labem, 2012, 01.JPG, Holocaust memorial built in 2005

References

External links

*
Architecture in Ústí nad Labem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usti Nad Labem Populated places in Ústí nad Labem District Cities and towns in the Czech Republic Romani communities in the Czech Republic Populated riverside places in the Czech Republic Populated places on the Elbe